Nita Lowey: “I thank Mr. Weiner for his leadership and persistence on this critical issue, and rise in strong support of his…”

“I thank Mr. Weiner for his leadership and persistence on this critical issue, and rise in strong support of his amendment. I do not say this lightly--Saudi Arabia is an ally of the United States; they have come to our aid in Gulf military actions several times. The U.S. has worked hard to get Saudi cooperation to apprehend terrorist suspects, share intelligence, and professionalize their counterterrorism efforts, and I support those efforts. However, there can be no doubt now that Saudi Arabia has two faces. On the one hand, Saudi Arabia stood--they said--in shock and solidarity with the U.S. when our citizens were murdered by an Al Qaeda gang comprised primarily of Saudi citizens. They have allowed the U.S. military to again use Saudi air fields as staging grounds for the emission in Iraq. But on the other, the Council of Foreign Relations reports that Saudis and Saudi charities are a major source--the 'most important' source, according to CFR--for Al Qaeda, and states plainly that Saudi officials have turned a 'blind eye' to this reality. Senior U.S. officials criticize Saudi Arabia for being uncooperative in terrorism investigations, Saudi citizens shower the families of Al Qaeda terrorists with money, and the ruling family in Saudi Arabia seems to have come no closer to acknowledging its own complicity in terrorist financing.”