FROM THE FORCING THE CONTRADICTIONS FILES

Saudi Says Iran Drags Feet Returning Al Qaeda Leaders: Arab Countries Want Accused Terrorists Sent Home (John Mintz, August 12, 2003, Washington Post)

As many as 15 al Qaeda leaders and operatives are currently in Iran, but Tehran is dragging its feet in responding to requests from Arab governments to repatriate the accused terrorists for interrogation and trial, a senior Saudi official said yesterday.

Among the al Qaeda members being held in what Iranian officials describe as "safe houses" are Saad bin Laden, who was being groomed to succeed his father, Osama bin Laden, as al Qaeda's leader, and Saif Adel, an Egyptian described by U.S. officials as the terrorist network's security chief, said the Saudi counterterrorism official who asked not to be identified. [...]

The real question is which Iranian officials control them. Iranian intelligence officials and leaders of the radical Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have struck periodic alliances with al Qaeda over the years, while reformist Iranian officials have publicly denounced the idea of providing safe haven for bin Laden's fighters.

Saudi officials are trying to persuade Tehran to hand over the seven or eight Saudis among the al Qaeda members in Iran, the official said. The Egyptian and Algerian governments are also demanding that their citizens be turned over, he said. Kuwait has said it does not want Ghaith.

When they fight amongst themselves, we win. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 12, 2003 11:32 PM