NEW YORK, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. diplomatic documents on terror funding in the Middle East leaked this week show uncertainty and speculation, The New York Times said Sunday.
In a review of exchanges since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States obtained by the WikiLeaks organization in London, the Times said the State Department had "grown frustrated" with the behaviors of its proclaimed allies in the Middle East in the battle against funding terror groups.
One message sent in February said "al-Qaida's ability to raise funds has deteriorated substantially." Soon after, other messages contradicted that and said funds were flowing freely to such groups as al-Qaida, the Taliban and Hamas.
However, among the politically embarrassing documents for Washington were some that called the United Arab Emirates "a strategic gap" that terrorists exploit, Kuwait as a "key transit point" and Qatar "the worst in the region" in counter-terrorism efforts.
One of the intelligence messages said "terrorist funding emanating from Saudi Arabia remains a serious concern," about the same time the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh criticized Saudi authorities for being "almost completely dependent on the CIA" for direction on shutting down terrorists' fund supplies.
