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Establishment Foreign Policy Group Agrees With Judicial Watch Calls on Bush Administration to Confront Saudi Arabian Terror Support On September 11, 2002, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against 100 Saudi Arabian and other entities for financially supporting the 9/11 attacks on America. At the time, JW called on the Bush Administration to list Saudi Arabia as a state sponsor of terrorism. This call has now been echoed by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), an establishment foreign policy organization often mistrusted by conservatives. This time, though, the CFR is right on target. In a report released on October 17, the CFR warns the Bush Administration that its war on terrorism will fail unless it confronts Saudi Arabia, "the most important source of funds for al Qaeda." As JW has argued in its lawsuit on behalf of a World Trade Center victim, Saudi Arabia shrewdly hides its terrorist links behind a series of foundations, bank entities and front groups. This flow of blood money enables al Qaeda to remain a viable and lethal threat to the United States. Though both the Clinton and Bush Administrations take their fair share of criticism, the CFR report is particularly concerned about the Bush Administration’s relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Bush Administration "appears to have made a policy decision not to use the full power of the U.S. influence and legal authorities to pressure or compel other governments to combat terrorist financing more effectively," the report concludes. The question remains, why would the Bush Administration go soft on the Saudis in direct contrast with their black and white rhetoric with respect to the war on terror? Some have suggested that Saudi Arabia is a key Middle Eastern ally in its efforts to combat terrorism, and that the Administration is content to take whatever level of cooperation the Saudis can provide without suffering too much public humiliation. Another theory involves the president's father. The former President Bush maintains a business relationship with the Carlyle Group, an international investment firm with close ties to the government of Saudi Arabia. In fact, at one time, former President Bush worked for the bin Laden family, visiting with them at least twice. In the least, this shows how powerful ‘Big Business’ ties influence U.S. policy towards the terrorist-sponsoring Saudi government. Long before 14 Saudi nationals hijacked airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, JW called on President Bush’s father to resign from the Carlyle Group. We felt that it represented a conflict of interest and could raise questions should President George W. Bush be perceived to treat the Saudis with "kid gloves" in international affairs. It appears these words have proven prophetic as some are now raising those very questions at critical time in our nation's history. "President Bush once said to nations around the world, ‘you’re either with us or against us,’ in the war on terrorism" said JW Chairman Larry Klayman. "It’s time the Administration live up to these words and begin to treat the Saudi Arabian government like the enemy it is."
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