Saudi Denies Failure to Pursue Insurgents

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON Oct 22, 2004 — A senior Saudi official rejected on Friday a suggestion that his government was lax in pursuing Saudi nationals who provide money to Iraqi insurgents or terrorist groups.

"Saudi Arabia is determined to go after the terrorists, those who support them and those who condone their actions," said Adel al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah. "We have taken dramatic action ensuring no Saudi funding goes to evildoers, and we will continue to do so."

A U.S. defense official said this week that Iraqi rebels had access to almost unlimited funding, with a substantial amount coming from Saudis who are sympathetic to their cause. Several other U.S. officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, agreed Friday that Saudi dollars were reaching the insurgency in Iraq.

The Saudi government has previously been criticized for some of its citizens' support for al-Qaida, the terror network. It has changed its financial system with the aim of stopping donations to terror groups, and security forces have arrested or killed scores of al-Qaida operatives on its soil......

He challenged the U.S. government to provide specific evidence about Saudi donors so the kingdom's government could crack down on them.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=190049