Saudi Arabia is acting to freeze terrorists' accounts

AP Diplomatic WriterWASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration said Thursday that Saudi Arabia is acting to freeze assets of the al-Qaida terrorism network and is cooperating fully with the United States in countering terrorism.

Only a handful of countries have followed the U.S. lead and frozen the network's assets, and Saudi Arabia is among those that haven't, a senior administration official said. The Saudis are moving toward a freeze, however, and are making good progress, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

President Bush announced after a Cabinet meeting Thursday that the United States had frozen $40 million in assets of the al-Qaida network and leader Osama bin Laden. Aides quickly corrected the figure to $24 million.

The administration's public praise of the Saudis followed a report in The New York Times that the Arab kingdom so far had refused to freeze the assets of bin Laden and his associates and had proved unwilling to cooperate fully with the investigation of the hijacking suspects in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"We're very satisfied with Saudi cooperation," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Thursday. "They've been with us in many areas of this coalition and many of the steps that need to be taken."

Specifically, Boucher said the Saudis had helped the United States to isolate Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia diplomatically, and "they've worked with us on a number of military requests that we've had."

Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said after a Cabinet meeting at the White House, "They, along with everyone else, have been as cooperative as they could be."

To some extent, the newspaper's story said, Bush administration officials say they understand the strains in Saudi Arabia as the royal dynasty tries to reconcile the two contradictory pillars of its support: a military alliance with the United States and the conservative strain of Islam that dominates its society.

But Boucher said "we're working together in the financial area as well" as on military issues. "So we're very satisfied with the cooperation. We've found that they've been together on everything we asked."

On the financial front, the spokesman said, "we've had financial discussions with Saudi experts on how to take steps together in the financial area. We'll have those discussions continue. As the president and the secretary have made clear, we're in a long-term campaign against terrorism. Combating terrorist financing is an integral part of that, but not necessarily one that leads to instant results."

In New York, meanwhile, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a major investor in American companies, toured the rubble at the World Trade Center and presented the city with a $10 million check for relief efforts.

He called the attack an unbelievable, tremendous crime.

"We are here to tell America and to tell New York that Saudi Arabia is with the United States wholeheartedly," he said.

But in a statement distributed by an aide, the prince said that "at times like this one we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack."

"I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause," Alwaleed said. "Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek."