WASHINGTON, 2 November — The US State Department has lauded Saudi Arabia for its cooperation in international efforts to stamp out terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday that he was pleased that Riyadh had moved to freeze bank accounts of suspected terrorists and their supporters.
Powell said well-publicized complaints from some in the United States that Saudi Arabia was not cooperating with US efforts were incorrect.
He said Riyadh had complied with every request Washington had made in the fight against terrorists and he commended recent financial steps taken by the Kingdom to block their assets.
"They have now come forward and taken additional action that we had hoped that they would take," Powell told reporters when asked about reports the Saudis had ordered specific bank accounts frozen in response to US requests.
"I am pleased that they have taken that action," he added. "The Saudis have been responsive on all of the things that we have asked them to do."
The State Department also clarified that it did not change rules governing issuance of visas to Saudi citizens following the Sept. 11 tragedy. It denied the charge that the US missions in the Kingdom put forward difficult conditions to Saudi visa applicants.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said consular officers "around the world" had not been instructed to be more careful in their screening of visa applicants as part of the push to improve controls.
According to reports only two of the 104 visa applicants in Jeddah were asked to appear for interview since Sept. 11.
Earlier Wednesday, Boucher confirmed a report in the Washington Post that 15 of the 19 hijack suspects had received their US visas in Saudi Arabia and that some of them had made it through an extensive vetting process.
"We know that 15 of them applied for visas in Saudi Arabia, not sure about the other four at this point," Boucher told reporters at a news briefing.
"All the names (were) checked against our best available information at the time," he said, adding that no flags had been raised during the process.
In addition, at least six of the 15 had been personally interviewed by consular officers before receiving their visas, he said.
He noted that Saudi applicants for US visas can be approved for travel to the United States without an interview.
Department records obtained by the Post showed that 11 of the hijackers were granted visas in Jeddah and four in Riyadh.
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation has not yet determined if these persons had used their proper names or false identities," Saudi Press Agency quoted Boucher as saying.
Powell said his department was moving rapidly with other US agencies as well as foreign governments to make it harder for terrorists to enter the country.
"The big challenge with our visa program right now is the database," Powell told reporters, noting that consular officers at US embassies who approve visas needed as much information about applicants as possible to make their decisions.
