I had not yet fully recovered from the shock from the death of Prince Sultan when I received another blow: the death of Prince Naif. I am aware that death is destined and inevitable, but it is my right to be sad and feel the terrible pain when I reminisce memories that are dear to my heart with the late prince.
What tied me to Prince Naif was not his official position as a prince and a minister. I have been tied to him with a deep friendship that extended for many decades, during which private memories were mixed with public work. Talking to Prince Naif — and Prince Sultan before him — I did not know where to draw the line between work, which is political news for me, and personal friendship so that neither will overlap the other.
In the mid 1970s, I had a meeting with Prince Salman, who was then governor of Riyadh. I availed myself of the opportunity and asked him a number of political questions. He answered some and told me that the rest of my questions concerned Prince Naif, the interior minister. His office arranged an appointment for me with Prince Naif. That meeting was the start of a friendship that completed its fourth decade now. When Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper celebrated its 25th anniversary, Prince Naif told me in front of all the others that he came especially for me. I was the first chief editor of the newspaper.
At the beginning of our friendship, I used to meet with Prince Naif at his office in the ministry during daytime. When he was sure about my accuracy in reporting his comments, he started giving me the last of his appointments in the evening. More than once I left his office in the landmark building at 5 a.m. After the political talk we would delve into friendship matters until the time of the Fajr prayer, when the prince would leave for home to pray and get some sleep.
Prince Naif was without doubt conservative. I discussed all issues with him without any embarrassment, from the question of women driving in the Kingdom to capital punishment. When I insisted on the right of women to drive, he one day told me laughingly: "Our men do not know how to drive cars and you want women to drive?" Once I told him that I was against the capital punishment except in cases of child rape or murder. He replied that my problem was that I thought about the murderer and he about the victim.
The real prowess of Prince Naif appeared clearly in his work as the first security man in the Kingdom. He did not use harshness alone in confrontations with terrorists, but mixed firmness with leniency in what is commonly known as the policy of carrot and stick. His team was able to convince tens of would-be terrorists about their erroneous behavior, and subsequently they straitened up. The government would rehabilitate the terrorists, pay them salaries and help them get married.
The success of this policy enticed the Americans to copy it. Only last month, I read the details of American programs designed on the model of the Saudi one.
Putting friendship aside, I would say, with all my professional objectivity, that Prince Naif was first and last a Saudi citizen who put the interests of his country above everything else. He would never chicken out from taking a firm stand when needed. I will cite here a example. It was the Alkhobar explosion of 1996. The Americans wanted to conduct the investigations themselves, but Prince Naif refused. They then requested that they be allowed to participate in the investigations, but again Prince Naif refused. He finally allowed them only to write questions for the Saudi investigators to ask the accused while observing the sessions a mirror.
I do not think I will be revealing a secret when I say that Prince Naif has collected enough data incriminating Hezbollah and Iran for the Alkhobar explosion. Instead of handing over the evidence to the Americans to use in striking Iran, which would not hesitate to continue its terrorist acts, he threatened the Iranians with the data in his hands. The result is that he reached a security understanding with them. Since 1996 there has not been any terrorist operation against any Saudi target in or outside the country. This accomplishment has saved the lives of many Saudis, and I am a direct witness to it. Prince Naif was my friend. He is now in the hands of his Creator in heaven. I ask for mercy for him and extend my condolences to his brothers and sons for a man who was faithful to his country and nation.
Courtesy of Al-Hayat newspaper
He never hesitated in taking a firm stand
