Saudi official: War in Iraq sparked terror (AP) Updated: 2005-12-09 08:35
The U.S.-led war in Iraq accelerated the spread of terrorism around the globe
and reports of U.S. mistreatment of terror prisoners are troubling its allies,
the new Saudi ambassador to Washington said Thursday.
In a wide-ranging interview with American reporters, Prince Turki bin
al-Faisal also said he thinks Osama bin Laden may no longer be in charge of
al-Qaida, called Israel's decision to pull out of the Gaza Strip a "remarkable
achievement" and said his country has concerns that Iran is meddling in the
establishment of an Iraqi government.
Asked whether the war in Iraq made the world less safe, Turki said even if
the United States had not invaded, global terrorism would have continued. "Going
into Iraq may have accentuated or accelerated that process, but I don't think it
is the reason why we are having bombs in London or in Saudi Arabia or wherever,"
he said.
Turki's comments come as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice concludes a
European tour where she has faced daily questions about U.S. detention and
interrogation policies aimed at stopping terrorism. That has included criticism
of secret CIA prisons and "renditions" in which intelligence operatives grab
terror suspects and deliver them to their home countries or another where they
are wanted for a crime.
Turki, a former director of the Saudi intelligence service, said his country
has never accepted any renditions or served as an interrogation or holding point
at the United States' request.
In its annual report on human rights worldwide, the State Department called
Saudi Arabia's human rights' record "poor overall," despite some progress. It
said Saudi security forces "continue to abuse detainees and prisoners,
arbitrarily arrest and hold persons in incommunicado detention."
Turki said five or six Saudis have been released from the U.S. detention
facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and more than 100 still remain there.
Discussions about their release are continuing, he added.
The ambassador said he does not have any specific information about whether
any Saudis held by the United States have been mistreated, beyond what he reads
in news reports.
"The U.S. for much of mankind has always stood as an example of ... due
process, human rights, innocent before proven guilty," Turki said. "If any of
these precepts and principles are flouted by the promoter ... then that affects
all of us."
On Iraq, Turki said he, too, was surprised that weapons of mass destruction
were not found there, given Saddam Hussein's ambitions. "We were all assuming
that he was working toward acquiring the means for weapons of mass destruction,
but there was no specifics," he said.
While Turki described Saudi Arabia's relations with Iran positively, he said
the Iraqis report "increased interference" from Iran as they establish their
government, including the takeover of village councils and intimidation in the
election process.
"We express to our Iranian neighbors that that is not going to be helpful,"
Turki said.
On other issues, Turki said:
- He believes that Osama bin Laden is alive but that there is some
question about whether he is still the leader of al-Qaida. Bin Laden has not
been heard from since an audio last December, and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri,
has been making the public pronouncements for the past year. Yet Turki didn't
know precisely what the shift meant, suggesting that bin Laden even may be in
retirement.
- The Israeli pullout of the Gaza Strip has been a "remarkable
achievement" on the part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, "who throughout
his life has been of the opposite opinion" and has wanted to take more land from
the Palestinians.
- Saudi Arabia has been undergoing a number of democratic reforms. Turki said
he can see a day when the country's national assembly would be elected and would
include women.
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