(FrontPageMagazine) Rachel Ehrenfeld - The National Intelligence Reform Act, passed in December 2004, requires the development of a presidential strategy for confronting Islamic extremism in collaboration with Saudi Arabia. So far, according to the September Government Accounting Office (GAO) report on the subject, U.S. agencies have been unable to determine the extent of Saudi Arabia's domestic and international cooperation to end radical Islamist propaganda. Indeed, the evidence suggests that the Saudis have done precious little to comply. Furthermore, the Saudis are continuing to fund terrorist activities as evident from the August capture of Y'akub Abu Assab, a senior Hamas operative who with Saudi money opened a Hamas communication center in eastern Jerusalem. Assab transferred hundred of thousands of dollars from Hamas headquarters in Saudi Arabia to Jerusalem, and from there, following instructions he received from Saudi Arabia, he distributed operational instructions and funding for Hamas activities in the West Bank and Gaza. and gave money to families of suicide bombers. Under U.S. pressure, Saudi Arabia declared repeatedly that it would close some of the charities that have been identified as spreading Wahhabism and funding terrorism. However, the September GAO report notes that: "in May 2005, a Treasury official told us it was unclear whether the government of Saudi Arabia had implemented its plans." As for the Saudi promise to establish a new National Commission for Relief and Charity Work Abroad, the GAO said: "as of July 2005, this commission was not yet fully operational."
2005-10-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive