Hillary: Saudi is "the most significant source of funding for Sunni terrorists worldwide"
https://wikileaks.org/
Still, donors in Saudi Arabia
constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni
terrorist groups worldwide. Continued senior-level USG
engagement is needed to build on initial efforts and
encourage the Saudi government to take more steps to stem the
flow of funds from Saudi Arabia-based sources to terrorists
and extremists worldwide.
(S/NF) The USG engages regularly with the Saudi
Government on terrorist financing. The establishment in 2008
of a Treasury attache office presence in Riyadh contributes
to robust interaction and information sharing on the issue.
Despite this presence, however, more needs to be done since
Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for
al-Qa'ida, the Taliban, LeT, and other terrorist groups,
including Hamas, which probably raise millions of dollars
annually from Saudi sources, often during Hajj and Ramadan.
In contrast to its increasingly aggressive efforts to disrupt
al-Qa'ida's access to funding from Saudi sources, Riyadh has
taken only limited action to disrupt fundraising for the UN
1267-listed Taliban and LeT-groups that are also aligned with
al-Qa'ida and focused on undermining stability in Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
