The Hindu : U.S. has `strong suspicions' of Al-Qaeda involvement

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 15, 2003

International

International

U.S. has `strong suspicions' of Al-Qaeda involvement

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON MAY 14. The Bush administration has not reached any conclusive determination on the suicide bombings in Saudi Arabia that has left eight Americans dead, but has "strong suspicions" that the Al-Qaeda is behind the attacks.

"We continue to have strong suspicions about Al-Qaeda's involvement in this. But we have not reached any conclusions. We continue to investigate," said the White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, on Wednesday. The U.S. has ordered all non-essential diplomats and family members out of Saudi Arabia and the State Department has closed the Embassy in Riyadh for security reasons.

The attack by suicide squads in three compounds have left at least 34 persons dead and 200 injured including perhaps as many as 40 Americans. Washington had tried to get security tightened around the three compounds, but the efforts have been in vain.

Earlier this month, the State Department issued an advisory to Americans to avoid travel in Saudi Arabia because of heightened terrorism concerns. "As soon as we learned of this particular threat information we contacted the Saudi Government," said the American Ambassador in Riyadh, Robert Jordan, making the point that the Saudis were asked for increased security "on several occasions, ...but they did not as of the time of this tragic event provide the additional security we requested".

The Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia appearing on a television programme argued that "there was news coming from everywhere that they were planning a major attack" and that a committee had been formed with the United States to see what could be done to prevent this from happening." "...we came very close to doing that, but unfortunately they were able to do their damage," Prince Saud al Faisal said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has dispatched about a dozen agents as part of an `assessment' team to help in the investigation. The team comprises bomb specialists and technicians. The U.S. President, George W. Bush, has vowed to bring the killers to justice saying that the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia were committed by "killers whose only faith is hate".

Visiting parts of Missouri which had been devastated by tornadoes, Mr. Bush said the attackers would be tracked down."It doesn't matter how long it takes, the war on terror goes on.'' Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats have had different perceptions on why it was that the terror attack in Saudi Arabia came through. One Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Bob Graham of Florida, has suggested that the war against Iraq was a distraction from the war against terrorism and the Al-Qaeda.

But at least one senior Republican disagreed.

"I know that because I monitor daily the military situation and we had no lessening of our resolve against worldwide terrorism," said John Warner who happens to be the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

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