Author: N K Pant
Publication: Organiser
Date: September 8, 2002
As America and the rest of the
world prepare to pay homage to more than three thousand victims who died
in the global. terror's worst holocaust on September 11, 2001, it is worthwhile
doing Borne introspection and to seek answer to the question--why did such
a ghastly thing happen? The massive destruction was masterminded by Saudi
Arabia born Osama bin Laden, supreme head of the hardcore Islamic terrorist
organisation Al Qaeda which was financed mostly by Islamic charities. Although
the group was headquartered in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, it had its covert
vicious network spread all over the globe. Had it been not so, Osama bin
Laden, now suspected to be hiding in Pakistan, would not have been able
to sponsor such terrible attacks on World Trade Center (WTC) and Pentagon.
The shroud over the funding mystery
of international terror cult seems to be gradually lifting as its so far
faceless sponsors are in the process of getting exposed. Now it turns out
that the families of six hundred people killed in the last 'year's September
11 attacks have filed a suit in a US district court on August 15 against
the Saudi royal family, besides banks linked to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
accusing them of financing international terrorism. The affected blood
relations have sought huge damages totaling to whopping $3 trillion alleging
that terrorists like Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network could not
have planned, trained or executed such a massive destructive act without
significant financial power, coordination and backing. The lawsuit is likely
to throw light on the financing of terrorism and force the concerned nations
to act against it.
Three members of Saudi royalty--Prince
Turki al Faisal al Saud, former chief of the Islamic kingdom's intelligence,
Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, defence and aviation minister and
Muhammad al Faisal al Saud, a business magnate-- have been named as defendants
in the legal case which reportedly seeks to link these royal notables holding
key positions in the government to funding of the Al Qaeda and Osama bin
Laden, the key perpetrator of the horrendous crime against humanity. In
addition, there are seven banks and eight charitable groups, including
Pakistan-based Rabita Trust that also figured in the legal case. Incidentally,
General Pervez Musharraf, the head of Pakistan's military junta, was patron
of Karachi-based Rabita Trust in his capacity as Islamic theocracy's chief
executive. This amply exposes Islamabad's duplicity in promoting terrorism
across its borders.
In an identical development, a-
French strategic analyst recently prepared a significant report for the
American think-tank Rand Corporation for submission and briefing of the
Pentagon's Defence Policy Board. The report points an accusing finger at
Saudi Arabia of masterminding and executing terrorism in various parts
of the world. Although as an after thought and in the interest of long
standing friendly relations with the oil rich kingdom, the United States
officially disassociated itself with the report. However, it will be rather
difficult to conceal the grains of truth from this laboriously prepared
strategic analysis.
After all, there has to be an affluent
source of funding in addition to a devout desire to disburse it to different
terror groups worldwide for the sake of sustaining their organised bloodbath
in the name of jehad as far as Chechnya, Palestine, Kashmir, Philippines,
Indonesia, Xinjiang and elsewhere. Besides the nineteen terrorists who
hijacked the large airliners and snatched the controls from the pilots
in order to dash them against the intended targets must have received sizeable
funds from somewhere. Incidentally, most of these alleged members of Al
Qaeda were Saudi nationals and must have needed large sums of money for
their long stay in the United States and for undergoing preliminary and
advanced flying training besides getting familiarised with the American
way of life.
As the clandestine Saudi charity
moneybags in the hands of terrorists get exposed, one can discern strains
in Riyadh-Washington relationship. The kingdom is obviously unhappy with
the United States on the revelations of the Rand Corporation report. The
only English newspaper-The Arab Daily, published from Saudi Arabia-has
described the release of the report as an expression of vilification campaign
being carried out against the country by some vested interests in the United
States. Moreover, there have been clamouring calls for a review of more
than half a century old close ties with Washington including the bilateral
strategic alliance. The first reflections of souring relations came to
surface when Riyadh forbade the United States Air Force (USAF) the use
its airbases as launch pads for intended attacks on Iraq.
All said and done, Riyadh will have
to mend its ways and cut off the charity pipelines leading to terrorist
groups. It must be noted that the Saudi Royal family cannot survive for
long without substantial American military presence within the country
as well as the adjoining oil rich Gulf region. Saudi Arabia is not only
surrounded by radical regimes in Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan but
it has also anti-royalty and anti-US resistance groups within the kingdom.
Hence Riyadh will ensure that the relations with the US do not sour beyond
a certain tolerance level.
The point to ponder here is that
it was the US that had fully exploit ed the Islamic sentiments in Saudi
Arabia in 1980s to support the Mujahideen forces financially, physically
and morally to forcibly evict the Soviets from Afghanistan. These Islamic
warriors were raised with Pakistani ISI's help and billions of dollars
of US arms and monetary aid. It was then that the Saudi-born terrorist
Osama bin Laden had with CIA's blessings moved his base from Sudan to Afghanistan.
After the Soviet defeat, the US lost interest in the region leaving the
field open to Pakistani men and Saudi money. Trinidad-born British author
Sir V.S. Naipaul has aptly pointed the finger at the Americans in an article
recently published in The Times, London, saying, "Your biggest enemy is
your great ally--Saudi Arabia-and foot soldiers of terror come from your
other ally--Pakistan."
Truth,, indeed, can never be suppressed
for a very long time. It is in India's interest that the real facts behind
the evil forces of terror are gradually coming to fore but New Delhi which
has been a victim of cross-border terrorism for so long, must not lower
its guard. Officially, the US may continue to call Pakistan an important
ally for its fight against international terrorism but the American public
opinion, as the lawsuit and the Rand Corporation report indicate, is turning'
against the official version. As Al Qaeda fugitives regroup with liberal
charitable grants from the exposed sources in weakly governed Pakistan,
there are ample chances that the US may turn its screws on this nuclear-armed
nation,' nursing jehadi mindset besides pressurizing Saudi Arabia to stop
the flow of Islamic charities into the volatile region.
