Turki claimed that in the months before the September 11 attacks , his intelligence agency knew that something alarming was being planned : “ In the summer of 2001 , I took one of the warnings about something spectacular about to happen to the Americans , British , French and Arabs . We did n’t know where , but we knew that something was being brewed . ” He took part in organizing a military operation to remove the hostage-taking terrorists from Masjid al-Haram ( the Sacred Mosque ) in Mecca during the Grand Mosque Seizure in November – December 1979 . Prince Turki 's resignation was unexpected since his term had been extended on 24 May 2001 for another four years . He was replaced just ten days before 9/11 , on 1 September 2001 , by Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz , his uncle and the king ’s brother , who had " no background in intelligence whatsoever . " '' The Wall Street Journal '' later reports : " The timing of Turki ’s removal — August 31 — and his Taliban connection raise the question : Did the Saudi regime know that bin Laden was planning his attack against the US ? " After King Fahd 's stroke in 1995 , Prince Turki had a minor disagreement with Prince Abdullah , who did not want to be briefed by him
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Turki bin Faisal Al Saud