A
Saudis,
U.S.
disclose intelligence
operations on
terrorism<
*By
JOHN
SOLOMON=
^Associated
Press Writer=WASHINGTON (AP) _ When U.S. officials were trying to gain access
to
a key al-Qaida operative detained in Yemen, Vice President DickCheney pickedup thephoneandcalled SaudiArabia'scrown
prince.
The
U.S.
ally intervened with the Yemeni president, and thesuspectwasquickly sentto afriendly third country whereU.S.intelligence could question him.U.S. and Saudi officials, in rare interviews discussing jointintelligence operations, have told The Associated Press that SaudiArabiahassecretly providedtheUnited States with severaldiplomatic
and
intelligence favors
in the war on
terrorism.
The contributions,
they said, have
gone unacknowledged in
partbecause of
concerns
that public disclosure might alienate a Saudicitizenry
wary
of cooperation with America or affect diplomaticrelations with other Middle East countries.The confirmation of more than a half-dozen acts of assistance by
the
Saudis comes at a time
when
the longtime U.S. ally is trying tocounter criticism thatit wassoftonterrorism beforeSept. 11,2001
.
Officials said the Saudi desire to counter that criticism, alongwith a heightened alert inside the kingdom after May 12 terroristbombings in Riyadh killed 35 people, have freed both sides todiscuss previously secret cooperative efforts.""Since Sept. 11, 2001, the two countries have exchanged morethan 3,500 memorandums dealing with counterterrorism
efforts,''
said Adel al-Jubeir, the crown prince's foreign affairs adviser.""Thisrepresents more than six memos per day and is a clearexample of the intensive cooperation.''Bothsides say intelligence sharing has been imperfect but is
improving.
U.S. officials and congressional leaders say the flow of Saudiinformation at times has been halting or incomplete, especiallywhen it comes to questions about the kingdom's own citizens. Andthey say Saudi attention before Sept. 11 to possible terrorist
uses
of
Saudi-based charities was lacking.
""While
the Saudi government insists that it is cooperatingfully with U.S. law enforcement efforts, our officials note thecooperation
has
been uneven,'' Senate Governmental AffairsCommittee chairwoman
Susan
M. Collins, R-Maine, said. Her committee
is
investigating possible terror financing
schemes.
The Saudis counter they initiated the first joint terrorism taskforce with U.S. intelligenceasearlyas1997and saythey were,at
times,
bewildered to receive duplicative requests from multiple
U.S.
agencies, all unaware that another federal
agency
already hadthe information.""Everyone is smarter after 9-11. Everyone missed the mark prior
to
9-11. No one country can be
blamed,''
said Prince Bandar, thelongtime Saudi ambassador to Washington.Both sides agree the process has improved _ particularly with
the
formationofjoint terrorist task forces
that
have centralized
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