Although the Saudis claim to be disrupting the flow of money to al-Qaeda, there is little evidence that they have been successful. That leads me to believe they are really not being too serious in those efforts.
SAUDI ‘CRITICAL’ FINANCE FOR AL-QAEDA
The Straits Times
December 5, 2010
RIYADH - SAUDI Arabia is the key source of funding for radical Islamist groups including Al-Qaeda, the Taleban, Hamas and Lashkar-e- e-Taiba, according to a US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks on Sunday.
'Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide,' said the document, an assessment from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton dated Dec 30, 2009.
'Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al-Qaeda, the Taleban, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, which probably raise millions of dollars annually from Saudi sources, often during Hajj and Ramadan,' the cable said.
It said that the Saudis had made 'significant progress' under US pressure to deal with the issue, especially disrupting Al-Qaeda's sources of money in Saudi Arabia.
However, it added, 'Riyadh has taken only limited action' to interrupt the flow of money to Taleban and LeT-associated groups which have launched attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
The same memo said Gulf states remain important sources of financing for Islamist militant groups, singling out Qatar as 'the worst in the region' in its overall level of cooperation with Washington in 'counter-terror' issues. -- AFP
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