[A-List] US/Saudi tensions

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Mystery men link Saudi intelligence to Sept 11 hijackers

Julian Borger in Washington
Monday November 25, 2002
The Guardian

Two mysterious Saudi citizens living in California before the September 11
attacks may link the al-Qaida hijackers to Saudi intelligence, according to
reports yesterday which are likely to provoke a new row between the US and
Riyadh.
The possibility of a Saudi intelligence link emerged just hours after
widespread reports of bank cheques indirectly linking two of the hijackers
to a bank account under the name of a Saudi princess, the wife of the
kingdom's ambassador to Washington.

The Saudi embassy angrily denied the suggestion, calling it "untrue and
irresponsible". A spokesman said there was no evidence that cheques from
Princess Haifa bint Faisal's Washington account went to the hijackers Nawaq
al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar.

An FBI investigation leaked over the weekend traced regular monthly
bank-certified cheques worth $3,500 (£2,200) from the princess's account to
a Saudi woman called Majida Dwaikat starting in early 2000, which was when
Mrs Dwaikat's husband, Osama Basnan, befriended al-Hazmi and al-Midhar in
San Diego.

The Saudi embassy said it was investigating whether cheques had been sent to
Mrs Dwaikat but said the payments could have been intended to help a fellow
citizen in need.

Adel Al-Jubeir, a foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, said
Princess Haifa is "a very generous woman" who supports many charitable
causes. There were reports yesterday that Mr Basnan had written to the Saudi
embassy in 1998 to ask for help to pay medical bills for his wife, who he
said had a thyroid condition.

However, Newsweek magazine reported yesterday that there was more evidence
linking Mr Basnan to Riyadh, saying he visited Houston in April just as
Crown Prince Abdullah passed through with a large government entourage. The
magazine quoted sources as saying Mr Basnan met "a high Saudi prince who has
responsibilities for intelligence matters".

Mr Basnan was convicted of visa fraud in August and was ordered to be
deported. He is thought still to be in the US.

Mrs Dwaikat is reported to have signed over many of the cheques from
Princess Haifa to a friend, Manal Ahmed Bagader, the wife of another student
in San Diego, Osama al-Bayoumi, who had links with the same two hijackers.

Mr al-Bayoumi threw a party for al-Midhar and al-Hazmi when they arrived in
2000, guaranteed the lease on a flat next door to his own and paid their
first two months' lease.

Newsweek said Mr al-Bayoumi was believed by some local Muslims to be working
for Saudi intelligence. Mr al-Bayoumi claimed to be studying at San Diego
university but it has no records of him.

On September 11, Mr al-Bayoumi was studying for a business degree at Aston
University, Birmingham. British police questioned him, but he reportedly
claimed that he met al-Hazmi and al-Midhar by accident and was simply shown
Arab hospitality.

The leaks about Mr al-Bayoumi and Mr Basnan are a symptom of rivalry in
Washington. Congress is preparing a report into the September 11
investigation criticising the administration for failing to pursue leads
that point to the Saudi establishment. The FBI is also frustrated that its
inquiry into the Saudi role was stymied for political reasons.