THE VELVET WHIP:

Saudis Face U.S. Demand On Terrorism: Halting Financiers May Be Urged (Douglas Farah, November 26, 2002, Washington Post)

U.S. intelligence agencies and financial investigators have put together a classified, working list of nine wealthy individuals believed to be the core group of financiers for al Qaeda and other radical Islamic terror groups, U.S. officials said. Of those, seven are Saudis, one is a Pakistani merchant and one is an Egyptian businessman. The officials would not identify the individuals.

"There are some who argue that sharing intelligence with the Saudis is just plain stupid," one official said. "But in so doing we put down a marker. We are saying we are not acting unilaterally, we are not moving precipitously, we are not acting as a hostile force.

"We tell them the problem and leave it to them to solve, presuming they will act in good faith. But if they do not act in 90 days, we assume solving the problem is beyond their ken and the United States will solve it."

This seems like a more responsible way of dealing with the problem for now than the various foot-stamping demands that we treat the Sauds as presumptive enemies. There'll be plenty of time to take them on--after Iraq and Syria--if they don't get their act together. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 26, 2002 10:41 AM