AS THE NEW YEAR BEGINS, the latest chapter in the remarkable tale of a rich, 47-year old Saudi subject named Yasin al-Kadi offers many lessons, regarding terrorism, responses to it, and the role and responsibilities of Saudi Arabia in fighting it.

Yasin al-Kadi is a principal in the Muwafaq–or “Blessed Relief Foundation”–which has been officially designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a global financier of al Qaeda. In 2001, the Bush administration ordered al-Kadi’s assets frozen. He was also listed by the European Union as a terrorist.