RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says Iran's support for what he called Hezbollah's coup in Lebanon will affect Iran's relations with Arab and Islamic countries.
Prince Saud al-Faisal has called on all Mideast countries to respect Lebanon's independence and refrain from stoking sectarian tensions in the country. Iran and Syria back the militant Hezbollah group, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, but have denied meddling in Lebanon's internal affairs.
Tuesday's press conference by the Saudi foreign minister comes as the Lebanese army has said its soldiers will use force if needed to impose order after almost a week of clashes between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition.
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Funny
by Zion on Thu May 15, 2008 05:30 PM PDTZionists are slaughtering Iraqi?
Do they also eat their children? Do they come to your dreams, do you hear their voices all day? Are they reading radio waves of your thouhgts too? I can picture you wearing tin foil over your head, cursing the evil voices that tormentr you all day. :-)
Why don't you take a second look at Saudi Arabia!!
by Anonymous-2 (not verified) on Wed May 14, 2008 09:35 AM PDTBy what twisted logic does the U.S.A. and its compliant mainstream media transfer the real blame for global terrorism from Saudi Arabia to Iran? Here below is an extraordinarily well researched and well referenced document that seems to suggest the U.S. Government may have "innocently" mixed up the names of the two nations and actually meant to include Saudi Arabia in the 'Axis of Evil'. Remember how McCain couldn't tell the difference between Shi'ite and Sunni? Well, maybe he and the other Neocons have actually made a genuine, innocent mistake and meant "the evil Saudis" all along ..........
Maybe the Israelis played a practical joke on George Bush in his 2002 State of the Union speech and altered the name 'Saudi Arabia' to 'Iran' on the teleprompter ........... After all, wasn't it Iran which had helped the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance defeat the Saudi-backed Taleban just a few months earlier? Wasn't it Iran that sent its condolences for 9/11 and held a candle-lit vigil while Saudis danced on the street in perverse celebration?
As you will see the neocons and the Bush Admin. obviously are not only participants along with the Saudis in fueling, and funding the insurgency in both Afghanistan and Iraq but also partners in crime. However Iran as usual is the scapegoat. What they don't like are resistance forces such as Hezbullah, Hamas, and others who are not willing to give in; including countries such as Iran and Syria. In fact it has also been Saudi Arabia which has provided some forged documents implicating that Iran is destabilizing Iraq; such documents where even found to be forged documents by U.S. officials - however, they still had no problem using them. After all why not implicate Iran in all the mess as opposed to the partners in crime?
Furthermore why should Saudi Arabia which practices a minority movement of Wahhabism which considers Shiite, Sufis, and other non-Wahhabi Sunni Muslims as heretics and imposters help Hezbullah, the majority Shiites in Iraq, or any other such groups.
The Bush Administration's disgreaceful policy toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the US Congress tells you that OIL is far more important than American lives, Iraqi lives, Afghan lives, Lebanese Lives, Iranian lives etc..
The following are just some excerpts from the report
Come on, George, just admit you goofed and we can all be friends:
____________________________
The Bush administration is once again banging its war drums, this time directing their hostility at Iran. However, as they have begun laying out questionable evidence of Iranian meddling in Iraq, a number of commentators have already picked up on a major disconnect in the administration’s rhetoric. As they blame Iran for our failure to stabilize Iraq, they have consistently ignored much more compelling evidence that Saudi nationals have played a pivotal role in fueling the sectarian violence which has torn Iraq apart.
While these commentators have rightly picked up on the administration’s inconsistency on this matter, I have yet to see any of them take the time to really lay out the full case against the Saudis.
• Predictably, in virtually every major terrorist attack against the United States over the last twelve years, the men actually pulling the trigger at the end of the day have been Saudi Arabian
o The Saudi National Guard bombing in November 1995, which killed five Americans. All four of the men convicted and executed for the bombing were Saudis.
o The Khobar Towers bombing in June 1996, which killed 19 Americans. Of the 14 men indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for that bombing, 13 were Saudi Arabian, including all five of the men who drove and detonated the truck bomb on the day of the attack.
o The Nairobi embassy bombing in August 1998, which killed 12 Americans. Both of the men who drove and detonated the truck bomb were Saudis.
o The USS Cole bombing in October 2000, which killed 17 Americans. According to both the Prime Minister of Yemen and a well-known former Al Qaeda operative, both of the men who drove and detonated the explosives-laden boat used in that attack were Saudis.
o The Riyadh residential compound bombings in May 2003, which killed nine Americans. All nine of the suicide bombers killed in the attacks were Saudis.
o The Mosul mess tent bombing in December 2004, which killed 18 Americans. The lone suicide bomber responsible was identified in numerous press reports as a foreign insurgent from Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi nationals have also played a leading role in financing these efforts. In March 2002, Bosnian authorities raided the Sarajevo offices of a Saudi-based charity called the Benevolence International Foundation. Inside, they discovered an electronic file containing numerous internal Al Qaeda documents. Among them was a list of 20 prominent financial donors who were referred to within Al Qaeda as the “Golden Chain”. The document appeared to date from the very first year of Al Qaeda’s existence, and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) has described these men as the "funding fathers" of Al Qaeda. Of the 20 donors listed, all were Saudi Arabian.
• In fact, Saudi Arabia has now been financially linked to the Bali nightclub bombings on October 12, 2002, which killed 202 people; the Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004, which killed 191 people; the Beslan middle school massacre on September 3, 2004, in which 330 hostages were killed (including 186 school children); the London subway bombings on July 7, 2005, which killed 56 people; and the Mumbai train bombings on July 11, 2006, which killed 209 people.
Between the financiers and the foot soldiers, it is clear that every strata of Saudi society has been intimately involved in making Al Qaeda happen. But as disturbing as these facts are, they are just the beginning.
• In March 2005, Israeli terrorism expert Reuven Paz analyzed a number of the more credible jihadist websites profiling the foreign “martyrs” of the Iraq insurgency, and published a report on those who had been killed fighting in Iraq over the proceeding six-month period. Of the 154 reported deaths, he found that 94 (or 61%) were Saudi Arabian. When he focused specifically on those who died as suicide bombers, Paz found that a full 23 out of 33 (or 70%) were Saudis. These findings were subsequently reproduced by investigative units from The Washington Post, and NBC News. Indeed, in June 2005, NBC News reviewed the biographical information of more than 400 foreign insurgents who had died in Iraq over the previous two years, and found that 55% were from Saudi Arabia. American terrorism expert Prof. Mohammed Hafez later conducted a similar review. He reported that, of the 92 suicide bombers in Iraq that he was able to identify by name and nationality, 44 were Saudi Arabian.
• In November 2005, the above investigations into the origins of the suicide bombers in Iraq were finally confirmed on the ground by the National Security Adviser of the new Iraqi government, Mowaffak Rubaie. As reported by The Washington Post, he acknowledged to a group of Arab reporters that, “We do not have the least doubt that nine out of 10 of the suicide bombers who carry out suicide bombing operations among Iraqi citizens . . . are Arabs who have crossed the border with Syria. Most of those who blow themselves up in Iraq are Saudi nationals.” And Rubaie isn’t the only one who has confided as much. For instance, in June 2005, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) visited Iraq where he spoke privately with military and intelligence officials on the ground. Upon his return, he reported that “a disproportionate number” of the foreign insurgents in Iraq were from Saudi Arabia. More recently, in January 2007, a senior U.S. official confirmed to The Financial Times that “75-80 per cent of the estimated 75 suicide bombings a month were carried out by foreigners, and that Saudi Arabia and Sudan were the most common countries of origin.” [See the Updates below for more recent developments.]
• In addition to the big-picture assessments above, there have been a number of reports fingering the Saudis in particular attacks. These have included some of the most deadly and provocative attacks in Iraq to date. For example, one of the first major car bomb blasts inaugurating the post-invasion era of carnage in Iraq occurred on August 29, 2003, outside the Imam Ali Mosque – the holiest Shiite shrine in the country. The bomb killed Iraqi Shiite leader Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, along with 85 of his followers. According to The Boston Globe, among those arrested by Iraqi police in connection with the bombing were at least three Saudi nationals.
• On December 21, 2004, an explosion went off inside the mess facility of an American military installation in Mosul. Fourteen American military personnel and four American civilian contractors were killed, making it the deadliest single attack on Americans in Iraq to this day. As reported by the Associated Press, about two weeks later, the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat identified the bomber as Ahmed Said Ahmed al-Ghamdi, a 20-year old Saudi medical school student. That report was later independently corroborated by The Washington Post.
• On February 22, 2006, a group of Sunni insurgents bombed the historic Askariya Mosque (the “Golden Mosque”) in Samara, sparking immediate and widespread retaliation by Iraqi Shiites which soon drove sectarian violence in Iraq to an all-time high. This attack has been cited by numerous commentators, including President Bush, as the straw that broke the camel’s back, inciting a full-blown civil war in the streets of Baghdad. The insurgents who executed this bombing have now been identified by the Iraqi government and the U.S. State Department. They were a gang of eight – four Iraqi Sunnis, and four Saudi Arabians.
• On top of all this, it has now been reported that wealthy Saudi individuals and charities are now playing a leading role in funding the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. According to a 2006 report by the Associated Press, these Saudis have funneled (at a minimum) tens of millions of dollars in cash into Iraq, money which has been used to arm and finance attacks on U.S. troops and Iraqi Shiites. These findings has now been corroborated by both The Iraq Study Group Report and Mike McConnell, the Bush administration’s new Director of National Intelligence.
• What makes the above fact especially damning is that the vast majority of U.S. servicemen killed in Iraq have been killed by Sunni insurgents, not the Shiites allegedly backed by Iran. For instance, ABC News has reported that more than 80% of the U.S. servicemen killed in Iraq during the month of October 2006 were killed in Sunni-controlled areas. Likewise, The Boston Globe conducted an extensive review of where U.S. servicemen had been killed in Iraq throughout the war. They found that over 60% of U.S. fatalities had taken place in Sunni controlled provinces, while only 4% occurred in Shiite provinces. The Globe did not attempt to break down the remainder of U.S. fatalities, most of which had taken place in Baghdad which has an intricate mix of Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods. But running the numbers, the clear implication is that outside Baghdad over 90% of those U.S. servicemen who have been killed in Iraq have died in Sunni controlled areas.
Looking over the facts above, it is impossible to ignore that something is very wrong with this picture. While Al Qaeda may well be seeking to recruit the “best and brightest” from throughout the Muslim world, there is clearly something unique (and uniquely bad) happening in Saudi Arabia. As Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Risen recently wrote, “Ever since the September 11 attacks, the trail back from al Qaeda to Saudi Arabia has been an intriguing path, but one that very few American investigators have been willing to follow. . . . Those links are much stronger and far more troubling than has ever been previously disclosed, and until they are thoroughly investigated, the roots of Al Qaeda’s power, and the full story of 9/11, will never be known.”
Have we also forgotten
by Realist (not verified) on Wed May 14, 2008 07:28 AM PDTHave we also forgotten that the Saudis were upset at the Hezbollah defending the country against the Israelis?
Forget about Pan-Arabism, Sunni-Shiite differences, etc. Follow the money trail and you'll see where Arab Leadership's loyalty lies.
If Hezbollah is only an Iranian creation, and is able to gather so much support among muslims and christians alike in Lebanon, how come these puppets or the US itself not able to do the same? After all they represent democracy, right? Why does the US have to aid the Lebanese army (500 million U$D)? Why not help the people as Hezbollah does? Are US resources so limited?
The same goes for Afghanistan and Iraq. While Iranian proxies provide for schools, roads, hospitals, and TV stations, the invaders engage in bombing civilians who are fed up with these foreigners in their lands.
To K Nassery (re: It seems logical to me...)
by zirak on Tue May 13, 2008 07:55 PM PDTK Nassery
With your smarts, you should become advisor to "W". That fellow really needs smart people like you! around him!!!
Seriously, what have you been smoking? You are calling Lebanese government "democratic"? Give us a break! And in your vocabulary, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Jordan of all places are supporting democracy!!! Go have your brain examined man, or become a "W" foriegn policy advisor! He really needs smarts like you!
the Bastion of Democray... (Re: Nassery)
by Anonym7 (not verified) on Tue May 13, 2008 05:25 PM PDTNassery says, "Why wouldn't Saudi Arabia be on the side of the Sunnis in Lebanon? The King of Jordan and the Egyptian government also are supporting the Democratically elected government of Lebanon. I would expect Sunni Arabs to support Sunni whatever..."
Those Kings and Mr. Mobark are so concerned about democracy in Lebanon....! Maybe Saudi Arabia has recently become the bastion of democracy!?
It seems logical to me...
by K Nassery on Tue May 13, 2008 04:55 PM PDTWhy wouldn't Saudi Arabia be on the side of the Sunnis in Lebanon? The King of Jordan and the Egyptian government also are supporting the Democratically elected government of Lebanon. I would expect Sunni Arabs to support Sunni whatever...
Exporting the Revolution will have consequences for Iran. If you provide arms to people Hezbollah and Hezbollah takes up arms against fellow Lebanonese, expect Iran to the on the enemy list of non Hezbollah.
Fear not, the countries in South America getting aid from Iran will be there for you should a war break out between ME countries. They are not fair weather friends.
To: Fred (Re: Bahi vs Arab)
by almo5000 on Tue May 13, 2008 04:34 PM PDTObviously you have missed the point of Ahmad. He is correct to point out that if there is position maneuvering it should be about the innocents that are being killed due this unnecessary war which was pushed by Zionists. Why is Saudi Arabia at this critical juncture taking the position they are taling, baffles everyone. Stupidity is not a virture. Apparently Arabs have a difficult time to tell friend from foe. That may be why inspite of all that oil wealth they are not having much of any (positive) influence in ME (and have not had one over the last 60 years or so).Instead they are pulling the line of US government which has no interest in advancement of ME peoples (as evident in the case of Iran Nuke program, and the war events in Iraq, etc.). Instead they support a blood thirsty bunch in Tel Aviv who are hated by the entire world.
Bahai V Arabs
by Fred on Tue May 13, 2008 11:49 AM PDTFor the offence of calling the Islamist Republic for what it is by Saudi foreign minister you state: ‘no wonder Arabs are called stupid”. The Islamists’ tactic of labeling their opponents aside, a crucial question comes to mind. That is your entire legitimacy is anchored to Islam; Islam’s prophet was a quintessential Arab, with your blanket racist statement in mind, what does that say about the non Arab Islamists of the Islamist Republic?
Suadi's
by Anonymous21 (not verified) on Tue May 13, 2008 11:24 AM PDTthey represent their own country and their national interests. What is IRI representing? Che Guarra?
This is good news
by Abarmard on Tue May 13, 2008 09:05 AM PDTOtherwise many would be confused about the role of Saudi in the region. It's always good to stay on course and let the population in the region know who you work for. I would thank the Saudi officials rather than get upset!