| Saudis 'turning blind eye' to terror funding | |
| By Edward Alden in Washington | |
| Published: October 17 2002 4:01 | Last Updated: October 17 2002 4:01 | |
The US effort to cut off funding for al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups has stalled because of intransigence by key US allies such as Saudi Arabia, according to the report of a blue-ribbon task force of former top administration officials to be released on Thursday. In a strong indictment that could further strain US relations with the kingdom, the report from the influential Council on Foreign Relations says: "For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al-Qaeda. And for years Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem." The task force chaired by Maurice Greenberg, chief executive of AIG, is also critical of the administration of President George W. Bush for what it says is the failure to maintain political pressure on its allies. "The administration appears to have made a policy decision not to use the full power of US influence and legal authorities to pressure or compel other governments to combat terrorist financing more effectively." The charges come just two months after US-Saudi ties were shaken by the leak of a Rand Corporation study, presented to a top Pentagon advisory board, that accused the Saudis of complicity "at every level of the terror chain". The administration disavowed the report. The task force includes an array of former top Clinton administration officials, such as William Webster, former director of the FBI and the CIA, and Stuart Eizenstat, former deputy Treasury secretary. Its conclusions reinforce those of a United Nations report published last month that said the US-led effort on terror financing had so far failed to dent seriously the resources available to al-Qaeda. The report acknowledges progress in US law enforcement efforts to dismantle fundraising operations for al-Qaeda. But it says the US has failed to maintain sufficient high-level pressure on its allies to crack down on terror funding. Far too many countries in the Middle East and south Asia still have only rudimentary supervision of banks and few regulations to prevent money laundering or fundraising by terrorists, it said. A Saudi embassy official in Washington disputed the conclusions. "We think we have done everything possible and are still doing it," said Abdul Mohsen Alyas, assistant director of information. Rob Nichols, a US Treasury spokesman, also dismissed the report as "a Clinton-era snapshot of al-Qaeda and its finances". The report calls for a much tougher US campaign that would include blunt public statements denouncing countries such as Saudi Arabia for not co-operating in curbing terrorist financing, and threatening them with sanctions if they fail to improve. But Mr Nichols said that the administration had been more effective by offering technical assistance and diplomatic support for internal efforts by allies of the US to crack down on the problem. "The future for the war on terrorist finance is to strengthen the international coalition," he said. "The terrorists are certainly not keeping their money in the US." |
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