No one will disagree with the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force, a US foreign-policy think tank, on its conclusion that the crackdown on the financial networks of extremist groups has a long way to go before claiming full success. However, the same cannot be said about some of the details. The Kingdom seems to have been marked out for special criticism by the task force. It accuses Saudi officials of "turning a blind eye" to the individuals and charities that have been the most important sources of finance for the Al-Qaeda network.
Coming from a body such as the Council on Foreign Relations, such a broadside is a cause for surprise. It is a body known for its objectivity. The task force’s members are well-acquainted with the region. Their study should have based its conclusions on facts, not on an American wish list.
If only the task force had researched the work of the charity organizations in the Kingdom, it would have found that the government has been monitoring their work in order to ensure that their funds are spent on humanitarian projects and programs approved by the authorities. Detailed procedures to regulate their operations were put in place as far back as 1992 — long before Sept.11, 2001. The US government is fully aware of the kind of work these relief operations undertook during the Afghan liberation war. After the war, these organizations underwent a thorough restructuring. Small organizations operating independently were merged to avoid duplication of work. Strict accounting procedures were enforced to ensure transparency and accountability. Cases of corruption and mismanagement were investigated and corrective measures taken to plug the possibility of its happening again.
After Sept. 11, the United States and the Kingdom cooperated in efforts to check the flow of funds to terrorist networks and to upgrade security measures, with the Kingdom’s business sector, the major donors to charity funds, playing a key role in the initiative. In this, the Kingdom was also fighting its own battle against terrorism, not only America’s. Organizations such as Al-Qaeda are a bigger threat to Saudi Arabia than to the United States.
These facts cannot be unknown to the task force. Then why this criticism?
The reason lies in America’s position that terrorists are those whom it declares as terrorists — and proof be damned. It is not only Saudi Arabia that disagrees with this position. Europe does too, as does most of the world. Their test is: where is the proof? The "widening divide" between Washington and Europe, identified in the task force’s report among the causes of the failure of the crackdown, is over the question of who is a terrorist.
Hezbollah is in the list of America’s terrorist organizations. It is a political party operating legally in Lebanon. That it is ready to challenge Israel’s right to invade Lebanon at will is no reason for Europe or Saudi Arabia to declare it terrorist.
The war against terror is a common cause of all humanity, and it must be fought on the basis of well-defined principles. The first principle is proof — definite, solid evidence such as transfer of money, personal contacts and so on. A declaration, no matter where it comes from, is no proof.
That is, and will remain, the position of Saudi Arabia.
