Posted on 11/24/2002 5:14:41 PM PST by MadIvan
The FBI is investigating whether the Saudi royal family gave funds to two of the al-Qa'eda terrorists who attacked the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Princess Haifa al-Faisal, daughter of the late King Faisal and wife of Prince Bandar, Saudi ambassador to Washington and a friend of the Bush family, sent tens of thousands of dollars to a family linked to a man helping the two hijackers establish themselves in America.
The money, on a list of charitable donations by the princess, is thought to have ended up in the hands of Khalid al-Mindhar and Nawaf al-Hamzi, two of the five al-Qa'eda members who hijacked American Airlines Flight 77.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on September 11 were Saudis, but the Bush administration, which relies on Saudi oil and hopes to use Saudi bases to launch a war against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, has sought to play down Saudi Arabia's links to terrorism.
Proof of September 11 terrorists being funded by the Saudi royal family would boost a £10 trillion legal case brought by 3,000 relatives of victims of the attacks. The lawsuit has strained relations between Washington and Riyadh.
Legal papers filed in August allege that 186 defendants, including foreign banks, Islamic foundations and members of the House of Saud, knowingly aided al-Qa'eda terrorists.
The White House said there was no evidence that Princess Haifa knew the eventual destination of the money, paid in monthly instalments in 2000 to the family of Osama Bassnan, a Saudi citizen whose friend Omar al-Bayoumi helped the hijackers.
Bayoumi was enrolled in a graduate business course at Aston University in Birmingham. He was arrested in Britain after September 11 and records of telephone calls to diplomats at the Saudi embassy in Washington were found, but he was released without charge after a week.
He was charged with visa fraud in America, but this is not an extraditable offence and he is thought to have returned to Saudi Arabia.
"While you have an ongoing investigation, it's important not to rush to judgment," said Sean McCormack, the US National Security Council spokesman. "They [the FBI] have in fact received some co-operation from the Saudis on this investigation."
Adel al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, said the notion that the princess had aided terrorists was "crazy".
Saudi Arabia "will be merciless against people in the war on terrorism", he said, adding: "Princess Haifa is a very generous woman . . . she donates large amounts of money to charities." The money was said to have been given to the Bassnan family to help pay medical costs.
There have been persistent allegations in Washington that Saudi Arabia helps to foster extreme Islamic fundamentalism. "The Saudi royal family has been engaged in a Faustian bargain for years to keep themselves in power," said Senator John McCain yesterday.
The cheques to Osama Bassnan and his wife were issued from the princess's account at Riggs Bank in Washington. The couple were deported to Saudi Arabia and Jordan respectively recently for visa violations.
There's a pretty good book that touches on this theme. It's called "The Forgotten Soldier" by Guy Sajer. He was a French conscript and just a boy really. He lived through some hellish moments on the Russian Front. It's a pretty good read and interesting in that the perspective is that of a soldier on the other side.
I'd recommend it for all you WWII buffs and even to those who are not.
There was a lot of talk about this for a few days, but then the story "went down the memory hole". It is my opinion that the activity was traced to people who could not be touched -- ie, that members of the Saudi Royal Family knew about it, and decided to cash in
Saudi Arabia could be taken right after Iraq.
Exactly as I thought. They are attacking, and in this case they are following the advice of The Possum, who yesterday on Fox said the Rats should attack from the right on the war. Next thing you know, Hillary will be on TV saying the Bush military budget is too low.
I know I am right about this. Not an hour ago Fox had Schumer on making a statement that the Saudis were getting a "free pass" from the Bush Administration.
I would how many donations the Opecker Princes have given Schumer over the years?
Exactly as I thought. They are attacking, and in this case they are following the advice of The Possum, who yesterday on Fox said the Rats should attack from the right on the war. Next thing you know, Hillary will be on TV saying the Bush military budget is too low.
Of course this will backfire into their faces like all the other dumping attempts they have made into the wind while facing the strong wind.
Whose to say that GW, your stealth president, hasn't leaked this Saudi Data to these rats, knowing that they would pick it up and run with it.
So a few months down the road after Iraq, Iran and Syria have been cleansed of Islamofascists/kazis, GW can then order the job to be finished in Saudi Arabia.
Then, what can the left wing NY Slimes and other left wing mediots say when they and their beloved Rat Senators have disclosing for months the treachery of the Saudis.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on September 11 were Saudis, but the Bush administration, which relies on Saudi oil and hopes to use Saudi bases to launch a war against Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq, has sought to play down Saudi Arabia's links to terrorism.
It sounds like the author is saying that the Bush admin is directly responsible for our reliance on Saudi oil, as if this same dependency didn't exist under Clinton, but only began under Bush.
Our country relies on Saudi oil mainly because of the environmentalist. I think it is time our nation decides to go after the oil in our own country. I am so tired of the liberals blaming the whole oil crises on SUVs and Republicans.
I wish Bush would use this as an opportunity to bring up the need for less dependency on foreign oil by extracting our own natural oil resources.
I gotta agree. I feel like something is "fishy" when I find myself agreeing with McCain and Lieberman.
No...They are not our friends....They are run by a weak and conniving royal family that finds itself in danger from religious fanatics should they become friendly to the west.....So instead, they are complicit in funding terrorism.
Perhaps the US and England should just ignore the pathetic UN, invade and take them over, letting the "royals" each be given 72 virgins in this life, taking away any governing power and thus solve a major portion of the problem?
The only positive thing they do is vary oil producation to keep world supply relatively stable as other producers increase or decrease supply.
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