Posted on 01/23/2004 6:34:37 PM PST by mylife
Saudi charity accused of funding militants worldwide
US and Saudi officials say its branches in Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan back Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups
WASHINGTON - The United States and Saudi Arabia have cited four branches of a Saudi-based charity as sources of millions of dollars to Al-Qaeda and the Taleban.
The move against Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation on Thursday is part of an investigation into a worldwide funding network for Islamic militants.
The US Treasury and Saudi officials have called on the United Nations to crack down on the charity's branches in Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan.
They want the UN to freeze the assets of the branches and impose a travel ban and prohibit arms transactions with members of the charity in those countries.
Treasury Secretary John Snow described the citation as a fresh demonstration of a close anti-terrorism partnership between the US and Saudi Arabia.
The Saudis have drawn heavy criticism from members of Congress and Democratic presidential hopefuls for what they say is a failure by the kingdom to curb anti-Western extremism.
The joint move underscored the slow process of collecting enough evidence linking Islamic charities to militants to take action against them.
Al-Haramain continues to operate in about 50 countries, including an American branch in Oregon, officials said, even though it has been under scrutiny since the mid-90s.
It has generated as much as US$50 million (S$84.6 million) a year, although officials are unable to say exactly how much, beyond 'millions', has moved through the branches.
The US had previously taken action against branches in Bosnia and Somalia.
The charity's Saudi headquarters is still in operation, although its director, Aqil al-Aqil, was recently ousted, apparently under government pressure.
Officials note that at least one branch, in Bosnia, was shut down only to resurface under a different name.
An attorney for the Oregon branch said it no longer had any connection to Al-Haramain and said it had consistently opposed Islamic militants but acknowledged that it was currently the subject of a federal tax investigation.
The announcement coincided with a White House effort to show that the Bush administration is making progress in the war on terrorism.
A Treasury statement summarising evidence against the Al-Haramain branches in the four countries said they had 'provided financial, material and logistical support to the Al-Qaeda network and other terrorist organisations'.
It linked the charity to the 2002 nightclub bombing in Bali, the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, a plot developed in Pakistan to carry out 'devastating terrorist operations' in the US, and the shipment of weapons to Chechen rebels.
The charity is also suspected to have links to Jemaah Islamiah and Hamas.
Al-Haramain has another location in the United States. According to the 9/11 complaint, Al-Haramain owns a building in Springfield, Missouri that is home of the Islamic Center of Springfield, which is a mosque.
America's Fifth Column ... watch PBS documentary JIHAD! In America
http://12thman.us/media/jihad.rm (Requires RealPlayer)
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