Iraq's National Security Advisor: Most Al-Qaida Suicide Bombers are Saudi Nationals Crossing Through Syria

By Evan Kohlmann

In a meeting with journalists in Cairo, Iraq's National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubaie confirmed there is not "the least doubt that nine out of 10 of the suicide bombers who carry out suicide bombing operations among Iraqi citizens ... are Arabs who have crossed the border with Syria... Most of those that blow themselves up in Iraq are Saudi nationals."  Al-Rubaie's comments seem to further undermine the shaky conclusions presented by Anthony Cordesman and Nawaf Obeid in their recent CSIS report on the role of Saudi fighters in Iraq. 

Separately, in a visit to neighboring Jordan, Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi made similar comments to reporters:

�We have more than 450 detainees who came from different Arab and Muslim countries to train in Syria and enter with their booby-trapped vehicles into Iraq to bring destruction and killings... Let me tell the Syrians that if the Iraqi volcano explodes, no neighboring capital will be saved... Iraq is bordering several countries, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, but why is it only the Syrian borders that I have complained more than once about?"

See also:
June 2005: Saudis Dominant Among Foreign Fighters in Iraq
June 2005: Zarqawi Announces "Martyrdom" of Top Saudi Al-Qaida Leader in Al-Qaim, Iraq
July 2005: Profiles of Saudi Islamic Militants Killed in Iraq: 2004-2005
August 2005: Saudi Al-Qaida Members Reported Killed in Iraq
August 2005: The Road Through Syria to Jihad in Iraq

UPDATE (11-14-05, 9:15 am EST): Gulfnews is reporting new comments made today by Saudi Interior Prince Nayif concerning Saudi foreign fighters in Iraq:

"Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz has called on all countries who have forces in Iraq to hand over any Saudis who went there to take part in the insurgency or commit suicide bombings.  In a press conference in Al Baha region, he also called on Iran and Syria to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in this respect...'We will take all matters into consideration and will minimise the number of Saudis leaving for Iraq,' he said.  He added that Saudi Arabia could not control the whole situation as there are some Saudi citizens who leave for other countries and may go from there to Iraq."

Some basic suggestions for Prince Nayif:
1.) Stop allowing young, male Saudi nationals who have never left home before from buying one-way airline tickets to Damascus, Syria without first being questioned by law enforcement.
2.) Urge Saudi Muslim clerics like Salman al-Awdah and Safar al-Hawali to issue a new fatwah reversing their previous ruling that judged the war in Iraq to be an authentic jihad mandating the participation of all able-bodied Muslims from across the Middle East.  Dozens of Saudi foreign fighters in Iraq have cited that fatwah as a prime motivating factor in their decision to join Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
3.) Carefully monitor the flow of money from individual Saudi donors and religious charities like the World Assembly for Muslim Youth (WAMY) to ensure that humanitarian efforts in Iraq are not being used as a cover for extreme Salafists and anti-U.S. militants.
4.) Cease and desist attempts by Saudi intelligence services to cover up the phenomenon of Saudi foreign fighters in Iraq by forcing the families of suicide bombers and other "martyrs" into silence.  Simply hushing up the problem does not make it go away.

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