- The United States has ordered the expulsion of dozens
of Saudi diplomats suspected of helping promulgate Al Qaida ideology, diplomatic
sources said. The State Dept. has refused to either confirm or deny the
action..
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- The State Department revoked the diplomatic credentials
of the Saudi diplomats in Washington over the last month in an effort to
crack down on Saudi efforts to promote Al Qaida interests in the United
States.
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- The diplomatic sources said about 70 diplomats and embassy
staffers were expelled in late 2003 and dozens of others were ordered to
leave the United States by mid-February. Many of those expelled were said
to have worked in the office of the Saudi defense attache.
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- In all, about 70 Saudi diplomats have left the United
States since January, the sources said. They did not include Saudi ambassador
to Washington, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, the longest serving diplomat in
the United States.
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- The State Department has refused to confirm the expulsion
of the Saudi diplomats. "I can't confirm it at this point," State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on Wednesday. "I'll see
if there's anything I can say for you."
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- The Saudi diplomats, in a determination made by the FBI
and Homeland Security Department, were said to have abused their diplomatic
privileges in the United States. The sources said most of the diplomats
were responsible for operations of the Institute of Islamic and Arabic
Sciences in America [IIASA] located in Fairfax, Va.
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- IIASA, established in 1988, has provided free training
for hundreds of Muslims in the United States in Wahabi ideology, the basis
for Al Qaida. The institute is one of six overseas branches of the main
religious university in Saudi Arabia.
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- The Washington-based Saudi Information Agency, operated
by the Saudi opposition, identified the Saudi diplomats who work at the
institute as Fuad Gunaim, Ibrahim Al Kulaib, Abdallah Al Saif, Saleh Al
Sunae, Fahd Al Amer, Saab Al Saab, and Yousef Al Shubaily.
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- The U.S. decision to expel the diplomats was said to
have stemmed from a Houston, Texas conference in December 2003. The Saudi
opposition agency said Saudi diplomats had planned to attend the conference
with what it termed "known supporters of Al Qaida leader Osama Bin
Laden. The Saudi embassy canceled its participation in the conference after
the Washington Post reported the involvement of the diplomats.
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- The conference was to have been addressed by a senior
Saudi cleric Sheik Abdullah Bin Jebreen, who has publicly supported Bin
Laden and his war against the United States, the agency said. Jebreen addressed
the conference via video link from Riyad.
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- [On Thursday, a statement purportedly issued by Bin Laden
said Al Qaida's strategy was to launch a major attack on the United States.
The statement, which appeared on the Voice of Jihad website, said Al Qaida
wants to provoke the United States to retaliate against Saudi Arabia.]
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- The agency said Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan
has refused to take responsibility for the Saudi embassy in Washington.
The agency cited a source as saying he hasn't entered the embassy in years.
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- "Many diplomats have not seen the ambassador for
years," the source said. "Bandar spends most of his time at his
mansions around the U.S. and the world, instead of carrying on his ambassadorial
duties."
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- http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_1.html
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