Saudi Arabia and Terrorism

[HandyPandy]

Nice to see the media attention has been directed to Saudi Arabia.


Saudis Still Filling Al Qaeda's Coffers

Despite six years of promises, U.S. officials say Saudi Arabia continues to look the other way at wealthy individuals identified as sending millions of dollars to al Qaeda.

"If I could somehow snap my fingers and cut off the funding from one country, it would be Saudi Arabia," Stuart Levey, the under secretary of the Treasury in charge of tracking terror financing, told ABC News.

Not one person identified by the United States and the United Nations as a terror financier has been prosecuted by the Saudis, Levey says.
://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/...dis-still.html
Full Story here: http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/us-saudis-still.html


This just confirms what Robert Baer ( 21 years in CIA in Middle East ) says in his book: Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude by Robert Baer http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Devil...9624255&sr=1-1

"According to Robert Baer, the center of the global economy is a "kingdom built on thievery, one that nurtures terrorism, destroys any possibility of a middle class based on property rights, and promotes slavery and prostitution." This kingdom also sits on one quarter of the world's oil reserves, thus ensuring that it receives the full support and protection of the U.S. government. Sleeping With the Devil details the hypocritical and corrupt relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and the potentially calamitous economic consequences of maintaining this Faustian bargain. "

[rand0m]

Arn't the 'friends' in Saudi Arabia the sever minority that siphon all the wealth of the country into their own pockets, and the ones supporting Al Qaeda the majority that have not money or prospects?

[HandyPandy]

how do u support al-qaida when u have no money? there is a civil war in saudi arabia by the poor against the 10% of the rich. but its the rich that give financial support to AQ. and have you noticed how Al-Qaida dont operate inside saudi arabia but in other countries?

[rand0m]

how do u support al-qaida when u have no money?

Urm ... you go and fight for them ...?

there is a civil war in saudi arabia by the poor against the 10% of the rich. but its the rich that give financial support to AQ.

I don't know about that, its more them spending their money to spread their extremist islamic values in other countries.

and have you noticed how Al-Qaida dont operate inside saudi arabia but in other countries?

Maybe because they are an Islamic country, run under Sharia Law, full of Muslims? Well Al-Qaida do attack foreigners there ... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgency_in_Saudi_Arabia)

I think its more the government abusing its people and forcing them into extremism.

http://www.cfr.org/publication.html?id=7740

How much support does al Qaeda have in Saudi Arabia?

No one knows. But many experts worry that a large group of young, disaffected Saudis is ripe for recruitment. According to the United Nations, 39 percent of the population is under the age of fifteen. Economic prospects are bleak. In 1980, Saudi gross domestic product was $15,500 per capita, $2,500 more than the comparable U.S. figure. Now, it's closer to $7,500, almost $25,000 less than the U.S. amount. Job creation has not kept pace with the growing population, and Saudi Arabia's education system produces many graduates steeped in conservative Islam and ill-equipped to work in a modern, globalized economy. The result: an undercurrent of discontent that al Qaeda feeds upon, Ranstorp says.