The Manchester Guardian reports that Saudi Arabia is the world's largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups such as the Afghan Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba – but the Saudi government is reluctant to stem the flow of money, according to Hillary Clinton.
A secret December 2009 paper signed by the US Secretary of State urged US diplomats to step up efforts to prevent Gulf money from reaching extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaida, the Taliban, LeT and other terrorist groups," said the paper.
"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," Clinton said.
Three other Arab countries are listed as sources of militant money: Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The cables highlight an often ignored factor in the Pakistani and Afghan conflicts: that the violence is partly bankrolled by rich, conservative donors across the Arabian Sea whose governments do little to stop them.
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