The U.S. State Department annual report "Patterns of Global Terrorism" for 2003 was released April 29, 2004.  The report, mandated by the U.S. Congress, provides a snapshot of developments in the global war on terrorism focusing on a region by region overview.  This year's report provides a detailed discussion of Saudi-US cooperation in combatting terrorism and offers high marks for the Kingdom's efforts to fight Al Qaeda. 

This SUSRIS Item of Interest offers pertinent excerpts from the report for your review as well as links (see below) to the complete document and related material.   Also see the SUSRIS Terrorism Timeline for more on Saudi-US cooperation in fighting terrorism.

Excerpt from Amb. Black's introduction to the report.

We have made significant progress in the two and one-half years since the global war on terrorism began. But the ultimate success of this global counterterrorism campaign will hinge, in large part, on two factors: sustained international political will and effective capacity building.

First, we must sustain and enhance the political will of states to fight terrorism. The key to maintaining a coalition is underscoring to its members every day that the fight is not over and that sustained effort is clearly in their long-term interests. We have made tremendous progress on that score.

Second, we need to enhance the capacity of all states to fight terrorism. The United States cannot by itself investigate every lead, arrest every suspect, gather and analyze all the intelligence, effectively sanction every sponsor of terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or find and fight every terrorist cell.

I would cite Malaysia as a nation that is helping others increase their counterterrorism capacities while also increasing its own. Malaysia opened the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Counterterrorism in August. Participants from 15 nations from South and Southeast Asia received US-provided training at the center in ways to cut off sources of terrorist financing. Malaysia is a key partner in the war on terrorism, and its role in creating a regional center for building counterterrorism capacity and sharing information about terrorism in Asia is most welcome.

The United States shares that goal of assisting governments to become full and self-sustaining partners in the global fight against terrorism.

This fight will be of uncertain duration, but additional deadly attacks are certain.  

As Secretary Powell reminded us on the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks: "Led by the United States, nations all around the globe have come together in an historic effort to wipe terrorism from the face of the Earth. Faithful friends and former foes alike have united against terror, and we are bringing every tool of statecraft to bear against it -- military, intelligence, law enforcement, financial, and most certainly diplomatic."

Middle East Overview

The Middle East continued to be the region of greatest concern in the global war on terrorism. Major terrorist attacks occurred in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Israel during 2003, highlighting the damage that terrorism can wreak on innocent people. Terrorist groups and their state sponsors continued terrorist activities and planning throughout 2003. Active groups included al-Qaida, Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), Hizballah, Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Ansar al-Islam (AI), and the remnants of the Zarqawi network, among others. Despite these discouraging indicators, significant counterterrorism cooperation continued on the part of almost all countries in the region. Furthermore, the regime of Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein was ousted from power by a US-led Coalition conducting Operation Iraqi Freedom, marking an important advance for the global war on terrorism.

Across the region, governments demonstrated the political will to tackle the threat of terrorism on their soil and lent their weight to bilateral and multilateral efforts to fight terror. Terrorist assets were targeted, as most Middle East governments froze al-Qaida financial assets pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions 1373, 1267, 1333, 1390, and 1455. Many countries provided essential support to Coalition military activities in the liberation of Iraq and have continued vital support to ongoing operations in Afghanistan. Several countries signed or became parties to the international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism. Every country hosting an American diplomatic and/or military presence responded to US requests to provide enhanced security, particularly during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The United States provided training throughout the region to augment the capacity of our allies in the fight against terrorism.

There were no reported terrorist attacks against Western targets in Yemen in 2003. The Government of Yemen made a number of key al-Qaida-related arrests in 2003, but it raised concerns with its release of extremists without full disclosure of information and its inability to recapture escaped USS Cole suspects. The United States and Yemen continue joint counterterrorism training and cooperation, and there has been significant progress on standing up the Yemen Coast Guard.

The other states of the Arabian Peninsula also made important progress, particularly in locating and blocking terrorist finances, sharing information and intelligence on terrorists and terrorist groups, and strengthening law enforcement cooperation.

Morocco stepped-up its already robust counterterrorism actions following the tragic suicide bombings in Casablanca on 16 May. Taking swift action to identify the culprits, Moroccan authorities uncovered the involvement of several deadly terrorist groups and took decisive legal actions to address the threat. Egypt continued to be a leader in the counterterrorism fight and increased its dialogue with the United States on this issue. Algeria also remained at the forefront of regional counterterrorism cooperation, supporting Coalition efforts against al-Qaida while acting decisively against indigenous terror groups. Tunisia ratified the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism in February 2003, making Tunisia a party to all 12 international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism.

Jordan took decisive legal steps against terror, indicting 11 individuals for the murder of USAID officer Laurence Foley, and also brought charges against possible al-Qaida and Ansar al-Islam members suspected of planning attacks against tourists and foreigners. Israel maintained its 59 resolute stand against terrorism, weathering numerous casualties in terrorist attacks against civilians. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority (PA) continued to take insufficient steps to stop terrorist operations. Lebanon also remained problematic, as it continued to host numerous terrorist groups and refused to take actions against certain terrorist elements in the country.

Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Syria -- which have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism -- are discussed in the state sponsorship section of this report.

[Discussion of other countries omitted.]

Saudi Arabia

The terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia on 12 May and 9 November galvanized Riyadh into launching a sustained crackdown against al-Qaida's presence in the Kingdom and spurred an unprecedented level of cooperation with the United States. Riyadh has aggressively attacked al-Qaida's operational and support network in Saudi Arabia and detained or killed a number of prominent operatives and financial facilitators.

The attack of 9 November, which resulted in the deaths of a number of Muslims and Arabs during the holy month of Ramadan, transformed Saudi public acceptance of the widespread nature of the threat in the Kingdom. This acceptance has facilitated increased security and counterterrorism efforts by the Saudi Government, including stepped up security at a variety of locations throughout the country, such as residential facilities.

The attacks also led Riyadh to implement a variety of programs aimed at directly combating terrorist activity. In early May 2003, the Saudis began to publicize their counterterrorist efforts, including naming 19 individuals most wanted by the security services for involvement in terrorist activities. In early December, Riyadh announced the names of 26 individuals -- including the seven remaining fugitives from the list of 19 -- wanted for terrorist-related activities and provided background information on the suspects to help the public to identify them. Soon thereafter, Saudi security forces killed operative Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Abdallah al-Rayyis, a terrorist named on the list. Also in early December, Saudi authorities announced a rewards program -- ranging from $270,000 to $1.87 million -- for information leading to the arrest of suspects or the disruption of terrorist attacks and have used local newspapers to publish pleas from operatives' family members to turn themselves in to authorities.

Since May, Riyadh has arrested more than 600 individuals during counterterrorism operations and continues investigating the Riyadh attacks. Saudi security forces have suffered significant casualties while conducting counterterrorism operations and raids. Raids in Mecca, Riyadh, and Medina led to arrests and document seizures and netted large quantities of explosives and a variety of weapons. In July alone, security services seized more than 20 tons of explosive-making materials in Qassim. In November, the authorities seized a truck bomb at a reported al-Qaida safehouse in Riyadh. Meanwhile, Saudi officials met several times with their Yemeni counterparts in an effort to stanch the flow of weapons into Saudi Arabia from Yemen.

During the past year, Riyadh expanded its cooperation with the United States in combating terrorist financing. The Government prohibited the collection of cash donations at mosques or commercial establishments, and in May the central bank issued a banking circular prohibiting charities from depositing or withdrawing cash or transferring funds abroad. In August 2003, Saudi Arabia adopted a new anti-money laundering and antiterrorist financing law, which criminalized money laundering and terrorist financing. The law also established a single financial intelligence unit, as required by the Financial Action Task Force, to collect against and analyze suspicious financial transactions and placed stringent "know your customer" requirements in the banking system. The Kingdom also established with the United States a Joint Task Force on Terrorist Financing to facilitate law-enforcement cooperation at the operational level. On 22 December, the United States and Saudi Arabia publicly announced their request to the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee to add the names of two organizations and one individual to its consolidated list.

On both the domestic and international fronts, Saudi Arabia initiated an ideological campaign against Islamist terrorist organizations, using its unique credentials as the custodian of Islam's two holiest shrines. Senior Saudi Government and religious officials espouse a consistent message of moderation and tolerance, explaining that Islam and terrorism are incompatible. Notably, in October speeches at the Organization of Islamic Conference Summit in Malaysia and later in Pakistan, Crown Prince Abdullah recommended to a broader audience concrete steps to counter extremism and improve relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.

For its part, Saudi Arabia has expressed its commitment to undertake internal political, social, and economic reforms aimed at combating the underlying causes of terrorism, and authorities have worked to delegitimize or correct those who would use Islam to justify terrorist acts. In early December, jailed cleric Ahmed al-Khalidi renounced his previous endorsement of violent jihad. Khalidi's statement followed similar public renunciations by extremist clerics Shaykh Ali bin Ali al-Khudayr and Nasir al-Fahd.

Saudi Arabia provided essential support to Operation Iraqi Freedom and continues to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia has signed nine of the 12 international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism and is a party to six.

Related Material

• Terrorism Timeline
• Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003

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