WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The United States has determined that Saudi Arabia continues to allow citizens to finance Al Qaida, including its insurgency campaign in Iraq.U.S. officials said that despite numerous appeals the Saudi kingdom has not arrested financiers of Al Qaida or related groups. They said the kingdom has also failed to freeze the assets of leading Saudi financiers of Islamic insurgency groups."Wealthy Saudi financiers and charities have funded terrorist organizations and causes that support terrorism and the ideology that fuels the terrorists' agenda," Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey said. "Even today, we believe that Saudi donors may still be a significant source of terrorist financing, including for the insurgency in Iraq."It was the first time a senior Bush administration official asserted that Saudi nationals have been financing the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. Over the last two years, the Bush administration has blamed Syria for the flow of insurgents and funding into Iraq.
NOTE: The above is not the full item.
This service contains only a small portion of the information produced daily by Middle East Newsline. For a subscription to the full service, please contact Middle East Newsline at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] for further details.
