“Under immense pressure from the US to put bin Laden out of commission, Prince Turki [al Faisal] of Saudi intelligence flew to Kandahar [Afghanistan] in September 1998. …The Saudi delegation asked [Taliban leader] Mullah [Mohammad] Omar to cede bin Laden to the US because he was a terrorist. Mullah Omar was enraged by this request, that a Muslim government would seek to deliver a fellow Muslim to an ‘infidel state.’ He said to the Saudi prince: ‘If you speak in the name of America, do not blame me for speaking in the name of bin Laden.’ Prince Turki claimed Mullah Omar had previously promised to hand over bin Laden, but Mullah Omar categorically denied this. …Soon afterwards, the Saudi government severed diplomatic relations with the Taliban.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Abdel Bari Atwan, The Secret History of al Qaeda, Page 56