"WikiLeaks cables portray Saudi Arabia as a cash machine for terrorists"

[WinkyDink]

Saudi Arabia is the world's largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba – but the Saudi government is reluctant to stem the flow of money, according to Hillary Clinton.

"More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups," says a secret December 2009 paper signed by the US secretary of state.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/05/wikileaks-cables-saudi-terrorist-funding
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[gateley]

1. BFF's. nt

[Electric Monk]

5. BFEEBFF

[LostInAnomie]

2. We should get off our addiction to oil and left that whole area go to hell.

Oil wealth has kept horrible people in the Middle East in power for too long.

[FrancisTreptoe]

3. The Saudis are the root of our problems in the middle east

and they need to be cut off. I cannot wait until oil is useless, that country is going to be a worthless and unimportant as it should be.

[TheKentuckian]

4. The Saudis are a pile of evidence that the "War on Terror" is at least 80% bullshit

Pakistan similar.

It is probably more than 80% bull but that gives a picture to build on.

The Saudis suck as horribly as any "mortal" enemy we've ever mocked up but remain a close ally.

How are such glaring exceptions tolerated in the face of what we supposedly stand for and literally go to war for?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. K&R

[Gormy Cuss]

7. And this isn't news.

In "Three Cups of Tea" Greg Mortenson wrote about the Saudi money behind the madrassas in Pakistan.

I'm still waiting to find out what information in the Wikileaks documents has our government so freaked out.

[notadmblnd]

8. That's no secret. The Saudis had a telethon right after 911 to raise money

for the terrorists. Am I the only one that remembers?

[snagglepuss]

9. K & R nt

[keepfreespeechalive]

10. Wikileaks improving US national security

The cables have exposed a lot of unethical behavior (i.e. helping the Bush Six avoid prosecution in Spain), but there is also a side to this that is positive even from the perspective of the CIA. This leak will allow them to step up the pressure on Saudi Arabia.

[leftstreet]

11. K&R

[Poboy]

12. Saudi Gov’t Supported Hijackers; CIA and FBI Face Scathing Critique

9/11 Report: "Incontrovertible Evidence" that Saudi Gov’t Supported Hijackers; CIA and FBI Face Scathing Critique
Amy Goodman


Report findings include: FBI informant housed two of the hijackers; no link existed between Iraq and Al Qaeda; possible Saudi agent directly helped two hijackes; U.S. knew Al Qaeda was considering flying planes into buildings. We speak to former CIA analyst Melvin Goodman, reporter Robert Fisk and Stephen Push whose wife died on Sept. 11.
--

The report also raises more questions about a foreign government’s complicity in the attacks: longtime U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia.

The report finds that the Saudi Arabian government thwarted efforts to prevent the rise of Al-Qaeda and stop attacks as well as provided financial and logistical support to the Saudi-born 9/11 hijackers. 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi Arabian.

Large sections of the report explaining how the Saudis did not cooperate remains classified. The Washington Post reports an entire 28-page section detailing whether Saudi Arabia was somehow implicated in 9/11 is missing. This despite a seven-month campaign by congressional investigators and others to have them made public.

The CIA argued that disclosure of the details could upset relations with a key US ally.
The report goes on to say that Bush was warned in a more specific way than previously known about intelligence suggesting that al Qaeda terrorists were seeking to attack the U.S.
Meanwhile, the White House resisted efforts to pin down Bush’s knowledge of the threats and to catalogue his pre-Sept. 11 counter-terrorism strategy.
Finally the report reveals that U.S. intelligence had no evidence that Iraq or Saddam Hussein had any involvement in the attacks or connection to Al Qaida.

FULL-
http://www.democracynow.org/2003/7/25/9_11_report_incontrovertible_evidence_that

[Bobbieo]

13. Don't forget a Saudi prince is the 2nd largest stockholder in the Fox News Corp.

Just Google it!

[Poboy]

14. .

[hobbit709]

15. and water is wet.

[TexasObserver]

16. Yes, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, not Iraq an Afghanistan.

Nine years of wrong headed wars while embracing the problem states.

[Bluebear]

17. kick