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Saudi Arabia Criticizes U.S. Killing of Civilians
RIYADH, Oct 15 (News Agencies) - Saudi Arabia broke its silence late Sunday on the U.S.-led war on Afghanistan, saying it was unhappy about the killing of innocent people, news agencies reported.
Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdelaziz told reporters the kingdom opposed terrorism, but did not approve of the U.S. response, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"We wish the United States had been able to flush out the terrorists in Afghanistan without resorting to the current action... because this is killing innocent people," he said.
"We are not at all happy with the situation. This in no way means we are not willing to confront terrorism," he said in remarks reported by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
He repeated Riyadh's commitment to tackling terrorism, but also questioned U.S. motives in an unusual fit of pique.
"We are against terrorism, whether the perpetrators were Saudis or non-Saudis. But it is strange that no other nationality, apart from Arabs, have been accused of carrying out this action," Nayef said.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said that 12 of the 19 suspected hijackers, which slammed hijacked commercial airliners into buildings in New York and Washington, were Saudis.
Many of the people it originally identified were later shown to be either living in the kingdom or dead, analysts say.
There has been no public U.S. apology and media has reported in detail on the harassment of Saudis, Muslims and other Arabs in the U.S.
"Washington has failed to supply any evidence about the involvement of Saudi nationals in the September 11th attacks," the minister noted.
"I don't believe this is clear. There were more than 600 passengers on board the four [hijacked] planes. We are surprised why Arabs, particularly the Saudis, have been singled out [for blame].
"Until now, we have not received any confirmation, in the form of material evidence, that the Saudi suspects had carried out the attacks either alone or in cooperation with others," he added.
Nayef also said Riyadh required proof of terrorist funding before freezing the assets and accounts of groups or individuals.
"We have always been prepared to do this. But it is unacceptable to take any action without providing the evidence that there are some [suspicious] accounts in the kingdom," he said.
He claimed that European countries and the United States had failed to respond to past Saudi efforts.
"We acted in the past and requested the United States, Britain and some European countries to cooperate with us in this field, but found no [positive] response," he said.
He denied allegations that part of the funds raised by Islamic charities are funneled to terrorism. "We guarantee that such funds will go only to those who deserve it," he said.
U.S. President George W. Bush last month released an initial list of 27 individuals and organizations, whose funds must be blocked, also warning overseas banks to follow suit.
The New York Times ran scathing comments Sunday alleging Saudi "tolerance for terrorism" and urging the United States to reform its "cold-blooded bargain" with the Gulf kingdom that trades oil for U.S. military protection.
An editorial in the Saudi newspaper Okaz relayed the anger the accusations have stirred.
The daily charged that, "Zionists controlling the media in the United States are behind the false accusations against the kingdom.
"The main object of this Zionist media ... is to continue to mislead foreign policy institutions away from the real interests of the United States.
"Those who say that the kingdom is behind the al-Qa'eda organization may as well say that the United States is also behind al-Qa'eda,"
Okaz said.
Analysts said that Prince Nayef's public disapproval confirmed the 50-year-old strategic alliance between the world's largest industrial power and the world's largest oil supplier had come under stress since the air raids began a week ago.
Saudi Arabia has condemned the September 11th attacks, which killed nearly 5,400 people but has remained sensitive to widespread public anger over casualties in Muslim Afghanistan.
Riyadh said early on that it would not allow attacks on Afghanistan to be launched from its soil.
U.S. officials say the country is cooperating in more appropriate ways, by sharing intelligence and cracking down on funding of groups and individuals suspected of terrorist links.
U.S. troops have been based in the kingdom since U.S.-led forces evicted Iraq from Saudi Arabia's neighbor Kuwait in 1991, albeit as only a small and discreet force nowadays.
Religious leaders in the birthplace of Islam have strong objections to their presence.
The Saudis have also been outraged by the rejection of a $10 million donation by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to victims of the World Trade Center attack.
Alwaleed's check was shunned because of his criticism of U.S.'s blind support for Israel and unbalanced manner in dealing with the Middle East crisis during a trip to New York.
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