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Saudis detail tracking of terrorists, donations
From Andrea Koppel
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that everyone has both a responsibility for the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and an obligation to make sure something similar doesn't happen again. "It's 'Bash-the-Saudis' time," said Adel al-Jubeir, senior foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah. "We are guilty before we say anything." Al-Jubeir was defending his country against accusations by some U.S. lawmakers that charitable donations by a Saudi princess might have wound up going to two of the suicide hijackers -- charges that have further strained relations between Riyadh and Washington. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Al-Jubeir said the FBI investigated the money sent by the princess last year and that the agency cleared her of the accusations. A law enforcement source confirmed that the FBI's office in San Diego, California, looked into the matter last year, but the source would not comment on the result of that inquiry. The Saudi official made his remarks after the release of a nine-page report outlining what Saudi Arabia has done and what it plans to do in tracking money donated to its citizens by an estimated 300 Saudi charities. The report, "Initiatives and Actions taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Financial Area to Combat Terrorism," outlines the following: • Establishment of a high commission to oversee charities and conduct audits to prevent money laundering and support for terrorism. • Insistence that charities cannot operate outside of Saudi Arabia without first coordinating with the foreign ministry. • Banning the anonymous transfer of cash out of the kingdom. "The most important part of pursuing international terrorists is to choke off their finances," al-Jubeir said. Audits of some charities have taken place and others are scheduled, al-Jubeir said, adding that the charities are cooperating. So far, "we have not found a direct link between the Saudi charities to a terrorist group," he said. Earlier, al-Jubeir told CNN the report doesn't have much information that his government hasn't previously made available to the United States. "The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing," al-Jubeir said, referring to what he called a lack of coordination among about 20 offices in a variety of U.S. government agencies. Efforts will be made to increase visits and communication between the two countries, he said. Since the suicide attacks, the Saudi government has frozen 33 accounts belonging to three people worth an estimated $5.7 million dollars, al-Jubeir said. U.S. lauds Saudi pledgeA senior White House official called the Saudi report "a good step" and "a welcome commitment to be more vigilant." Al-Jubeir said Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network has driven a wedge between the United States and Saudi Arabia -- an alliance that has spanned six decades. But, he said, "pointing fingers" doesn't accomplish anything and "ultimately it is our two countries that are in the crosshairs of al Qaeda." "We shall remain partners in the war against terrorism," Al-Jubeir said. The uproar comes at a time when the United States is seeking Saudi support in a possible military confrontation with Iraq. Saudi Arabia -- perhaps the United States' most important Arab ally -- has backed previous U.S. military action in the region but has been less than receptive to the idea this time around. An inquiry by the joint House-Senate Intelligence Committee suggested there is evidence that money from Princess Haifa Al-Faisal, wife of the Saudi ambassador to the United States, made its way to hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi via two Saudi students in San Diego, Omar Al Bayoumi and Osama Basnan. Basnan's wife had asked the princess for financial help, and signed checks she received from the princess over to her husband and Bayoumi. Investigators say Almihdhar and Alhazmi were part of the al Qaeda crew that crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 184 people in the building and aboard the plane. Bayoumi and Basnan reportedly were acquainted with the two men. The princess, as well as other top Saudi officials, has sharply criticized the allegations about her donations. "I find that accusations that I contributed funds to terrorists outrageous and completely irresponsible," she said in a statement last week. "This is the time for people to come together to combat the scourge of terrorism so that others will not suffer the loss of loved ones."
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