WASHINGTON – A former US ambassador has claimed that in a recent meeting with him some Saudi Arabian official conceded that the Kingdon supported extremism and militancy for decades to counter several forces, however, they are now trying to give up such policies.
In an article in Politico Magazine, Zalmay Khalilzad, who served US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the United Nations, said that Saudi Arabia first started using the weapon of extremism against former Egyptian President Jamal Abdel Nasser.
Afterwards, the tool of terrorism was used against Iran, the Soviet Union and in Afghanistan to strengthen the role of Saudi Arabia, the former ambassador went on to mention in his comment piece.
“But over time, the Saudis say, their support for extremism turned on them, metastasizing into a serious threat to the Kingdom and to the West. They had created a monster that had begun to devour them,” he further added.
Zalmay Khalilzad also quoted an unnamed Saudi official as saying “We did not own up to it after 9/11 because we feared you would abandon or treat us as the enemy, and we were in denial.”
He further mentioned that Saudi officials also confessed that they “misled” the United States by denying their support for terrorism.
In the article, he also claimed that Saudi Arabia is still supporting a number of extremist organizations such as Al-Nusra to topple anti-Saudi government in Syria.
