It's time to go after Saudi Arabia!

[Sparrowhawk]

For years we have known that Saudi Arabia has been financing terrorism around the world. We have not gone after them because the Arab world would unite against us, as would a great many nations because of the oil they possess.

Fear that we would go against such a wealthy nation has led many to the believe that it would lead nations into a global conflict leading toward WWIII.

Well, WWIII has already begun. It was started on September 11; it just hasn't matured to that point yet.


We can no longer allow the Saudis terrorist exception because of their wealth and their oil.

The following story is just another example of Saudi involvement in the 9-11 attack agaisnt America.

[Sparrowhawk]

Terror Probe Follows the Money

Investigators Say Bank Records
Link a Saudi Investor to al Qaeda
By GLENN R. SIMPSON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
April 2, 2004; Page A4

WASHINGTON -- For two and a half years, terrorism investigators have scoured the globe for evidence of where exactly al Qaeda has acquired its funds. Not long ago, they made what could be a milestone discovery.

From January 1998 through August 1998, bank records show, a Saudi investor named Yassin Qadi transferred $1.25 million from his Geneva bank account through an associate to an alleged al Qaeda front company in Turkey, known as Maram.

Even before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Qadi, like some other wealthy Saudis, faced questions about whether his prolific charitable endeavors funded terrorism. But the 1998 transaction, never disclosed publicly before, marks the strongest documented link to date between the terror organization and Saudi financiers, who combine their great wealth with support for radical Islam.

Because it connects Mr. Qadi directly to alleged al Qaeda terrorists, the Maram connection "has the potential to be extremely significant," said former National Security Council aide William Wechsler, an expert on terror financing.

Despite many outsiders' suspicions, Saudi financiers long avoided scrutiny by their own monarchy, which used its strong ties to the U.S. to help shield them. Even today, after their own country has been attacked by al Qaeda and many Islamic charities have been exposed as fronts for terrorism, many devout Saudis take great offense at the global effort to restrain and regulate their charitable undertakings. The trail that Mr. Qadi's money took after it reached Turkey underscores just how blurry the line is between funding charity and funding jihad.

Of the 1998 transactions, Mr. Qadi's lawyers insist his gifts were meant merely to help the worthy cause of religious education -- in this case, an Islamic school in Yemen -- not to buy arms. However, the school itself has come under scrutiny partly because it is run by an alleged associate of Osama bin Laden. Its most famous alumnus is John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban who is serving a 20-year sentence.

Mr. Qadi's lawyers say his donations originally were made to a personal friend and business associate whom the U.S. accuses of being an alleged al Qaeda operative. The funds, records show, were then transferred to Maram, a Turkish travel and trading firm.

Mr. Qadi's lawyers have collected extensive documentation indicating that the funds donated by Mr. Qadi were used to construct housing for the religious school in Yemen. To address questions about the contribution, they made available records of the original transfers and a stack of invoices and other records supporting Mr. Qadi's claim that Maram spent more than $1 million building the school in Yemen during that period.

Mr. Qadi, a pillar of the business establishment in the Saudi financial center of Jeddah, was designated a supporter of terrorism by the U.S. Treasury Department in October 2001 for his support of an Islamic charity the U.S. called "an al-Qaeda front." The move froze his assets. In numerous interviews, he has vigorously protested the terrorist label.

The Islamic financier has launched a major litigation effort to clear himself in a confidential proceeding at the Treasury Department. In voluminous filings, he has insisted that the designation is a mistake, his lawyers say. They predict he will be cleared.

In Luxembourg, Mr. Qadi has brought a case in the Court of Justice of the European Community to lift the freeze on his assets in that jurisdiction. "In all my individual, business and charitable activities, I have never supported, nor have I intended to support in any manner whatsoever, Osama bin Laden or al Qaeda," Mr. Qadi said in a statement in October.

Maram was founded in December 1996 as an Istanbul travel agency by Mamduh Salim, who is now in U.S. custody and under indictment by the Justice Department as the former chief financial officer of al Qaeda. With another Maram manager, Mr. Salim led an effort by al Qaeda in the 1990s to obtain nuclear and chemical weapons, the Justice Department charges.

From its origin as a travel agency, Maram evolved into a building contractor of sorts. In July 1997, Turkish records show, all of Mr. Salim's shares in Maram were transferred to a Palestinian man named Wael Julaidan and his business partner. Mr. Julaidan is a longtime friend of Mr. Qadi's. The U.S. government has said Mr. Julaidan worked closely with Osama bin Laden in the past, and he too is designated by the Treasury Department as an al Qaeda supporter.

Mr. Julaidan's partner at Maram, Mohamed Bayazid, has long been described as a top al Qaeda leader by the Justice Department. In a 2001 trial in New York federal court of an al Qaeda cell, the government's top al Qaeda witness described how he once went with Mr. Bayazid and Mr. Salim to receive a cylinder of purported uranium.

It was the job of Mr. Bayazid, known by the nom de guerre Abu Rida al Suri, to check the documentation of the uranium, this witness testified. "Abu Rida al Suri looked to his paper and he looked to the cylinder, and after that he say, 'OK, that is good,' " witness Jamal Al Fadl testified.

Mr. Qadi's lawyers say they don't know how Mr. Julaidan came to be in business with Mr. Bayazid, who is listed in Maram documents as the company's chairman. Mr. Julaidan's lawyer in Saudi Arabia didn't respond to requests for comment. Mr. Qadi's lawyers said they also don't know how Mr. Julaidan happened to acquire Maram from Mr. Salim, who is accused by the U.S. of helping direct the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998, killing some 300 people.

The important thing, Mr. Qadi's lawyers say, is that the paper trail indicates his funds went not for weapons but to build low-cost housing for married students at Al Iman University in Sanaa, Yemen.

Al Iman, however, is not a typical college. Its curriculum primarily concerns the study and propagation of radical Islam.

The school was founded by Sheikh Abdul Mejid al Zindani, who also serves as rector. He is the leader of the Yemen chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mr. Zindani fought alongside Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. government. One al Qaeda memorandum from that period, obtained by the Justice Department, reports a discussion between the two men about using the offices of Saudi charity groups in Pakistan to launch attacks.

Mr. Zindani is a U.S.-designated terrorism supporter whom the Treasury Department accuses of "actively recruiting for al Qaeda training camps." According to the U.S. agency, "Al Iman students are suspected of being responsible, and were arrested, for recent terrorist attacks, including the assassination of three American missionaries and the assassination of the number-two leader for the Yemeni Socialist party." Sheikh Zindani, whom the U.S. says is also linked to the terror group Ansar Al Islam, denies any connection to terrorism, according to news reports.

Last week, U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Edmund Hull told a Yemeni paper that the U.S. is "worried about the activities of Iman University, and we are seeking to stop the external funding that al-Zindani receives so that he can stop funding the university and activities that encourage extremism and support terror," according to an AFP report.

In a statement Wednesday, Sheikh Zindani denied the allegations. "We wonder: What right does an ambassador have to issue verdicts concerning a country's internal affairs?" he said. The U.S., he said, is "waging a campaign against all Islamic centers of learning as part of its global war on terror."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Mohammed Salah
Sept. 24, 2001 Courier for the Palestinian group Hamas. The FBI says he received funding from Mr. Qadi.

Wael Julaidan
Sept. 6, 2002 Directed groups that Treasury says "provide financing and logistical support to al Qaeda." Mr. Qadi's lawyers say the two men are longtime friends and business associates.

Ayadi Chafik
Oct. 12, 2001 European director of Muwafaq. Introduced to Mr. Qadi by Wael Julaidan.

Abdul Mejid Al-Zindani
Feb. 24, 2004 Al Qaeda recruiter and supplier. His religious school was funded by Yassin Qadi and Wael Julaidan.



Yassin Qadi (pictured)
Oct. 12, 2001

Directed the Muwafaq charity, which Treasury calls "an al Qaeda front that receives funding from wealthy Saudi businessmen."

[cpl_daley]

I very much agree... Money when used like this I think is just as bad, perhaps worse than WMD's. Saudi Arabia in my opinion is a very corrupt nation, they have earned our trust through control.
I have no problem paying a few more dollars at the pump to make sure these scumbags are removed from the Earth.
Washington D.C. needs to reach down... grab a pair.. and protect this nation

[Sparrowhawk]

This is a costly newspaper I have subscribed to, on a temporary basis. I just thought some of you might enjoy some of the news that is not always available to us, or printed in our liberial press.

Cook


INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY:
Saudi Arabia to call for Opec output cut
By Carola Hoyos in Vienna and Javier Blas in Madrid
Financial Times; Mar 30, 2004



Saudi Arabia tomorrow will insist that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries cuts output despite some members' opposition and high oil prices.

Ali Naimi, Saudia Arabia's energy minister, late yesterday told Felipe Calderón, his Mexican counterpart, that the market looked over-supplied and that the kingdom feared a serious price drop in the coming months if the oil cartel did not act immediately, people close to the meeting said.

People present at the meeting said that they interpreted Mr Naimi's position as being opposed to the idea of some members of postponing the 1m barrel a day reduction in Opec's quota decided in Algiers last month. Saudi Arabia is by far Opec's most influential member and the news of its position, which it has kept quiet in the run-up to the meeting, is likely to send oil prices higher.

Traders had begun selling on the anticipation that Opec would heed the call of some of its members, who had been pushing for a delay of the cut.

Hedge funds and other institutional traders of oil have already begun to liquidate their long positions.

Oil prices fell yesterday, with IPE Brent for May delivery dropping 25 cents to close at $31.74 a barrel in London. The May Nymex WTI contract was down 28 cents to $35.45 a barrel in late afternoon New York trade.

Delegates to tomorrow's meeting warn that a final decision has yet to be reached.

"The meeting is looking more difficult as oil prices are declining following the building up of large stocks in the United States. The fall is causing some concern," said an Opec delegate.

Persuading Opec and non-Opec producers to cut production is being made more difficult by Washington. Fearing that high petrol prices this summer could become a political liability ahead of the presidential elections in November, the administration of President George W. Bush has begun pressing producing countries not to reduce supplies.

Also at the meeting, Saudi Arabia asked Mexico to co-operate with Opec but Mexico said it wanted Opec to act first.

"Mexico's position is they [Opec] have said a lot, but implemented little," said a person with knowledge of the meeting.

He added that Mexico, which is not a member of Opec, had co-operated with Opec in the past five years, though not on the last two occasions the cartel said it would cut output.

Mexico's involvement is important to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Both compete with it to supply oil to the US, the world's largest consumer, and do not want to lose market share to such an important customer.

Saudi Arabia and other Opec members fear a drop in demand for heating oil in the west as spring progresses.

Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter, is trying to keep inventories held by companies in consuming countries as low as possible.

It is a policy that in the past year has narrowed the gap between supply and demand, strengthening Opec's grip on the market.

Angola, Oman and Norway, other key suppliers that have in the past co-operated with Opec, are also unlikely to heed the cartel's call to cut supplies this time.

[Sparrowhawk]

US alarm as Opec cuts 1m barrels
LARRY ELLIOTT ECONOMICS EDITOR
The Guardian - United Kingdom; Apr 01, 2004



The 11-nation Opec oil cartel yesterday spurned America's pleas to curb the highest crude prices in 13 years when it pressed ahead with plans for a cut in output from today.

Despite seeing crude rise to more than $38 a barrel in New York on Tuesday, Opec prompted alarm in the White House when it expressed determination to cut production by 4% over the coming months.

The Bush administration -which had been putting two Opec members, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, under strong diplomatic pressure - urged the cartel to avoid damaging the US recovery.

"It's important for producers not to take actions that hurt our economy. We believe oil prices should be set by market forces in order to make sure that we have adequate supplies available," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said after Opec's decision.

Mr McClellan said President Bush remained "concerned" about record fuel prices. He said the administration "remained engaged in close discussion with major producers from around the world to discuss our views regarding market conditions".

Ray Hollaway, director of the UK Petrol Retailers' Association, said the Opec decision was already factored into pump prices, but that an increase of about 3p a litre was likely anyway over the next six months as a result of strong US and Chinese demand, coupled with supply problems.

Petrol currently costs about pounds 3.50 a gallon in the UK, and a 3p a litre increase would be equivalent to a jump of almost 15p a gallon.

Oil analysts said the evidence of a split between Opec "hawks" and "doves" might limit the effectiveness of the production curb, with some anticipating widespread quota busting to take advantage of the current high prices.

Leo Drollas, chief economist at the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London, said that if individual Opec members showed the discipline to reduce their output in line with the target of cutting production by 1m barrels a day, prices in the US could spike to $40 a barrel in the short-term but that the risk of output exceeding the target meant the price was likely to fall below $30 a barrel later this year.

In New York last night, sweet light US crude was down more than $1 a barrel at $35.22, while Brent crude lost 92 cents a barrel to trade at $31.53.

The world's biggest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, played the vital role in forcing Opec to stick to plans for a cut in production from the current limit of 24.5m barrels a day.

With pressures on its budget, Saudi Arabia has become concerned at the impact of the falling dollar on its revenues and won the backing of Algeria, Nigeria, Libya and Qatar yesterday.

"The Saudis have gone from being a reliable Opec price dove to Opec's arch price hawk," said independent energy consultant Mehdi Varzi.

"That's because of the demands of the Saudi budget. They need higher and higher oil prices every year to meet current expenditure for a larger and larger population."

The dollar fell further on the foreign exchanges yesterday, dropping by 1% against the dollar and the euro on rumours - later denied - that Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, had suffered a mild heart attack.

Opec president Purnomo Yusgiantoro of Indonesia, said yesterday that he was concerned by the fall in the value of the dollar and its effect on oil producers' revenues.

[Sparrowhawk]

OPEC output cut sparks fears of world slowdown
Nick Bevens Business Editor
The Scotsman - United Kingdom; Apr 01, 2004



OIL producers' cartel OPEC is going ahead with a planned cut in output, sparking fears that the price of oil could soar to dollars 40 a barrel, pushing the global economy into a slump as well as increasing prices at the pumps.

OPEC members had been under pressure to change their minds and reverse their decision - but deaf to consumer country demand, especially from the US and China, for cheaper fuel as crude prices surged to 13-year highs, it confirmed that it is cutting output by 4 per cent, or one million barrels per day, from today in a move to maintain high oil prices. It said that speculative investment funds were commanding record positions on energy contracts, and it needed the price spike to compensate.

The Northern Hemisphere is where the big energy consuming countries are and, with the end of winter, demand for heating oil drops sharply.

There is currently a lull before the summer driving season gets into gear, when sales of petrol start to pick up, but petrol prices at the pumps in the US have already risen to an average of about dollars 1.79 per gallon, more than 5 cents up on a year ago.

Most European countries have yet to feel the impact of higher oil prices because they have been compensated by the decline of the dollar against the euro and other currencies.

But oil industry analysts suggested yesterday the cut will lead to growing pressures here as oil companies raise their prices, possibly even to above dollars 40, pushing the global economy towards a slowdown.

In the US, the cost of petrol is even fast becoming an election issue with the Democratic challenger John Kerry criticising president George Bush for doing nothing to reduce prices. In China, crude oil imports have risen 30 per cent this year as continued strong growth in energy-hungry industries has increased demand to such a point that some businesses do not want to rely on the public electricity supply.

Yesterday, in afternoon trade ahead of the cut, Brent crude for May delivery traded up 19 cents at dollars 32.64 per barrel in London, while US crude for May delivery traded at dollars 36.14 per barrel during. Prices later slumped. In the US, light, sweet crude stood at its highest level in 13 years.

OPEC makes something of a habit of blaming speculators in commodity markets whenever oil consumers complain about high prices, but this time analysts said they do have a point. They agreed that speculators have been buying oil contracts, and if they decide to sell that could drive the price down, something OPEC says the cut will avoid.

The dollar has been declining for more than three years against some currencies, notably the euro and as oil is priced in dollars, so the exchange rate does affect the purchasing power of what OPEC members get paid. "We're seeing a bit of a struggle here between the east and the west in terms of the demand for OPEC crude oil," said Tom James, director of commodity derivatives at Tokyo-Mitsubishi International.

OPEC delegates yesterday said Saudi Arabia had led the push for implementing cuts. "The Saudis have gone from being a reliable OPEC price dove to OPEC's arch price hawk," said one energy consultant.