Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal called into CNBC Friday not to
discuss his fortunes, but to defend himself.
A flap resulted in New York Thursday after New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
returned a $10 million donation to the Saudi royal following a statement by
Prince Alwaleed indicating that American policy in the Middle East was partly to
blame for the World Trade Center attacks. Giuliani had taken the prince on a
tour of the site of the WTC earlier Thursday morning.
Prince Alwaleed, who is a major investor in the American stock market, said
his comments were misunderstood and there is no connection.
'The crime that took place in New York will have no justification whatsoever,
and I was the first one to condemn that, completely,' Prince Alwaleed said via
telephone from Saudi Arabia.
But he added that people in the Arab world feel that America is letting them
down by siding with the Israelis over the Palestinians.
