The report to U.S. embassies in Gulf Arab states was dated December 2009
and relayed as the United States praised Saudi Arabia for blocking funds
to Al Qaida. But the memo by Ms. Clinton, who repeatedly thanked Saudi
Arabia for counter-insurgency cooperation, said Riyad was not interested in
stopping the money flow to Al Qaida and Taliban, Middle East Newsline reported.
"It has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat
terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority,"
the memo said. "Intelligence suggests that these groups continue to send
money overseas and, at times, fund extremism overseas."
The State Department report, a guide for U.S. diplomats, said Al Qaida
was using most of the GCC states for financing and other operations. The
memo cited Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as facilitating Al
Qaida activities. Kuwait, which hosts about 15,000 U.S. troops, was said to
have served as a "source of funds and a key transit point" for Al Qaida.
"Overall level of CT cooperation with the U.S. is considered the worst
in the region," the report, referring to Qatar, said. "Al Qaida, the
Taliban, UN-1267 listed LeT, and other terrorist groups exploit Qatar as a
fundraising locale. Although Qatar's security services have the capability
to deal with direct threats and occasionally have put that capability to
use, they have been hesitant to act against known terrorists out of concern
for appearing to be aligned with the U.S. and provoking reprisals."
The report urged U.S. diplomats to pressure the six GCC states to
stop the flow of insurgency funds. The memo detailed visits by Al
Qaida-aligned groups to Saudi Arabia for donations. The insurgents often
came to Saudi Arabia in the guise of Muslim pilgrims.
"More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial
support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups," the
memo said.
In 2010, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama said Saudi
Arabia and other GCC states were cooperating in international efforts to
block funding to Al Qaida. The administration said this has resulted in Al
Qaida declining to its weakest level since 2001.
But the December 2009 memo gave no indication of significant GCC
cooperation against Al Qaida. The report asserted that the Taliban,
through intimidation, was raising money through the huge Pashtun community
in the UAE.
"Some Afghan businessmen in the UAE have resorted to purchasing tickets
on the day of travel to limit the chance of being kidnapped themselves upon
arrival in either Afghanistan or Pakistan," the report said.