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Explaining that the code word for the plot was "the building," Serraj produced copies of three cables. The first, addressed by Ibrahim to Umm Emir Khalid, the name of his royal daughter in Riyadh, said: "We arrived safely. We saw the building and completed definite agreement. Send 200 immediately. Am waiting in Damascus at Hotel Bilat Rashid for your prompt answer. Your father Assad Ibrahim." The second said: "Building in perfect condition, but he wants second half of money before transferring building as planned. Necessary repairs will be made after arrival of your remittance. Assad Ibrahim." Serraj handed around photostats of three checks and deposit slips for $5,300,000 to show that the "building" was not without foundation. The third cable, said to have been sent by Ibrahim after he left Damascus for Beirut, was addressed to a former Syrian M.P. who had acted as a Damascus go-between: "Come immediately. Building fraudulent. Refused give us anything. Give money back to original owners. Our situation is dangerous. Umm Khalid is sick and angry and asks our immediate return."
Serraj also showed a letter on Saud's royal stationery saying that after the coup "Shukri [el Kuwatly] and members of the present [Syrian] government should be detained and kept until the situation becomes normal and the republic is proclaimed. After that, they are of no value and can be disposed of." Without supporting evidence, Serraj charged that another Saudi emissary offered him another $5,600,000 to "send a plane after Nasser's plane when he leaves Damascus, and then say a Jewish, American or British plane was responsible for shooting it down." The same man, said Serraj, told him that "the Americans are advised of what is going on."
Westerners were inclined to doubt the whole story. They pointed out that Saud was unlikely to use checks, that the choice of courier was improbable—Assad Ibrahim was reportedly only a simple Syrian farmer until his daughter caught the eye of one of Saud's roving agents and was installed as a favorite in the royal harem (Ibrahim's brother drives a taxicab in Damascus).
Battle Lines. The plot's truth or fiction scarcely mattered. What was important was that Nasser had made the charge at all. In doing so, he had made an open break with Saud, giving up all hope of wooing him to his Arab Republic, heedless of the fact that this must drive Saud toward the Hashemite federation of Iraq and Jordan. Plainly, Nasser was pinning his hopes of uniting the Arab world on an attempt to unseat its Kings—Iraq's Feisal, Jordan's Hussein, and now Saudi Arabia's Saud. It was a dangerous ploy, and as the battle lines hardened, Iraq's Feisal summoned back the redoubtable Nuri asSaid to take over for his 14th tour as Premier.