Posted on 08/18/2002 12:59:14 PM PDT by GeneD
RIYADH (Reuters) - Several Saudi banks and Islamic charities named in a lawsuit by families of Sept. 11 victims vehemently denied Sunday any role in funding terrorism and blasted the case as an attempt to extort Saudi wealth abroad.
The suit has sparked rare calls by commentators and newspapers in the kingdom to review traditionally strong Saudi-U.S. ties. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment officially.
Offended that the lawsuit named members of the royal family, including Defense Minister Prince Sultan -- the third highest official in the kingdom -- many Saudis accused Washington of putting pressure on the Gulf Arab state to make it conform with U.S. policies on Iraq and the Middle East.
In a civil suit filed in a Washington court Thursday, relatives of some 900 people killed in the attacks by hijacked jets accused three senior Saudi princes, several Saudi and other foreign banks and Sudan's government of funding Osama bin Laden, the prime U.S. suspect in the attacks.
The lawsuit seeks damages of over $100 trillion.
"This is an act to extort Saudi money deposited in the United States and a way of meddling in the region," an official at Al Rajhi Investment and Development Corp, one of several Saudi banks named in the lawsuit, told Reuters by telephone.
Officials at the banks involved said they were mulling a response but would not act or issue statements before consulting with government authorities in the conservative kingdom.
Some commentators in Saudi newspapers, which reflect government thinking, blasted the lawsuit as part of a wider campaign against the kingdom and called for a review of ties.
Khaled al-Dakheel, writing in London-based al-Hayat daily, seconded a call by al-Riyadh daily "that Saudi-U.S. strategic relations are at the forefront of ties that need reviewing."
He said a U.S. media campaign launched against the kingdom after the September attacks, in which 15 Saudis were named among the 19 hijackers, was being fed not only by commentators but also by officials and decision makers in the administration.
Saudi and U.S. officials have gone to great lengths to stress that relations between the two countries remain strong.
UNACCEPTABLE ACCUSATIONS
Some Muslim charities based in the kingdom, birthplace of Islam, dismissed the lawsuit as "political maneuvering."
"We have no links to (terrorism)," said Sheikh Ali al-Juraiss, general manager of the Muslim World League, which was named along with the International Islamic Relief Organization and Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation.
"We do charity work to help the poor and needy without distributing money," he said. "I believe this is an extension of the campaign against Saudi Arabia, which has no logical basis."
Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation General Manager Aqeel al-Aqeel said the campaign was aimed at the Muslim world. "They hope by doing this that they will pressure the Islamic world into accepting an attack on Iraq," he told Reuters.
He said Muslim charities named in the lawsuit planned to hold a meeting soon in Cairo to discuss a plan of action.
The lawsuit alleged that Saudi money has "for years been funneled to encourage radical anti-Americanism as well as to fund the al Qaeda terrorists." It said Prince Sultan and former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal were implicated.
"Naming Prince Sultan is the equivalent of saying J. Edgar Hoover was a communist spy," said economist Bishr Bakheet. "It is unacceptable for Saudis that such individuals be probed."
"Assuming the court proceeds with this lawsuit, the Saudi investment community, already in shock, will start withdrawing their money," he said. "People are really going to walk out."
Saudi investments in the United States are put at $750 billion.
Relations between the oil superpower and Washington have been strained since the attacks and by Riyadh's refusal to allow Washington to use its territory to attack Iraq. Saudi Arabia has also repeatedly criticized perceived pro-Israel U.S. bias.
... many Saudis accused Washington of putting pressure on the Gulf Arab state to make it conform with U.S. policies on Iraq and the Middle East ...The lawsuit is a civil action. Not a state action. How odd that our Saudi friends cannot understand the distinction.
Same thing OBL has done to them. Must be tough getting squeezed from both sides...
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