CAIRO, Egypt - Private Saudi citizens are giving millions of dollars to Sunni insurgents in Iraq and much of the money is used to buy weapons, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles, according to key Iraqi officials and others familiar with the flow of cash.
Saudi government officials deny that any money from their country is being sent to Iraqis fighting the government and the U.S.-led coalition.
But the U.S. Iraq Study Group report said Saudis are a source of funding for Sunni Arab insurgents. Several truck drivers interviewed by The Associated Press described carrying boxes of cash from Saudi Arabia into Iraq, money they said was headed for insurgents.
Two high-ranking Iraqi officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity, told the AP most of the Saudi money comes from private donations, called zaqat, collected for Islamic causes and charities.
Some Saudis appear to know the money is headed to Iraq's insurgents, but others merely give it to clerics who channel it to anti-coalition forces, the officials said.
In one recent case, an Iraqi official said $25 million in Saudi money went to a top Iraqi Sunni cleric and was used to buy weapons, including Strela, a Russian shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile. The missiles were purchased from someone in Romania, apparently through the black market, he said. More on the story.
The Iraq conflict was planned by Bush Administration and the Saudi for control of Iraq oil. The plan didn't work now we're seeing who the players are. We also know why Cheney was summoned to the Saudi King. The GOP had control of the US government until the Dems took over. Now the plan is in danger. Bush can't change the course because his orders don't come from the United States. These guys have made deals with others who call the shots. January will show who the real players are as the rats turn on each other.
ReplyDeleteIt will really get ugly when the next two years are over and the next administration, (Hopefully, will a whole lot better, but how can you do worse?) the next admin. will have all kinds of nasty surprises.
ReplyDeleteBiloxi,
ReplyDeleteJust which one is the devil here? That's where my confusion comes in.
The one on the left is the real "devil." Remember what Chavez called the Gerbil...
ReplyDeleteOK, thanks for clarifying, with so many running around these days it's hard to tell! And more and more sprouting up from the GOP camp each day it's getting harder and harder to keep track of them all.
ReplyDelete