28 June - 4 July 2001
Issue No.540
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 June - 4 July 2001 Issue No.540 |
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Indictments without prisoners
The United States' indictment of 13 Saudi Arabians and a Lebanese as the main suspects behind the 1995 Khobar bombing might be a largely symbolic move, writes Thomas Gorguissian from Washington
On the day after the United States named 14 Saudis and a Lebanese national as suspects in the 1995 bombing at Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in which 19 servicemen were killed, US troops in the Middle East were moved to Threat Condition Delta, the highest alert level.
Several Navy mine sweepers were reportedly ordered out of port in Bahrain, the headquarters for the US 5th Fleet. Marine Corps exercises in Jordan were cancelled and the Marines were aboard their three ships, led by the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer.
Defence officials, while mentioning these precautionary steps, said intelligence reports suggested that "terrorists" -- in reference to the Saudi dissident hiding in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden -- might attack American military or civilian targets in the region.
"An increased risk of a terrorist action from extremist groups" was also cited by the State Department in its updated worldwide caution for American citizens abroad on 22 June. The state of emergency ended on Monday, and US embassies and consulates in several Gulf countries resumed normal functions.
Al-Kobar's indictment came four days before the 5th anniversary of the devastating blast, and before the end a five-year statute of limitations that "would have ruled out some of the conspiracy and attempted murder charges."
On 21 June, a federal grand jury returned a 46-count indictment charging 13 Saudis and a Lebanese man (who remained unnamed, and was referred to as "John Doe") with the truck bombing at the Khobar Towers apartment building in Saudi Arabia which killed 19 American airmen and wounded nearly 400 others in 1996.
The indictment does not include charges against Iranians, but there are references to "Iranian officials." US Attorney General John Ashcroft said Iranian officials had "inspired, supported and supervised members of Saudi Hizbullah."
At the same news conference, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louis J Freeh, who stepped down last Friday after eight years in the post, said the inquiry would remain open. Asked to elaborate on the Iranian involvement in the case, Freeh said it would not be proper for him to discuss the matter beyond the indictment. "We consider this a very open and very active case.," he said.
The case for now -- as many observers agree -- is "largely symbolic" since the US does not hold any of the defendants in custody, and two years ago even deported one of them, Hani Al- Sayegh, to Saudi Arabia. Thus, as long as Iranian officials are not named and the Saudis vehemently oppose the extradition of suspects in their custody, the case will remain as it was and is, analysts believe.
The Saudi reaction to the indictment was swift. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan criticised the US for meddling in his country's internal affairs. "This issue concerns Saudi Arabia alone," Prince Sultan said. "The American side should send all the documents, complete proof and a list of names of the accused to us, because Saudi authorities alone are concerned with this case."
The Prince added: "We are glad to know of any country which has any background or information about any person who has a clue or was involved [in the bombing] and we will cooperate."
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef, in an interview published in the Arabic-language Al- Riyadh newspaper, pointed out that Saudi Arabia held all but three of the suspects. "We are the ones concerned with the case and it will run its course just as other cases run their course, before Saudi security apparatus and before the Saudi legal system," he said.
It was reported that during the previous Clinton Administration there was much friction over this case between the two close allies, Riyadh and Washington, especially between Freeh and the president himself. Some American officials privately complained about the "limited access" to suspects and evidence the Saudi side had offered. In addition, there was a refusal on the Saudi side -- as some observers described it -- to publicly accuse Iranian officials so as not to reverse a recent warming in Saudi-Iranian relations. The Clinton Administration was also not ready to accuse Iran of involvement, especially when efforts of rapprochement between Washington and Tehran were underway.
"I think there was a bow to foreign policy considerations, which have been affecting this case ever since it was launched," Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East analyst at the Congressional Research Service, told The Washington Post. "The US is trying to engage Iran. We realise they've been sponsors of terrorism, but we're trying to coax Iran into a new relationship."
Observers noted that the Bush administration seemed "less concerned" about criticising or offending Iran, and that its attitude was reflected in the Khobar indictment. Iran has flatly rejected the US allegations. The Iranian state news agency IRNA reported Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi as saying: "The US judiciary has levelled charges against Iran which have no legal and judicial basis." He added that the accusation reflected "Washington's submission to the Zionist lobby and its influence."
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