It's not just iraq

[Guest DrTom]

Documents: Saudis Paid Bombers' Families

Friday, April 26, 2002

Foxnews.com

 

 

WEST BANK — The Saudi Arabian government paid more than $5,000 each to families of suicide bombers and other Palestinians killed in the terror campaign against Israel, according to documents obtained by Fox News.

 

The documents, discovered by Israeli intelligence officers, contain a list of 102 deceased Palestinians whose families have each been paid 20,000 Saudi riyals — the equivalent of $5,340 — by the Saudi Interior Ministry.

 

The names on the list were of suicide bombers and Palestinian commanders who had been killed in attacks against Israeli targets. It included the names of some of the highest-profile bombers who have been killed in recent attacks, among them children and women.

 

The documents, if genuine, contradict the Saudi government’s consistent claim that it does not directly pay suicide bombers’ families. The Saudis have repeatedly insisted the money they send the Palestinians goes to rebuilding areas damaged or destroyed by Israeli forces operating in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

 

Israeli troops found the Saudi Interior Ministry documents when they raided Palestinian offices as part of their ongoing operations in the West Bank.

 

A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy, who was traveling with Crown Prince Abdullah in Texas following his meeting Thursday with President Bush, said he could not comment on the documents because he had not seen them.

 

But he repeated claims the Saudis "don’t pay suicide bombers." He criticized what he said was Israel’s attempt to link fundraising for Palestinians to suicide bombers, calling it "a disgrace."

 

The spokesman also said the story about the documents was Israel's way of trying to undermine the Bush-Abdullah talks.

 

Bush administration officials did not dispute the report, but noted the Saudis had said repeatedly they did not give money to the bombers’ families.

 

"The Saudis have assured us that they don’t want the money going to support violence," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Friday. He added that the Saudis had promised the funds would only go to "legitimate charities" in the Palestinian areas.

 

Earlier in the week, U.S. officials seemed more skeptical. Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate panel on Wednesday there were indications some of the $100 million collected in a Saudi telethon may have gone to elements of the Islamic military Hamas organization.

 

"There are troubling aspects as to how that telethon money would be distributed," Powell said. He said he would raise the telethon issue with Saudi officials.

[Guest Some Guy]

I've thought all along that we shouldn't trust any of the Arab countries, and now it appears that I'm right.  They're so consumed with their hatred of Jews and America that they can't be trusted.

[Guest Invader3k]

It's time we invade these countries and bring them out of the dark ages, plus we'd get cheap gasoline to boot.

[Guest DragonflyKid]

If Saudi Arabi is guilty of paying off the families of bombers I curious as to what the U.S. response will be. The Arab countries may be consumed by their hate of America and Jews but the US is consumed by oil at reasonable prices, so I don't see the U.S./Saudi relationship being affected too much by this.

[Guest]

Interestingly, this isn't really news. Richard Cohen specifically mentioned direct payments from the Saudi government (well, he called it a quango of sorts, but anyway) to the families of suicide bombers in an editorial two weeks ago, and he implied it had been common knowledge for something like a year. I'm just surprised there wasn't an immediate outcry back then. Even now, I haven't seen anything about this on CNN... or anywhere else for that matter.

Really, with allies like this - proffering a duplicitous, unworkable "peace plan" with one hand, lighting a fuse with the other - who needs enemies? The only bright side is that we don't need any allies at all. A good thing, too; the British government (as opposed to the people), Israel, and (ironically) Russia seem to be only ones we can rely on to any degree.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

It's time we invade these countries and bring them out of the dark ages, plus we'd get cheap gasoline to boot.

Sounds good. Let's force them to our viewpoints. While we're at it why not just conquer thw whole god damn world because after all we DO know what's right for everybody else.

[Guest Invader3k]

>Sounds good. Let's force them to our viewpoints. While >we're at it why not just conquer thw whole god damn world >because after all we DO know what's right for everybody else.

 

Well, it seems like we know the difference between right and wrong, which most of the Arab world doesn't seem to.

[Guest TheMikeSC]

Quote (Invader3k @ April 27 2002,23:59)

It's time we invade these countries and bring them out of the dark ages, plus we'd get cheap gasoline to boot.

 

Sounds good. Let's force them to our viewpoints. While we're at it why not just conquer thw whole god damn world because after all we DO know what's right for everybody else. >>>

 

 

If the rest of the world will sponsor terrorist homicide bombers---then yes, we do know better what's good for the world.

 

Moral relativism is SUCH a terrible idea.

                    -=Mike

[Guest]

it seems like we know the difference between right and wrong, which most of the Arab world doesn't seem to.

Which is precisely why we won't bomb them merely to bring them around to our viewpoint (although it would work). We'll bomb them if they attack us, or if they get in our way. But we won't bomb them to "bring them out of the dark ages." Improving their societies is their problem, not ours. Rejecting fundamentalism is their duty. We've been kind enough to give them a model. If they can't follow it, too bad.

It isn't our job to convince people who stone women and let children burn to death to live properly. Our armed forces are the best in the world, and their job is not to evangelise the Middle East, or to get tied up in endless "peacekeeping" in Kabul (which even second-rate European nations can do perfectly well. Let them at least pretend to pull their weight). Our armed forces are supposed to defend our country and destroy our enemies. That is their job, and that is what they will do.