Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait lashed out against Hillary Clinton on Friday for claiming that the countries directly fund global terrorism.
On Monday night — one day after the Orlando terror attack — Clinton sharply criticized Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar over their cozy relationships with Islamic extremists. (RELATED: The Nations Hillary Bashes For Terrorism Funding Gave Up To $40 Million To Clinton Fnd)
“Efforts to defeat ISIS on the battlefield must succeed, but it will take more than that,” she told a crowd in Cleveland. “For starters, it is long past time for the Saudis, the Qataris and the Kuwaitis and others to stop their citizens from funding extremist organizations, and they should stop supporting radical schools and mosques around the world that have set too many young people on a path towards extremism.”
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton participates in a round table conversation on national security (Getty Images)
Clinton’s words were not well received by Saudi Arabia, which has supplied the Clinton Foundation somewhere between $10 million to $25 million in donations since its founding in 1999.
The Kingdom supplied Australia’s The Age newspaper a press release refuting Clinton’s claim.
“Accusations leveled against the Kingdom of being lax or of supporting extremism fails to recognize the Kingdom’s leadership role in combating terrorism,” the release reads. “It has spared no effort or expense in uprooting extremism at the source and draining militant groups of resources, as it is against our values, faith and national character.”
Kuwait — which has reportedly donated between $5 million and $10 million to the Clinton Foundation — published a press release explaining “its disapproval of the criticism and allegations stated by the presumptive candidate Ms. Hillary Clinton” in addition to calling her comments “made out of electoral objectives” that don’t “comply with reality.”