High Cost of Coalition, The New York Times News Service.
Washington -- within a week after the terror attacks, 15 members of Osama Bin Laden's family, among others, were spirited out of this country back home to Saudi Arabia. The Royals in Riyadh were worried that these Saudi nationals might be harassed by vengeful Americans. After all, 14 of the suicide hijackers were Saudis; Bin Ladens fortune is Saudi.
The swift extraction from a the United States of the extended Bin Laden family was testimony to be Washington influence of ambassador Bandar bin Sultan.
The FBI, informed of the flight by the FAA, searched the families luggage and briefly interviewed those with out diplomatic passport, and watched the Bin Ladens depart. The Saudis wanted their nationals out of American clutch is in a hurry, and in Washington, what Bandar wants, Bandar gets. With seeming Frankness and delicious leaks, the pilot-prince charms diplomats, disarms journalists and gets the kingdom's way.
Such deference infuriates FBI agents who remember the terror bombing that killed four Americans who were training to Saudi National Guard six years ago in Riyadh. Before the FBI could query those rounded up about the links to Bin Lawton, Saudi "justice" forced confessions from these Bin Laden worshipers and promptly beheaded them; dead men tell no tales.
Worse was the stonewalling by Saudi royalty of the FBI's investigation of the massacre of 19 American air men in the Dhahran's Khobar Towers. The FBI was not allowed to interview terrorist suspects nor to examine the getaway car; instead, our agents were shown selected videos. When a federal grand jury here finally indicted 13 Saudis, the kingdom blew us off; no trial has been held there because the accused when exposed corruption on high.
Prince Bandar was no help to state or the FBI in finding the terrorist behind these two separate murders of Americans by Saudi terrorist. But after 7000 more Americans died at the hands of Saudi radicals, and the royal family wanted it's and Bin Laden's relatives yanked home, Bandar said "jump" and the United States replied, "how high?"
Though reason for our sensitivity to Saudi royalty's feelings is that Colin Powell is again into "coalition- building." Our investigation seems to say, "help a sketched this particular terrorist gang now and all is forgiven." To other Arab states, that message is in danger of being refined to, "just give us names and high doubts so we can kill the terrorist who bombed us, and we'll pay you for it by leaning on the Israelis to appease the terrorist who are bombing them."
We all are being told that in coalition-building for a war on terror, intelligence is all. If the Saudis, Pakistanis, Egyptians-- even the Iranians and Libyans-- share their secrets about Islamic extremist with us, we will welcome them into civilized society and send money, too. It could go further: if Russia helps, will forget Chechnya, and if China helps, will go wobbly on Taiwan. Just say yes to "coalesce."
But let us not pay too much for too little. Saudi intelligence will rat on Iranian Hezbollah terrorist, but not on Hamas, and certainly not on the Saudi money trail to al-Qaede. Syria will sell out some in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley but protect those headquartered in Damascus. In the same way, Egypt will blow the whistle on the brotherhood out to kill its president, Hosni Mubarak , but will turn forgetful about Bin Laden's brigade.
The trouble with seeking to build a grand intelligence coalition is that too often those willing to rat on terrorist A are harborers of terrorist B at home and black mailers of terrorist C abroad. President Bush's grand spook strategy may be to buy a little from each source and then zap 'em all, but that's too simple by half.
In the current flurry of secret deal making, the intelligence committees of Congress must ask: what is the Bush administration promising to which countries for what kind of covert help? Are we making deals that will track down al-Qaeda in Afghanistan but protect terror sites in Lebanon in Iran and bio-war labs in Iraq? How do we guard against this disinformation from Pakistani spies designed to harm in the is agents inside the Taliban, and vice versa? Overall, are we buying Phase I's retribution against one terrorists gang with promise of no phase II protective strikes against the terrorist nation?