I asked this morning, and I’ll repeat the question:

How much did the Saudis pay Al Gore to trash America this weekend at the Jeddah Economic Forum?

Arab News has details on the sponsors of the event:

Today, the JEF, which was conceived in 2000, and the Jeddah International Exhibition & Convention Center are units of the Jeddah Marketing Board, which was established in 1999 and is presently headed by businessman and former JCCI Chairman Ghassan Al-Sulaiman.

The JEF 2006 sponsors include Emaar Properties as lead sponsor; Saudi Arabian Airlines, Saudi Binladin Group, Al-Khayala (NAS), Al Hilal Group, National Commercial Bank and Xenel as diamond sponsors; Gulf One Investment Bank, Enany Group, Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC), Citigroup, Aal Taher Group, EFG-Hermes, Budget Car Rental and the Prince Sultan Foundation (Medunet) as gold sponsors; and Riyad Bank, Credit Suisse, Saudi Electricity Company, Savola Group, General Motors, Khaled Juffali and Sumitomo Chemical Asia as silver sponsors. Media sponsors include Saudi Research and Publishing Company, Al-Madina newspaper, Sky News and Al Arabiya.

The forum is organized by the Jeddah Marketing Board, which operates under the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Newsmax notes:

The Saudi BinLadin Group – which is Saudi Arabia’s largest construction company – is run by Osama bin Laden’s brothers and cousins. Jeddah, the site of the forum attended by Gore, is Osama bin Laden’s hometown.

Although family members claim they’ve disowned bin Laden, his mother told reporters after the 9/11 attacks that she received advanced warning from him that something big was about to happen…The BinLadin Group’s longtime involvement in the Jeddah forum has been widely reported in the Mideast and European press.

In January 2002, ex-President Clinton addressed the JEF, which paid him $267,000 for his speech…It’s not known whether – or how much – Mr. Gore was paid for his speech.

Inquiring minds want to know.

***

Here’s Al Gore’s speaking bureau: Ironically enough, it’s named All American Speakers.

Hat tip: Allah Pundit

***

Clinton at the JEF: