SAUDI ARABIA
SUPPORTER OF TERRORISM

Saudi Arabia and 9/11
Sleeping with the Devil - How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
CIA FACTBOOK: Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism: Investing in terror
Saudi Arabia - Rand Report Story - “Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies”
Slides from Rand Report: "Taking Saudi Out of Arabia"
Princess Haifa Al-Faisal Provides Funds to Terrorists in Dearborn, MI Cell: Karim Koubriti, Ahmed
Hannan and Farouk Ali-Haimoud
American Threat Perception of Saudi Arabia: Radical Wahhabism Equates to an Extreme Threat
Does Saudi Money Continue to Fund Al Qaeda?  
Study claims terror money still slips through Saudi Arabia
Terror Funds Flow Through Saudi Arabia
Saudis Fear Hold on Oil in Jeopardy
Saudi Arabia Finally Added to Terror List
To fight terror, fix Saudi schools
Are Saudi Arabia and Egypt the "Real Roots of Terror"?
Background: Al Qaeda
Saudi Financing of Hamas Terror
Terrorist Sponsors: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China
The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?
Tell Saudi Arabia to Stop Teaching Hate
Our Enemies, the Saudis

Report: Terror Funds Flow Through Saudi Arabia
Fundraising by Al Qaeda Sympathizers Continues Unabated in the Kingdom

By Douglas Farah
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 16, 2002; 7:43 PM

The Bush administration's efforts to cut off funds for international terrorism are destined to fail until it confronts Saudi Arabia, whose leaders have tolerated some of its wealthy citizens raising millions of dollars a year for al Qaeda, according to a new report from an influential foreign policy organization.

The report from the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations, scheduled for release today, contends that the administration must pressure the Saudis-as well as other governments – to crack down on terror financing, even at the risk of sparking a public backlash that could jeopardize the Saudi government.

"It is worth stating clearly and unambiguously what official U.S. government spokespersons have not," the report notes. "For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al Qaeda, and for years the Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem."

Administration criticism of Saudi Arabia, the top oil supplier to the United States and a crucial ally if the Bush administration takes military action against Iraq, has been largely muted since the Sept. 11 attacks, despite the belief of many law enforcement and intelligence officials here and abroad that al Qaeda relies on wealthy Saudis for most of its funding.

Earlier this year, however, relations became strained when a defense consultant told a Penatagon advisory committee that Saudis were active at all levels of the terror chain.

The Saudi government had no immediate response to the report. Its embassy in Washington put out a statement praising U.S.-Saudi cooperation in freezing terrorist assets and cracking down on charities, saying the support and financing of terrorism "cannot be tolerated."

But the report drew a sharp rebuttal from the Bush administration. Robert Nichols, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for public affairs, said the report was "seriously flawed" and that his department considered it a "Clinton-era snapshot of what al Qaeda looked like in 1999 or 2000" without taking into account the new resources and strategies to combat terror financing.

"We are not claiming victory, we are not spiking the football, but we are off to a good start," Nichols said.

Administration officials said they were angry that Treasury and other agencies had not been invited to brief the panel. But Maurice R. Greenberg, the panel's chairman, said that in late August the council extended a written invitation to the NSC to address the group and an oral invitation to Treasury. Both were declined, he said.

The report, prepared by a bipartisan panel of financial and terrorism experts, reveals no new details about U.S. or Saudi efforts to staunch terror funding. But it plainly asserts what many officials have said privately for some time.

"I know a lot of people in the administration are really upset with this, but it essentially lays out what many of us have been saying," said one senior administration official. "That is, we need to come up with strategies that are as creative as those of the enemy, and that, like it or not, many of the financial roads to al Qaeda go through Saudi Arabia."

While the United Nations and others have recently warned that the financial war on terror was sputtering, analysts inside and outside government said the conclusions of the panel carry particular weight because it is bipartisan. Greenberg is an influential Republican fund-raiser and corporate executive. The two co-directors, William F. Wechsler and Lee S. Wolosky, tracked terrorist financing while serving in the Clinton administration's National Security Council.

The report concludes that al Qaeda retains access to millions of dollars and that as long as its financial network is viable, the terrorist organization "remains a lethal threat to the United States." Financing for Osama bin Laden's terror network is often routed through charities, front companies and shell banks in offshore havens.

In recent testimony to Congress, senior administration officials, have acknowledged that al Qaeda retains the financial capability to carry out attacks against the United States and elsewhere. Administration officials have said that since Sept. 11, the United States has designated 240 people and organizations as terrorist supporters and blocked $112 million in suspected terrorist assets.

"The problem (of terrorist financing) is of enormous magnitude," Jimmy Gurule, undersecretary of Treasury for enforcement, told the Senate Finance Committee last week. "We have made a dent, but we have a long way to go."

The report touched on another sensitive issue, saying the administration's difficulties in tracking and disrupting al Qaeda's financial empire "have been exacerbated by the lack of interagency coordination within the U.S. government," citing duplication of tasks and information sharing difficulties among the CIA, FBI and Treasury departments.

Nichols said that, while there were initially problems with inter-agency coordination, "the kinks have been worked out, and inter-agency cooperation is alive and well."

The report was especially harsh on the Bush administration's relationship with Saudi Arabia. The administration "appears to have made a policy decision not to use the full power of U.S. influence and legal authorities to pressure or compel other governments to combat terrorist financing more effectively."

Greenberg, chairman and CEO of AIG, said the administration needs to "much more forceful" in dealing with Saudi Arabia, and that the administration "should be all over" the Saudi government whenever terrorist financial ties were found.

"Sitting in a corner is not the answer," Greenberg said. "Whatever we are doing, it isn't working."

The report acknowleged that criticizing Saudi Arabia publicly and demanding a crackdown on Islamic banks, charities and wealthy sponsors of al Qaeda could create a backlash that would jeoprodize the survival of the Saudi government.

But it said the risk of inaction was even greater, because it will allow terrorist supporters to "gain strength and influence steadily among their own population," which ultimately will put the Saudi government at risk anyway.

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"Who's Who in the House of Saud" (Aram Roston, The New York Times Magazine, from the 2002/12/22 issue)
Short profiles of the key players in the House of Saudi:
"Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, 78
Best known as the minister of defense and aviation. According to the rules of fraternal succession, he could be next in line to be king after Prince Abdullah. He purchases the best weapons money can buy, including U.S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles and Awacs (airborne warning and control systems). Yet, in spite of billions spent, the Saudi military is considered inadequate, and much of the gear reportedly sits abandoned. Sultan, who has been dubbed Mr. 10 Percent, supposedly became extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks from Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts."

"Preliminary Overview. - Saudi Arabia's Education System: Curriculum, Spreading Saudi Education to the World and the Official Saudi Position on Education Policy" (Steven Stalinsky, MEMRI, 2002/12/20)
A report on Saudi Arabia's education system, with translated examples from schoolbooks: "A textbook for 8th grade students explains why Jews and Christians were cursed by Allah and turned into apes and pigs.Quoting Surat Al-Maida, Verse 60, the lesson explains that Jews and Christians have sinned by accepting polytheism and therefore incurred Allah's wrath.To punish them, Allah has turned them into apes and pigs. ...
A schoolbook for 5th grade instructs the students: "The religions which people follow on this earth are many, but the only true religion is the religion of Islam. ... The whole world should convert to Islam and leave its false religions lest their fate will be hell. ...
The students are then asked to mark "yes" or "no" to the following questions:
*"The Islamic religion is the road to heaven…"
*'Other religions bestow eternal damnation on their adherent…'" (Note: This sermon is an example of the religion of peace in its Saudi version: "Sheikh Majed 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Firian recently stated in the Suleiman Bin Muqiran mosque in Riyadh: 'Muslims must… educate their children to Jihad. This is the greatest benefit of the situation: educating the children to Jihad and to hatred of the Jews, the Christians, and the infidels; educating the children to Jihad and to revival of the embers of Jihad in their souls. This is what is needed now…'")

"Saudis Behaving Badly" (Joel Mowbray, National Review, 2002/12/20)
"A new report submitted to the United Nations Security Council explores the extensive ties between al Qaeda and the Saudi Arabia - something that should raise a whole host of questions concerning the future of U.S. relations with the House of Saud. ... Although charities play an important role in funding terrorism, the report also details how legitimate business enterprises and direct "contributions" from wealthy individuals also prove essential to the al Qaeda network. And the primary nexus for the banks, oil and construction companies, and "businessmen" who infuse al Qaeda with the necessary cash is an "ally" of the United States: Saudi Arabia. The report states that al Qaeda received $300 - $500 million in funding from wealthy bankers and businessmen, mostly from Saudi nationals or residents. ... But the biggest expense to propagate the growth of radical Islam is not paid for directly by al Qaeda, but by Saudi Arabia: the madrassas that that churn out rabid young Islamic fundamentalists primed for jihad. If nothing else, Saudi Arabia's continued insistence on fueling the spread of Wahhabism raises perhaps the ultimate question about whether the House of Saud is a friend or foe: 'How can a war against terrorism succeed while the United States has excluded or preserved countries such as Saudi Arabia, which tolerates the emergence of fundamentalism, sometimes instrumentalized [its] goal, and today has become [its] sanctuary?'" (See also the report: "Terrorism Financing: Roots and trends of Saudi terrorism financing" (Jean-Charles Brisard/National Review, 2002/12/19))

"Democracy and Islam After September 11" (Stephen Schwartz, The Weekly Standard, from the 2002/12/23 issue)
"I do not see September 11 as an act of protest by Muslims or Arabs oppressed by the advance of Western democracy or the success of Israel. I see it as an act of provocation by Saudi-based extremists, intended to divert the younger, better-educated, middle-class strata of Saudi society, and similar social elements elsewhere in the Muslim and Arab worlds, from their growing demands for restoration of Islamic pluralism and the right to live normal lives, in a normal country, in a world at peace. ... By fostering the terrorism of Osama bin Laden, and then by seeking to shift blame for the atrocity of September 11 to Israel, the most reactionary elements in the Saudi ruling elite seek to quiet the growing demands of the educated and entrepreneurial classes for a new direction in society. This is an old phenomenon in the disintegration of tyrannies. September 11 had little to do with U.S. power in the world, and everything to do with bourgeois society knocking at the door of Saudi Arabia; little to do with Israel and the Palestinians, and everything to do with the recuperation of Islamic pluralism in Mecca and Medina."

"Who is Prince Nayef?" (Bill Tierney, The Weekly Standard, from the 2002/12/23 issue)
A profile of the "most powerful man in Saudi Arabia", the interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz: "Nayef is keenly aware that the widespread sympathy in Saudi Arabia for Osama bin Laden is a response not to bin Laden's personal charisma but to his jihadist mission, explicitly framed as obedience to the true Islam. It is a danger inadvertently sown by the regime itself, which long ago instituted the incessant intoning of the Koran on state radio and television. Prince Nayef, it seems, has decided to deal with this threat by riding the jihadist wave. ... When the United States finally starts calling this war what it is - a war against jihadist Islam - then clarity will dispel the illusion that our relationship with the Saudis can ever go back to what it was before September 11. The Saudis claim they are combating terrorism. Can they also say they are combating jihad? In this country, there are some old-school types who cling to their settled view of the Middle East; the academic community (with rare exceptions) is still sinking in the tar pit of postmodernism. But the Saudis have chosen their course, a path they presumably see as consistent with the dictates of the Koran. They will continue to play us for fools as long as they can. It is high time we stopped cooperating. We could begin by taking the measure of the man behind the throne." (See also: "Saudi Minister of Interior, Prince Nayef Ibn Abd Al-Aziz: 'Who Committed the Events of September 11… I Think They [the Zionists] are Behind these Events…'" (MEMRI, Special Dispatch Series - No. 446, 2002/12/03))

"Initiatives and Actions Taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Combat Terrorism" (The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia/OpinionJournal, 2002/12/12)
A report by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia: "Since September 11, the government of Saudi Arabia has taken many actions to fight global terrorism. Following are concrete examples of these actions drawn from statements made by Saudi Arabian leaders, U.S. Administration officials, news articles and press releases confirming the efforts on the war on terrorism by the government of Saudi Arabia."

"What Riyadh Buys" (Daniel Pipes, New York Post/danielpipes.org, 2002/12/11)
"A hint of the problem comes from none other than Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States. The Washinton Post reports that he boasted of his success at cultivating powerful Americans: "If the reputation . . . builds that the Saudis take care of friends when they leave office, you'd be surprised how much better friends you have who are just coming into office." This is precisely what happens. ... Ex-Washington hands paid handsomely by the kingdom include such figures as Spiro T. Agnew, Jimmy Carter, Clark Clifford, John B. Connally and William E. Simon. A Washington Post account lists other former officials, including George H.W. Bush, who have found the Saudi connection "lucrative." ... The heart of the problem is an all-too-human one: Americans in official positions of authority bend the rules, break with standard procedures and alter policies for reasons of personal gain. The effect of the Saudis' massive pre-emptive bribing is to render the executive branch quite incapable of dealing with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the farsighted and disinterested manner that U.S. national interests require. That leaves Congress with the urgent responsibility to fix things." (See also: "Shilling for the House of Saud" (Matt Welch, National Post/Matt Welch, 2002/08/24))

"Saudi Stench" (Stephen Schwartz, FrontPage Magazine, 2002/12/09)
"Last week's federal raid of a Massachusetts software firm raises many questions about U.S. security - not least about our "allies" in Saudi Arabia. The firm, Ptech Inc., is said to have held millions of dollars in contracts with clients including the White House, the FBI, the U.S. Air Force, and the Internal Revenue Service. Yet investigators believe top investor Yasin al-Qadi was a major financial backer of al Qaeda. ... But there are significant holes in recent media coverage of Al-Qadi. To begin with, Yasin al-Qadi is not a new figure in the investigation of Saudi-backed terrorism. His name surfaced only weeks after Sept. 11. ... On Oct. 14, 2001, Al-Qadi told the newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, "I spoke to [Cheney] at length and we even became friends. I also got to know former U.S. President Jimmy Carter." The interview bore the headline "Yes, I Know Bin Laden and U.S. Vice President is My Friend." At that time, Al-Qadi had already been identified by U.S. officials as a terror financier. The fact that this criminal sleazebag would attempt to besmirch the vice president's name does not reflect on Cheney, but it does demonstrate that terrorist backers are much more highly placed in Saudi society than many U.S. officials are willing to admit." (See also: "Hotlink to Terror?" (Brian Ross, ABC News, 2002/12/06))

"A Wahhabism Problem" (Andrew G. Bostom, National Review, 2002/12/06)
Bostom criticizes Stephen Schwartz for identifying "Wahhabism as the source of all Islamic terror and injustice": "But the reality is that, for nearly 1,400 years, across three continents, from Portugal to India, non-Muslims have experienced the horrors of the institutionalized jihad war ideology and its ugly corollary institution, dhimmitude. ... Today, the Muslim intelligentsia focus almost exclusively on debatable "human-rights violations" in the disputed territories of Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, while ignoring the blatant and indisputable atrocities committed by Muslims against non-Muslims throughout the world. ... There is a dire need for some courageous, meaningful movement within Islam that would completely renounce both dhimmitude and jihad against non-Muslims, openly acknowledging the horrific devastation they have wrought for nearly 1,400 years. Nothing short of an Islamic Reformation and Enlightenment may be required, to acknowledge non-Muslims as fully equal human beings, and not "infidels" or "dhimmis." It is absurd and disingenuous for Schwartz to pretend that Islam's problems are centered solely within Wahhabism."

"Saudis rally neighbors against post-Saddam democracy" (World Tribune.com, 2002/12/04)
"Saudi Arabia is working to form an Arab coalition to oppose any U.S. drive to impose democracy on the Middle East. Arab diplomatic sources said the kingdom has been consulting with Egypt, Syria and the Gulf states regarding the ramifications of post-Saddam reforms in Iraq. The sources said Saudi Arabia is concerned that it will be the next target of the Bush administration. ... The London-based Al Quds Al Arabi daily reported that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal has been touring Arab capitals and urging them to sign an agreement that would pledge to resist any U.S. effort for regime change in the Arab world. The newspaper said Riyad wants Arab League members to sign such a pledge during their next summit. "No one can change the Saudi regime but Allah," Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz said."

"Saudi diplomat named in suit" (David Wastell, Sunday Telegraph/The Washington Times, 2002/12/02)
An American court has issued a summons against the next Saudi ambassador to Britain, saying that in his previous job he helped fund Afghanistan's Taliban regime while it sheltered Osama bin Laden. The summons has been issued to Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence, ordering him to respond to a compensation claim for more than $600 million brought by the families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The development will cast a shadow over the prince's appointment, which will be announced in Riyadh within the next few days, after a six-week delay. ... The prince, who courted bin Laden during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and maintained close contacts with the Taliban regime, was replaced as the Saudis' head of intelligence two weeks before the September 11 attacks, after he had served almost 25 years in the post. Earlier this year, he said bin Laden had become 'one of the most violent and, I think, one of the cruelest killers in modern history.'"

"Charity and Terror" (Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, Newsweek, from the 2002/12/09 issue)
More on the Saudi Money Trail: "As FBI agents in Chicago pursued an investigation into alleged terrorist financing in 1998, they ran across a curious money trail that soon led them into a diplomatic swamp. A local chemical firm that was suspected of laundering money for Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group, had received a $1.2 million cash infusion from the International Relief Organization, the U.S. branch of one of the world's biggest Islamic charities. Determined to "follow the money," they traced some of the charity's funding to a surprising and sensitive source: the Saudi Embassy in Washington. The money flow from the Saudis set off alarms in Washington. Investigators were told by top Justice officials to move carefully, according to sources familiar with the case. Some Justice higher-ups appeared worried that any inquiries into the operations of the Saudi Embassy could jeopardize U.S.-Saudi relations. "There was a concern about national security," said one investigator. The agents did as they were told. A court affidavit spelling out $400,000 in money transfers to the organization was carefully edited - to omit any reference to the Saudi cash. Instead, the document referred blandly to funds from an unidentified "embassy of a foreign government." The president of the chemical firm was later convicted of fraud. But charges were never filed against the Saudi-financed charity. Investigators complain they were actively discouraged by Justice Department brass from pursuing the group’s possible links to terrorism." (See also: "The Saudi Money Trail" (Michael Isikoff and Evan Thomas, Newsweek, from the 2002/12/02 issue))