*EPF102 06/21/2004
White House Report, June 21: Saudi Arabia, 9/11 Commission
(Saudi Arabia recognizes domestic terrorist threat, says White House; administration cites cooperation with 9/11 Commission) (330)

SAUDI ARABIA RECOGNIZES TERRORIST THREAT, SAYS WHITE HOUSE

White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan acknowledged Saudi Arabia's response to the June 18 beheading of U.S. citizen Paul Johnson, saying, "It shows that Saudi Arabia recognizes that they have a serious terrorist threat on their own soil."

According to news reports, Saudi security forces killed four al Qaeda members, including al Qaeda leader Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, and raided several buildings in Riyadh where they captured 12 others. Al-Muqrin is believed to be linked to Johnson's kidnapping.

McClellan said that the United States is "working very closely with Saudi Arabia in the global war on terrorism and we will continue to work closely with them."

Saudi media analysts reported June 21 that a former Saudi police officer, Saleh Mohammad al-Oufi, has been designated al Qaeda chief in Saudi Arabia, succeeding Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin. Al-Oufi is number four on the kingdom's list of most wanted militants.

"The war on terrorism continues. There are still al Qaeda terrorists who seek to carry out attacks on the American people," McClellan said.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION CITES COOPERATION WITH 9/11 COMMISSION

The White House spokesman told reporters, "We work very closely and cooperatively with the commission to make sure that they have access to the information that they need to do their job."

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) is an independent, bipartisan panel charged with preparing a complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The panel interviewed President Bush and Vice President Cheney for its report on April 29 at the White House.

"Keep in mind that we provided them [the 9/11 commission] access to a large amount of information," the White House spokesman said.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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