CIA funneled Islamic terrorists into the United States for training:
The mystery about the bizarre situation disappeared around 1994, well after his departure from the foreign service. A one-time colleague told him Saudi Arabia was being used to funnel Islamic militants to the United States for training before heading for the battlefield in Afghanistan. “I got the whole story and it all hung together,” he said.
“They were running people (to the consulate) from the CIA’s recruiting office,” he said, obviously exasperated that he wasn’t told at the time. He said the entire consular operation was run by the CIA. The State Department had no comment on Springmann’s allegations except to say final authority over visa decisions rests with the consular officer in charge, not with Springmann, a junior officer. Looking back on his experience in Jiddah, Springmann said he found the idea of using the Jiddah consulate as a US gateway for Islamic militants to be “sleazy and disreputable.”