Despite its continuing love-in with Saudi Arabia, the US has now quietly launched its first ever investigation into the extent to which Saudi funds world terror. The Americans have apparently begun trying to teach the Saudis the facts of life:

'U.S. officials believe it is likely that a significant amount of Saudi government money has ended up in the hands of Al Qaeda and other terrorist operatives who are still at large and could be planning attacks. Some of those officials said they have come to believe that the sheer volume and repetition of Saudi contributions, even if made unwittingly, could constitute some form of "willful ignorance" that borders on official policy.

"It is a problem we have discussed with the Saudis directly," said a second senior U.S. counter-terrorism official. "They have to realize that funding Wahhabi institutions has formed a base for Al Qaeda to operate. It allows them to recruit based on the ideology, to fund and to execute." '

The Americans have an uphill battle to judge from this response by a Saudi official:

'"It has become very simplistic to say that Saudi Arabia equals Wahhabism equals terrorism, but that is not the case," the official said. "Our religious doctrine is very conservative and orthodox. But is it violent? No.... We have crazy religious radicals who are nut cases, but they are not part of the religious establishment." '

Since Saudi-funded Wahhabism has subverted mosques throughout Europe and the world to a religious fanaticism which does indeed breed hatred and violence, this is what one might term in another world an economy with the truth.

Posted by melanie at November 17, 2003