Speaking of al Qaeda connections

Vinnell, an alleged CIA-front operation that was among the targets of the recent terrorist bombings in Riyadh, was reportedly hated by al-Qaeda for their training of Saudi Arabia's National Guard.

You can also read about Vinnell here and here and here.

A more recent article by William D. Hartung can be found here.

In this Washington Post article you can read this;

Saudi authorities are investigating suspected illegal arms sales by members of the country's national guard to al Qaeda operatives in the country, U.S. and Saudi officials said.

The weapons were seized in a May 6 raid on an al Qaeda safe house and were traced to national guard stockpiles, the officials said.

The Saudi interior minister said today that officials have identified three of the suicide bombers involved in attacks last week on three residential compounds in Riyadh, which led to the deaths of 34 people, including eight Americans. He said they were part of a group of 19 people wanted in connection with the May 6 raid.

An al Qaeda link to notables in the Bush government based on this evidence alone is stronger than the flimsy reports we cited for pre-emptively striking Iraq.

In that same report an unnamed 'US official' stated "cooperation was excellent and involved more than just looking at the bomb sites. The official said U.S. involvement was in sharp contrast to earlier investigations in which visiting FBI agents were shut out."

However this is in sharp contrast to a report published on the NYT site May 19 that is no longer found at its original link but can be read here.

Despite the strong words, Saudi Arabia's interior minister Prince Nayef downplayed the role played by U.S. investigators in probing the attacks on three foreign housing complexes he linked to al-Qaida.

During a tense press conference Sunday, Nayef called for ``a concerted international effort'' to crack down on those who plan such attacks. He did not identify those he suspected of being behind them.

Nayef described a limited role for U.S. investigators in the kingdom, saying they had come to examine ``the sites and we welcomed them based on that, for examining only.''