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Friday, July 25, 2003

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi ambassador to the United States, issued a statement describing the country's disappointment, outrage and confusion at the newly released congressional report on 9/11.

"It is unfortunate that false accusations against Saudi Arabia continue to be made by some for political purposes despite the fact that the kingdom has been one of the most active partners in the war on terrorism, as the president and other administration officials have repeatedly and publicly attested," bin Sultan claimed.

He said that since 9/11, Saudi Arabia had questioned more than 1,000 individuals, arrested more than 500 suspects and extradited al-Qaeda members from other countries to face justice.

"It is disappointing that despite everything we are doing, outrageous charges continue," he said. "They are not based in fact and only serve to denigrate Saudi Arabia, which is exactly what bin Laden wanted to accomplish."

Most of the joint congressional report was released Thursday, but parts remain classified, including a section that reportedly discusses Saudi support of the hijackers, most of whom were citizens of Saudi Arabia.

It does say that Omar al-Bayoumi, a student who provided the terrorists with financial help, "had access to seemingly unlimited funding from Saudi Arabia."

In the report, U.S. government officials complained of a lack of Saudi cooperation. Except for the Treasury Department's general counsel, none of them are identified.

"According to a U.S. government official, it was clear from about 1996 that the Saudi government would not cooperate with the United States on matters related to Osama bin Laden," the report says.

Former Clinton FBI Director Louis Freeh, however, testified that the FBI forged an "effective working relationship" with the Saudis after the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. The Bush administration has recently praised Saudi efforts to capture al-Qaeda terrorists after the bombings of Riyadh housing compounds in May.

"For whatever reason, there is an attempt here to conceal evidence that implicates the Saudi regime in a terrible tragedy, a tragedy that claimed the lives of over 3000 Americans and put hundreds of thousands of troops in harm's way by leading us into two wars," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Thursday.

"I remain deeply disturbed by the amount of material that has been censored from this report," said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., who was chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee during the inquiry and who is seeking the Democrats' presidential nomination.

The Saudi ambassador said such charges were made for political reasons.

Reuters on Friday quoted an anonymous Saudi official as saying: "It is individuals with grudges against their own government. They are running for elections. Most of the comments are from Democrats running for elections, and we're an easy target for them."

Copyright 2003 by United Press International.

All rights reserved.

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Editor's note:
"CATASTROPHE" Reveals Bill Clinton’s Role in 9/11 - Click Here to find out more