Daily Times

The global war on terror has time and again led us down some very dark and disturbing paths, from discovering the origins of militancy in the post-Cold War era to accepting that the world we live in today will never again be the same, and neither will our perceptions of the people involved in this global game. The latest shocking revelations have been made by Zacarias Moussaoui, an al Qaeda operative who is in prison in the US. In a deposition he has issued some damning statements against none other than the Saudi regime, accusing it of having ties with al Qaeda operatives before the 9/11 attacks. He even went so far as to say that a dozen prominent Saudi individuals were responsible for providing funding to the terror group and that one such Saudi diplomat even discussed plans with him of shooting down Air Force One, the US president’s aircraft. Not surprisingly, the Saudis have furiously denied these allegations, arguing that Moussaoui cannot be considered a credible witness. And this time, it seems, the Saudis are not wrong.

Some things about Moussaoui’s claims just cannot be taken at face value. First, the al Qaeda operative has been evaluated as having a history of mental instability. Secondly, one really does not know or understand what the motive is behind his claims after so many years; is he singing like a canary to gain some favours from his jailers? Thirdly, Osama bin Laden had been an enemy of the Saudis ever since the Iraq war in 1991 when the kingdom allowed US bases on Saudi soil. This irked bin Laden who vehemently declared that the monarchy was defiling the holy land. Does it actually make sense for the Saudis to fund and arm a group that had so publicly declared its purpose to be the elimination of the Saudi monarchy? Some things just do not add up. There can be room for the belief that some wealthy, private Saudi individuals may have been the financiers Moussaoui is talking about but that, too, is only a matter of speculation.

There is no doubt that the kingdom has played a huge role in the bloodshed and mayhem we see in many parts of the world today. Saudi petro-dollars provided funding to the mujahideen to beat back the Soviets during the Afghan jihad. Later, continuing Saudi funding for madrassas churned out the likes of the Taliban, giving rise to the monster of terrorism we see today. However, these facts must not be confused with the rantings of a man already convicted and who may very well be desperate for some kind of leniency. The Saudis are to blame hugely for the current terrorist affliction, but let us deduce conclusions logically. *