ChTrib: 2 firms linked to Al Qaeda, Saudi intelligence agency

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0403310198mar31,1,4964789,print.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

Two private Saudi companies linked with suspected Al Qaeda cells here and in Indonesia also have connections to the Saudi Arabian intelligence agency and its longtime chief, Prince Turki bin Faisal, according to information assembled by German intelligence analysts.

The Twaik Group and Rawasin Media Productions, both based in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, have served as fronts for the Saudi General Intelligence Directorate, according to an inquiry by Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND.

Twaik, a $100 million-a-year conglomerate, has diverse holdings inside and outside Saudi Arabia. Rawasin reports earnings of about $4 million a year from producing and selling audio and videotapes promoting the Wahhabi version of Islam that is Saudi Arabia's dominant religion.

The conclusions reached by the BND inquiry were presented to the office of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder late last year and subsequently circulated within the German intelligence community.

[Old and In the Way]

1. Well, isn't that interesting.

Let's recap:

15/19 of the 9/11 hijackers are Saudi
Pakistani ISI General funnels $100K to Mohammed Atta
Wife of Saudi Diplomat funnels $10K to terrorist
Bush-bin Laden/Saudi connections over 30 years worth $1.5BB to contributors of Bush/RNC supporters.
Structural corporate relationship between SA and AQ

No wonder we invaded Iraq....

[DeepModem Mom]

2. John O'Neill: "All the answers, everything needed...

to dismantle Osama bin Laden's organization can be found in Saudi Arabia."

This is excellent reporting from the Chicago Tribune.

[jamesinca]

3. Let us not miss this little nugget of information

"In the late 1990s both Twaik and Rawasin employed Reda Seyam, a 44-year-old Egyptian suspected by Indonesian authorities of having helped finance the Bali nightclub bombing."

[SoCalDem]

4. Al Faisal family & Bush family are very close.. here's an old article

http://www.ain-al-yaqeen.com/issues/20030801/feat6en.htm



THE MEETING BETWEEN BUSH AND SAUD AL-FAISAL DEALS WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL REPORT ON SEPTEMBER 11 EVENTS.
PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL: THE ACCUSATIONS DIRECTED TO SAUDI ARABIA ARE UNREASONABLE, WRONG AND SHOCKING.
THE REPORT PAGES ARE BASED ON MISGUIDED SPECULATION AND POORLY DISGUISED MALICIOUS INTENT AND IT HAS BEEN REFUTED BY THE OFFICIAL STATEMENTS OF PRESIDENT BUSH.
THE AMERICANS CAN REINVESTIGATE AL-BAYOUMI.
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ON THE PALESTINIAN, IRAQI, LEBANESE AND SYRIAN ARENAS.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal met with President George W. Bush and other administration officials at the White House on Tuesday for talks centred around last week's publication of a congressional report investigating the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States. President Bush refused to declassify 28 pages of the report apparently discussing possible links between foreign governments and the Sept. 11 hijackers, saying that ''would help the enemy'' by revealing intelligence sources and methods.

Saudi officials have said they cannot respond to a report they cannot read. Before meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister, President Bush made clear he has no intention of declassifying the 28-page section in the near future. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said earlier that the information relating to Saudi Arabia were not published because elements existed in this part that includes special information on ongoing investigations and details on operations and sensitive information and information on operational manners which may undermine national security.

Following his meeting with President George W. Bush at the White House in Washington DC on July 29, 2003, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, released the following statement: ''On Thursday July 24, a 900-page report was published by the Congressional Joint Inquiry into the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001. In that report Saudi Arabia is indicted by insinuation. It is an outrage to any sense of fairness that 28 blank pages are now considered substantial evidence to proclaim the guilt of a country that has been a true friend and partner to the United States for over 60 years.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been wrongfully and morbidly accused of complicity in the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. This accusation is based on misguided speculation and is born of poorly disguised malicious intent; it has been refuted by the consistent public statements of the President and responsible Administration officials, especially those who have access to the facts and who have praised Saudi Arabia as an active and strong ally in the war on terrorism.

snip.............

[DeepModem Mom]

5. kick

[salin]

6. Wouldn't it be interesting to know WHO Neil Bush met with

on his trip, months after 9-11, to Saudi Arabia to promote himself (and business) for public relations:

Meanwhile, Neil Bush, brother of President George Bush, spoke in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the need for a sustained lobbying and public relations effort to shape U.S. public opinion. According to press accounts, he urged Arab leaders to hire lobbyists and public relations representatives to combat these negative images, saying, “I hope America sees Arabs as I see them, and understand Islam as I understand it. Leave behind the misunderstandings about our two peoples and two cultures. And let us help bridge the gap by understanding each other."
http://www.aaiusa.org/countdown/c020102.htm

OR

http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?ItemID=12843
Where in the world is Neil Bush?
President's younger brother makes most of family's political connections


Where's Neil Bush these days? He's out making the most of the family name. Currently the chairman and chief executive officer of Ignite! Inc., an educational software company, the president's brother showed up in Saudi Arabia in late January to deliver the keynote address on the concluding day of the three-day Jeddah Economic Forum.
And in October, shortly after the United States began bombing Afghanistan, Bush stopped off in Dubai for an international technology conference.

In Saudi Arabia, Bush gave the conferees advice on how to press their case in the United States visa via the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a speech certain to raise the hackles of supporters of Israel, Bush maintained that the way to change perceptions in the United States about the Israeli-Palestinian question is for the Arab countries to expand their political lobbying. Bush claimed the American public favors Israel because of intense lobbying of U.S. politicians by Israeli supporters.

--snip---

According to Newsweek, Bush's visit to Saudi Arabia was sponsored in part by "the Saudi Binladin Construction Group and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the tycoon whose $10 million offer to help the victims of the World Trade Center attacks was rejected last fall by New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani." (Bill Clinton was also in attendance, raking in some $300,000 for his address. Newsweek also reported Clinton earned an additional $475,000 for speeches in Dubai and Cairo.)

Bush didn't only give his opinion about public relations at these appearances. According to Newsweek, he had another agenda: recruiting Middle Eastern investors for his educational-software firm that industry sources say, "may benefit enormously from the new $26.5 billion education bill signed by President George W. Bush." Ignite, his Austin-based firm, "has raised about $18 million since last year, mostly from foreign investors in Japan, Taiwan and the Middle East," said Ignite exec Kenneth Leonard. The company is exploring joint ventures with computer software firms in Dubai and is seeking contracts with the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Education and other foreign governments, said Leonard, who has accompanied Bush on three trips to the Mideast since George W. became president.

more...

OR

http://www.ameinfo.com/news/Detailed/2568.html
Saudi Arabia: Tuesday, January 22 - 2002 at 09:48

Neil Bush addresses delegates on the third day of the 2002 Jeddah Economic Forum

It was a change of tone for the third day of the 2002 Jeddah Economic Forum, with Neil Bush, brother of the current US President George W. Bush, concentrating on education and training.

Calling for new, challenging, and engaging methods of education, Neil Bush said that this more than anything else would help bridge the gap of understanding between peoples of different cultures and nations.

Saying that he firmly agreed with HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal (a keynote speaker of the previous day), who said that to solve terrorism one must attack its root causes, Neil Bush (the chairman and CEO of IGNITE USA) identified the lack of proper education as being one of these major causes. 'Everyone must help push forward education and dispel all misunderstanding between peoples,' he said, adding that children must be engaged in a proactive challenging style, where they can explore and discover reality for themselves through a range of different media sources. This would lead them to discovering the truth for themselves, he said.

--snip--

The forum is being sponsored by some of Saudi Arabia's best known companies, including HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's The Kingdom Holding Company (the JEF umbrella sponsors), the Abdullatif Jameel Group, the Jeraisy Group, the National Commercial Bank, the Saudi American Bank, the Middle East Broadcasting Centre, the Saudi Research and Publication Company, the Al-Rajhi Commercial Exchange, Dallah Al-Barak, and the Saudi Cable Company.

Just had to wonder if there is any cross mingling in these stories....

[RamboLiberal]

7. Kicking this for the day crowd

:kick:

[Old and In the Way]

8. kicking for the night crowd