Saudi Arabia remains the world’s leading source
of funds for al-Qaida and other extremist groups, according to the Bush
administration’s top financial counter-terrorism official.
Treasury undersecretary, Stuart Levey told the Senate Finance Committee that the Saudi
government has not taken sufficient steps to stem the flow of money to terrorist
organizations or to bar wealthy citizens from funding extremism through charitable
contributions.
Stuart A. Levey, a Treasury undersecretary, told a Senate committee that the Saudi
government had not taken important steps to go after those who finance terrorist
organizations or to prevent wealthy donors from bankrolling extremism through charitable
contributions, sometimes unwittingly.
"Saudi Arabia today remains the location where more money is going to
terrorism, to Sunni terror groups and to the Taliban than any other place in the
world," Levey said under questioning.
U.S. officials have previously identified Saudi Arabia as a major source of funding for
extremism. But Levey's comments were notable because, although reluctant to directly
criticize a close U.S. ally, he acknowledged frustration with administration efforts to
persuade the Saudis and others to act.
"We continue to face significant challenges as we move forward with these efforts,
including fostering and maintaining the political will among other governments to take
effective and consistent action," Levey said, later adding: "Our work is not
nearly complete."
Levey was the sole witness before the Senate Finance Committee, which Tuesday ordered an
independent review of the efforts to choke off financing used by Al Qaeda and other
extremist groups.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the committee chairman, announced the review at the end of the
hearing held to assess the money-tracking campaign by Treasury's Office of Terrorism and
Financial Intelligence, headed by Levey.
The Bush administration created the office in 2004 to spearhead efforts to disrupt the
flow of money to extremist causes, primarily from wealthy donors in Saudi Arabia and
elsewhere in the Persian Gulf.
However, U.S. officials and counter-terrorism experts have said that international support
for the effort has waned while terrorist groups have found ways around the financial
restrictions. At the same time, there have been turf battles among the 19 federal agencies
that work on the problem.
Senators praised work done by Levey but expressed concerns about the overall U.S. effort.
The committee's Democratic and Republican leaders cited a Los Angeles Times report last
week detailing problems undermining the effort.
Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican, said extremist groups had
adapted to changing U.S. investigative methods: "We are simply not prepared right now
to keep up with them and put them out of business once and for all."
Levey said the campaign has succeeded in disrupting terrorist financing by freezing
suspicious assets and in gathering intelligence that could be used to identify extremists
and disrupt their activities.
But under questioning by senators, Levey also spoke of difficulty in getting Saudi Arabia
to take the steps U.S. officials consider necessary.
Levey said the Saudis had been aggressive in going after terrorist cells. But he said they
had not lived up to promises to establish the kind of financial intelligence unit needed
to trace the money trails of terrorists. Another problem is that the Saudi government has
not set up a charity oversight commission to track whether donations end up in the hands
of extremists.
Levey said the Saudi government has not moved to publicly hold accountable those within
the kingdom who have been the subject of enforcement actions by the U.S. and other
authorities.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the Saudi failures mean that Americans who pay more than $100
a barrel for oil are in effect bankrolling extremism because wealthy Saudis
"back-door" their profits into charities that fund extremist causes.
Nail Jubeir, press attache for the Saudi embassy in Washington, dismissed those concerns,
saying the Bush administration has repeatedly praised Saudi Arabia for its efforts to
combat terrorism.
"We have been very vigilant in our campaign against terrorism financing," Jubeir
said. "We have come a long way since 9/11 on this issue."
Jubeir confirmed that Saudi Arabia has not set up the financial intelligence unit or
charity commission, but said it was cracking down on the financiers of terrorism in other
ways, such as making it illegal for anyone to send money outside the kingdom "without
going through official government channels."
Alleged financiers of terrorism identified by the United States are being investigated,
and their assets have been frozen, Jubeir said. "But unless we have evidence to try
them . . . we don't parade them in public," he said. "What if it turns out they
are innocent?"
At the hearing, senators also expressed concern about disputes among U.S. agencies and
other administrative and investigative functions of Levey's office. Baucus and Grassley
asked that the Government Accountability Office review its internal efficiency and
effectiveness as well as its cooperation with foreign governments.
Levey said he had not seen the request from Baucus and Grassley, but added: "We
welcome any source of advice as to how we can improve." |
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