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White House defends FBI probe into Saudi links to 9/11
The White House on Saturday defended the FBI's handling of a diplomatically sensitive investigation into reports that Saudi Arabia provided money that helped support two of the Sept. 11 hijackers. In its defense of the FBI, the Bush administration also denied another contention of some lawmakers â that the bureau has not done enough to examine fully the financing of the 19 hijackers, 15 of whom were Saudi citizens. If I was handling the investigation, that's where I'd have started. If they didn't, whoever's handling the investigation needs to think about a rewarding career in the fast food industry â they don't have any aptitude for intel, police work, or doing crossword puzzles. Members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, which are conducting a joint inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks, expressed misgivings about the FBI investigation. Lawmakers believe the bureau has not examined vigorously the prospect that the Saudi government might have given money to two men who provided financial help to hijackers Khalif al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. The killers' bank and credit card accounts are the keys to their support networks. Money isn't handed over in the U.S. of A. anymore â the green stuff is virtually always the result of an electronic transaction. A spokesman for the Saudi embassy said the allegations that the wife of the Saudi ambassador supported terrorists are "untrue and irresponsible." Nail al-Jubeir, the spokesman, said Princess Haifa al-Faisal is fully cooperating with the FBI. "She wants her name cleared," al-Jubeir said. I expect "urgent personal business" to call her back to Soddy Arabia when the evidence becomes too incriminating. But she's probably not the real finance guy, more likely just a near-untouchable front. The worst that could happen to her would be to be PNG'd, and even that's a near-impossibility unless we break diplomatic relations with the Soddies... Questions about the investigation could become troublesome for the Bush administration, which is seeking the Saudis' help for a possible military campaign against their neighbor, Iraq. Saudi Arabia has been noncommittal, torn between its friendship with the United States and anti-war sentiment among the Arabs. That's likely why this deal hasn't been given any public play at all by the Bushoisie. Even though it gives me great satisfaction personally to see more evidence against the real Bad Guys come out, having it come out now is jiggling the President's elbow, rather than actually accomplishing anything. All this stuff should have been classified, with a release date about 20 years from now, when it'll be of historical interest. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2002-11-24 |
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