WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Crown Prince Abdullah's Foreign
Affairs Adviser Adel Al-Jubeir today took strong exception to statements made
by Senator Bob Graham on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer on Sunday in
which the Senator alleged that it is a "... fact that the Saudi Arabians are
providing much of the financing for the insurgents in Iraq ..." and that Saudi
Arabia "... is a country which was a disingenuous ally during September 11,
[that] has continued to take steps that are adverse to our interests in Iraq,
Afghanistan and other places around the world."
Mr. Al-Jubeir had the following response to the Senator's comments:
"Senator Graham has had a distorted view of the Kingdom's role in the war
on terrorism for some time now, and it is becoming increasingly evident that
he refuses to acknowledge reality when it is so clearly before him. First, he
chaired a Congressional inquiry into the 9-11 events, which was characterized
by grandstanding and theatrics rather than reality and fact. Then, when the
findings of that inquiry relating to Saudi Arabia were debunked by the 9-11
Commission this past summer, he did nothing to correct the record or
acknowledge lapses in his inquiry's investigation. Instead, he went further,
and published a book re-hashing the same arguments already discredited by the
9-11 Commission. These are not the actions of a true statesman, but the
irresponsible actions of a person seeking political gain at the expense of the
truth. At a time when the civilized world is looking for ways to confront
evil threatening its citizens, politics should be cast aside, and hands joined
together to defeat evil.
"The truth is that the Kingdom is fighting terrorists, those who support
them and those who condone their actions. We do so with vigor because they
represent a threat to our citizens and residents. The Kingdom has arrested
hundreds of suspects, questioned thousands of others, killed or captured Al-
Qaeda members, seized arms caches, and regulated its charities and financial
system to ensure that no evil-doers can take advantage of the generosity of
our citizens or abuse our financial systems. These new regulations have been
attested to by the G-8's Financial Action Task Force.
"We have also gone after those who incite violence, whether in the Kingdom
or in Iraq. We have no choice but to act, because anyone who incites or funds
or undertakes violence in Iraq is likely to do so in the Kingdom. And we
cooperate closely with a number of countries, including the U.S., in this
area. The steps we have taken were made public, and the U.S. and other
governments are fully aware of them. But apparently not Senator Graham, who
continues to make outlandish and unsubstantiated allegations about Saudi
Arabia.
"With regard to Afghanistan, the Kingdom is proud of the role it has
provided in supporting the unity and reconstruction of the war-ravaged country
by providing one of the largest humanitarian assistance programs by donor
countries, including material assistance to the Afghan people, and loans and
grants to the Afghan government, to ease the suffering of its people. If
alleviating the suffering of the innocent Afghan people and supporting the
emergence of a viable Afghan government is regarded as adverse to American
interests, when America is encouraging other nations to do the same, then
Senator Graham must be out of touch with the reality of his nation's foreign
policy priorities.
"Senator Graham's distinguished history as a Governor and a Senator leads
me to believe that he is motivated by election year politics, and not by
beliefs which are clearly wrong."
This press release is distributed by Qorvis Communications, LLC on behalf
of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Additional information is available at
the Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.
SOURCE Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information Office
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Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Information
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