Warning from GAO: Little Evidence of Progress in Fight Against Extremism in Saudi Arabia

By Evan Kohlmann

Last month, the GAO issued a new report on the efforts of U.S. government agencies "to address Islamic extremism."  Two of the specific tasks allocated to the GAO as part of this report were to determine "what efforts the Saudi government has taken to address Islamic extremism." and "what U.S. agencies and other entities have reported regarding support and funding for the global propagation of Islamic extremism, particularly any provided by Saudi sources."

Though the GAO report was essentially buried in the media, there are important and worrying conclusions contained therein, especially when compared with the shrill claims of "significant progress" trumpeted by leaders of the Saudi regime in their local battle against religious militants.  The report notes the following:

"The Saudi government has announced and, in some cases, undertaken some reform efforts to address Islamic extremism... However, U.S. agencies do not know the extent of the Saudi government's efforts to limit the activities of Saudi sources that have allegedly propagated Islamic extremism outside of Saudi Arabia... As of July 2005, agency officials did not know if the government of Saudi Arabia had taken steps to ensure that Saudi-funded curricula or religious activities in other countries do not propagate extremism... [A]ccording to the government of Saudi Arabia, and State and Treasury officials, Saudi Arabia is undertaking a number of charity reforms, including requiring all private Saudi donations marked for international distribution to flow through a new National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad.  However, as of July 2005, this commission was not yet fully operational, according to Treasury... According to State, the government of Saudi Arabia also announced its intentions to close al Haramain Islamic Foundation, but in May 2005, a Treasury official told us it was unclear whether the government of Saudi Arabia had implemented its plans."

Suffice it to say, there is a significant difference between proposing internal reform and actually implementing it.  The "National Commission for Relief and Charity" was supposed to be operational many, many months ago--why have the Saudis failed to live up to their promises?  U.S. regulatory and intelligence agencies must redouble their efforts to determine whether known terrorist financiers hiding in Saudi Arabia have been actually interdicted and prosecuted--or whether it is business as usual in the Kingdom of al-Saud. 

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