Flashtraffic: Saudi Arabia, ally or enemy?

The Bush administration maintains that in the war on terror, the Saudis have shown "very good cooperation," but a new book raises serious questions about with whom the Saudis are cooperating. Hatred's Kingdom by Dore Gold provides dramatic evidence of Saudi complicity in global terrorism and it's catching fire with the public. The book hits The New York Times bestseller list on March 16 at No. 10 following a media blitz on Fox, CNN, MSNBC, conservative talk radio, and The Wall Street Journal op-ed page.

"If you want to prevent another 9/11, you've got to prevent Saudi funding and incitement of terrorism," Mr. Gold, the former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, told WORLD. His solid research may provoke a long-overdue debate over the future of U.S.-Saudi relations. A January Zogby poll found 69 percent of Americans say that in the war on terrorism, Saudi Arabia is not a good ally.

Page 240: A Palestinian intelligence document (captured by Israeli forces) explains that funds for the terrorist group Islamic Jihad "starts in Saudi Arabia, goes through Egypt and reaches Palestine." Page 242: A Saudi government spreadsheet (captured by Israeli forces) details how $545,000 in Saudi funds paid 102 Palestinian families to make their sons "martyrs" of the intifada, dying in suicide bombings or other Hamas operations. Page 244: A letter to Saudi Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz from a top Arafat deputy, Abu Mazen, bluntly complains that the Saudis are "sending large amounts" of money "to radical committees and associations" including a faction "which belongs to Hamas," but "does not send any money or assistance to the members of Fatah," the militant wing of Arafat's regime.