U.S. Lets Saudis Bypass Regular Airport Security

The Obama administration has quietly rewarded the Middle Eastern country that produced most of the 9/11 hijackers with a special travel privilege that allows its nationals to bypass normal passport security controls at major U.S. airports.

Only a handful of U.S. allies—including Canada, Mexico, South Korea and the Netherlands—currently enjoy the perk while other American partners like Germany and France are still excluded. Incredibly, the Obama administration has cut a deal with Saudi Arabia, which produced 15 of the 19 hijackers in the 2001 terrorist attacks, to enjoy the privilege under a program called Global Entry.

It’s not the kind of story you’ll see in the mainstream media, but a research center dedicated to investigating radical Islamic terrorist groups, their operations and funding, brought much-needed attention to it this week. Citing Homeland Security sources, the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reveals that it will mark the first time that the Saudi government has a direct role in vetting who is eligible for fast-tracked entry into the United States.

This is a “slap in the face,” according to IPT, which posts a number of in-depth reports on its website on topics ranging from American jihadist terrorism to the influence of Islamic law on law enforcement and the Muslim Brotherhood. Among the investigations that relate to this particular issue is a 2011 report documenting how textbooks long used in Saudi Arabia’s schools promote religious violence. Keep in mind that most of the 9/11 terrorist and Osama bin Laden himself were born and educated in Saudi Arabia.

It’s downright outrageous that the Obama administration is now making it easier for Saudis to enter the United States. Consider that just three years ago the U.S. government actually placed Saudi Arabia on a list of 14 countries whose travelers would face enhanced security when entering the country. Why? Because a Saudi national named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. commercial airliner on Christmas Day in 2009.

Around the same time Judicial Watch reported that a Saudi Arabian “rehabilitation” program that supposedly reforms terrorists jailed at Guantanamo Bay has instead served as a training camp for future jihadists. Regardless, the Obama administration supports the program and has sent a number of Guantanamo detainees its way even though many have rejoined terrorist missions that target Americans.

Demanding an end to the Gitmo-Saudi pipeline, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee revealed that the list of failed participants in the rehab program reads like a “who’s who” of Al Qaeda terrorists on the Arabian Peninsula. In fact, eleven Guantanamo detainees who graduated from the laughable Saudi rehab appear on a list of most wanted terrorists published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry.

Here’s another crucial detail; a boatload of money flows from Saudi Arabia to finance international terrorist activities. In fact, a report published by the Congressional Research Service says “Saudi donors and unregulated charities have been a major source of financing to extremist and terrorist groups over the past 25 years.” It also reveals that Saudi Arabia “was a place where Al Qaeda raised money directly from individuals and through charities” and that “charities with significant Saudi government sponsorship” may have diverted funding to Al Qaeda. Considering these alarming facts, it’s definitely not a good idea to relax security standards for Saudi Arabians who want to come to the United States.