Got this from Lucianne--you'll have to subscribe to the New York Times to get the whole thing.

U.S. says Saudis refuse to freeze Bin Laden assets

NY Times/Star Tribune, by Staff

Saudi Arabia has so far refused to freeze the assets of Osama bin Laden and his associates, and has proved unwilling to cooperate fully in the investigation of the hijacking suspects in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday. To some extent, Bush administration officials say they understand the strains in Saudi Arabia as the royal family tries to reconcile a military alliance with the United States and the conservative strain of Islam that dominates its society. Of particular worry to the administration is the reluctance of the Saudi rulers to clamp down on the Islamic charities and other financial institutions that have provided money to Bin Laden's network.

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001

Answers

So, do you all think this is disinformation to keep the Saudi populace from rioting (while behind the scenes Saudi helps the U.S. by all means possible)?

I thought that Bin Laden planned on overthrowing the Saudi Royal family - why should they be helping him then? Blackmail?

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001

Deb, I think it's possible. Probable? I don't know. I do know that every time Rumsfeld was asked about what our troops would be doing in Pakistan, Saudi, etc., he answered that he felt it was their place to answer that question, not his. In other words, I think he telegraphed that their culture allows dissebling (whereas ours is pretty unforgiving of any clever wordplay).

-- Anonymous, October 11, 2001