Saudi Arabia -- Promises, Promises!

By Victor Comras

According to a press report in the June 19th Issue of Arab News, Saudi Maj. Gen Mansour Al-Turki, the Spokesman for Saudi Arabia�s Ministry of Interior announced that �The Interior Ministry is in the final stages of completing the procedures for establishing a department which will track down illegal financial activities.� On its face this looks like good news. But, the problem is that this is the umpteenth time over the last three years that officials have made such an announcement. A look back over the record shows that the Saudi Embassy in Washington has claimed the existence of such a unit since late 2002. Similar annoucements were made in November 2003 and March 2004. Despite these claims US Treasury UnderSecretary Stuart Levey, on May 23, 2005 called Saudi Arabia to task for failing to move ahead with its promised anti-terrorism financing structure. In that speech he said, "For too long, wealthy donors and multinational charities in Saudi Arabia were underwriting terrorism of all kinds, without any meaningful controls. Since 9/11, our government has worked aggressively to press the Saudis to take action against these financiers and to clean up their charitable sector.... We impatiently await the creation of a commission to monitor the charitable sector, and continue to insist that this commission regulate all Saudi charities, without exception of such groups as the Muslim World League and the International Islamic Relief Organization, or "IIRO." Can we hope that this annoucement really presages the establishment of the anti-terrorism financing mechanisms so long promised by Saudi Arabia.

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