After bin Laden moved from Sudan to Afghanistan, the Saudis point out, Prince Turki, then head of Saudi intelligence, traveled twice to Kandahar in 1998 to persuade the Taliban to turn him over.

When the Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, refused, the Saudis broke off diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.

In his own defense to Cozen's lawsuit, Prince Turki said Saudi intelligence had formed a security committee with the United States to share information regarding bin Laden's activities.

"I was deeply shocked and remain profoundly saddened by the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001," Turki said. "The victims of the terrorist attacks and plane crashes and their families have my deepest sympathy. I share their resolve to bring to justice the perpetrators of these terrible crimes. My own father, King Faisal, was killed in a terrorist attack on March 25, 1975."

As to why Saudi Arabia would finance a movement that has attacked the kingdom, Cozen contends the Saudi royal family was trying to mollify radical clerics and buy peace.

"As best we can tell, the kingdom was between a rock and a hard place," Cozen said. "They had radicals and extreme imams within Saudi Arabia who wanted to see worldwide jihad; they wanted to see Wahabism [a conservative form of Islam] spread and succeed, and if the kingdom did not support them, they would become their victims. It was peace within the nation at almost any cost."

The Islamist Charities

The Muslim World League was founded in 1962 in Saudi Arabia. It is closely tied to the government and is one of the world's largest Islamist charities.

The International Islamic Relief Organization was founded by royal decree in Mecca on Jan. 29, 1979. It says its purpose is to provide relief to victims of famine, floods, and other natural disasters. It describes itself as an arm of the Muslim World League. The U.S. Treasury Department has designated two IIRO offices, in Indonesia and the Philippines, as terrorism supporters.

The Saudi High Commission for Relief of Bosnia and Herzegovina was founded by the government in 1993 to provide relief to Muslims uprooted during the Balkans war. It describes itself as an instrument of Saudi government policy. In its detainee hearings, the Pentagon considers past employment by the commission a reason to keep someone in custody at Guantanamo Bay.

The Benevolence International Foundation was founded in Saudi Arabia by Saudi financier Adel Batterjee. It moved to Chicago in early 1992. It described its mission as providing humanitarian relief projects throughout the world. The Treasury Department has designated the BIF and Batterjee as terrorism supporters.

Al-Haramain Foundation, a sprawling Islamist relief organization, long enjoyed close ties to the Saudi government. Since 9/11, it has been under pressure from U.S. authorities, which designated more than a dozen of its overseas offices, including one in the United States, as terrorism supporters. The Saudi government joined the United States in making more than half those designations.

The Rabita Trust says it was founded to assist struggling refugees in Bangladesh. It is based in Islamabad, Pakistan, and is headed by Wa'el Julaidan, a financier whom Treasury has designated a terrorism supporter. The Rabita Trust also has been designated.

Tomorrow: How Cozen O'Connor built the case.