This week, we heard the shocking news of the Arab terrorist assault on Americans in a housing complex for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. At least 29 people were killed, seven of them Americans, and 194 people were injured. US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was on his way to Saudi Arabia to consult with the Saudi government about the progress of the Middle East "peace process", said the coordinated strike of the nine attackers had the fingerprints of al-Qaida. The Saudi government also immediately blamed Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida group.



But is the Saudi government blameless in this tragedy? There is evidence that al-Qaida's main funding comes from wealthy Saudi citizens, with the compliance of the Saudi government. Only days ago, a Saudi diplomat was expelled from the United States because of his role in financially supporting the al-Qaida network. Recent reports have shown that the extent of Saudi funding was even greater than previously thought. Much of this money was given to buy protection, to turn al-Qaida's violent energies away from Saudi Arabia and toward foreign targets.



Saudi Arabia has always been the major paymaster, not only of al-Qaida, but also of Yasser Arafat's terrorist network. They have spent billions in encouraging Arabs to murder Jews in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. They have even organized a telethon on official national television to collect money for the families of Muslim suicide bombers.



And now the chickens have come home to roost, and the suicide bombers have come back to home base, this time to murder Americans on Saudi soil.



With exquisite hypocrisy, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, quoting from the Koran, said that "hell fire" awaited these attackers.



"Hell fire" awaits the Saudi-funded attackers who embarrassed the Crown Prince by doing their dirty deeds in his back yard, but seventy virgins await the Saudi-funded attackers who kill Jews in Israel and Americans in New York and Washington DC.



Colin Powell also puts the blame solely on al-Qaida. But he, himself, and the US State Department, which he heads, are not blameless. The State Department has a long history of covering up the misdeeds of Saudi Arabia and their sponsorship of worldwide terror.



Here is a very recent example. On May 4th, United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, William Burns, met with a coterie of Israeli doves and Palestinian ministers and officials under the banner of the extreme leftist Peace Now organization at the US consulate in western Jerusalem. William Burns spoke about an hour about the Quartet's Road Map plan and its chances for success. It should be noted that in the past, William Burns turned down requests for a meeting with the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, which represents at least a quarter of a million Israelis. Repeated requests by the Council for meetings with US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer have not even received a response from the Embassy.



At this meeting, left-wing MK Collette Avital expressed strong reservations about United States conservatives, Christians and AIPAC, and said that these groups are trying to torpedo the Road Map. Assistant Secretary Burns stated that in his view "the common sense of all peoples will override the conservative and Christian viewpoints, once they see the Road Map's potential." Does William Burns mean to imply that conservatives and Christians don't have common sense? Burns urged the participants of the meeting to continue with their political activities in order to express the People's will. Which People is he talking about? A small group of leftist land-slide losers, who were trounced in the last election, and their buddies, ministers of the Palestinian Authority.



This meeting was supposed to be secret, but when it became public knowledge, the official response of the State Department was: The meeting was supposed to be "off the record".



Mr. Burns' behavior is extremely offensive. He implies that conservatives and Christians, two of the strongest groups of supporters of both Israel and President Bush, have no common sense. In addition, his behavior is arrogant, as he apparently believes that it doesn't matter, as long as the discussion remains "off the record".



Is this a new development that a high ranking US State Department official tries to meddle in Israeli affairs? Not at all. The State Department has been doing that since the rebirth of Israel in 1948.



The Road Map is the latest tool in the State Department's ongoing war against Israel. Secretary of State Colin Powell came to Israel to do some arm-twisting with regard to Israeli confidence-building gestures to the Palestinians, such as releasing terrorists while they continue to murder us. At the same time, he promises the Palestinian Authority Arabs an additional 50 million dollars of American taxpayers' money, which amount no doubt goes right into Arafat's personal bank account. Then, Powell goes on to Saudi Arabia, the sponsor and paymaster of worldwide terror, for further discussion of the so-called Saudi initiative, which has been incorporated in the Road Map. This Saudi initiative, if implemented, spells the demise of Israel.



What happened on Secretary of State Powell's way to Saudi Arabia? He learned there was a horrendous suicide bomber attack on Americans living in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. What is the ultimate meaning of this attack on Americans? That the final goal of radical Islam is not only the demise of Israel, the Little Satan. The final goal is a total humiliating defeat of America, the Great Satan, so that Allah, through radical Islam, can dominate the entire world.



There is no doubt that the State Department has been, and continues to be, antagonistic toward Israel because of its extreme one-sided pro-Arab stance. The State Department may thus continue to cover-up and excuse Saudi Arabia's funding and sponsorship of worldwide terror. Assistant Secretary of State William Burns may feel superior and think that the rest of us don't have common sense. But thank the L-rd that America has conservatives and Bible-believing Christians and Jews, and other good, moral, clear-thinking people, who are not blinded by the double standards of Secretary of State Colin Powell, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns and the rest of the Arabists in the State Department.



Don't ease up the pressure. Keep calling the Capitol Hill switchboard (202-224-3121), and ask to speak to the office of your senators or your congressman. Give the switchboard operator your zip code number if you don't know the name of your congressman. Most importantly, ask to be connected to the office of President George W. Bush.



The message is simple and powerful: No to the Road Map and no to a Palestinian state on Biblical covenant land.

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Ruth Matar is co-chairwoman of the grass-roots activist organization Women for Israel?s Tomorrow (Women in Green). This article was adapted from the Women in Green radio program on Arutz Sheva - Israel National Radio, which can be heard on demand at IsraelNationalNews.com.