Iraq intel: Saudis financing Al Qaida offensive, Sunni tribes
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
Geostrategy-Direct.com
BAGHDAD Ñ Iraq's intelligence community has determined that Saudi Arabia was leading a Gulf Arab effort to destabilize the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.
Officials said the intelligence community has assessed that Riyad was financing the current Al Qaida offensive in Iraq, particularly in the provinces of Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala and Nineveh. They said Saudi Arabia has recruited other Gulf Cooperation Council states to pour money to Sunni tribes to resist the Shi'ite-dominated Al Maliki government.
"There are regional powers that pay billions of dollars to push for the failure of Iraq's democracy," Iraqi parliamentarian Haidar Al Ebadi, an ally of Al Maliki, said. "The reports that we have indicate a multi-billion dollar plan by Saudi Arabia and other states."
On Aug. 19, around 100 people were killed in suspected Al Qaida car bombings in Baghdad, including in front of the Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry. Several mortars were also fired in the Green Zone, the site of most foreign embassies in Iraq.
"The criminal acts that took place today require us to re-evaluate our plans and security mechanisms in order to confront the terrorist challenges and to increase cooperation between security forces and the Iraqi people," Al Maliki said.
Officials said the purported Saudi-led effort was meant to hamper Iran's domination of Iraq. They said Riyad was believed to have launched the Sunni insurgency drive in mid-2009 as the U.S. military implemented the first stage of withdrawal from Iraq. The administration of President Barack Obama has sought to pull out all combat troops from Iraq by August 2010.
Despite U.S. appeals, Saudi Arabia has refused to return its ambassador to Iraq. Officials said Riyad has instead chosen to embroil Iran in an insurgency war similar to that waged by Taliban against Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
"The Saudis are ready to pay anybody willing to stop Al Maliki, whom they believe is a tool of Teheran," an official said.
Iraqi parliamentarian Sami Al Askari agreed. Al Askari, a member of the Foreign Relations and National Security Committee, said Iraqi intelligence has detected Saudi efforts to finance Kurdish and Shi'ite politicians to act against the prime minister. He said Egypt and Jordan were also supporting the Sunni insurgency.
"Saudi Arabia is not happy that Shi'ites lead this country," Al Askari said.