Laine has an interesting post over at Liberal Avenger concerning Saudi involvement with funding the insurgency in Iraq. From the A.P.:
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.
It's not surprising to me at all, given that it was the Saudis who gave us Wahhabism in the first place. We also have known for a long time about the Saudis funding of radical day schools and mosques in the United States.
So, the idea that the Saudis are funding our enemies is not surprising to me. The A.P. story explains that the Saudis are as concerned about the growing influence of Iran in the region as anything, but regardless of their rationale, sending boxes of money to help our enemies buy increasingly sophisticated weaponry is bad for the U.S.
Cross-posted at
UPDATE: Jules Crittenden covers this story, as well.
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