Bandar Rushes to Bush Today as Saudi/US Ties Continue to Unravel(fwd)

["Clement M. Henry" <chenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

Here is the latest on the deteriorating US Saudi relations - from "Middle
East Realities" which is a rather opinionated source with its own ax to
grind but which is nevertheless pretty good compared to much of the pablum
fed to us in the US press.

*****************************
Clement M. Henry
Professor of Government
University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX 78712
tel 471-5121, fax 471-1061

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 09:29:26 -0400
From: Mid-East Realities <MERL@middleeast.org>
To: MER <MER@middleeast.org>
Subject: Bandar Rushes to Bush Today as Saudi/US Ties Continue to Unravel

  _______   ____   ______
  /  |/  /  /___/  / /_ //    M I D - E A S T   R E A L I T I E S
 / /|_/ /  /_/_   / /\\         Making Sense of the Middle East
/_/  /_/  /___/  /_/  \\            www.MiddleEast.Org

  News, Information, & Analysis That Governments, Interest Groups,
        and the Corporate Media Don't Want You To Know!




             BANDAR CONTINUES HIS CLIMB TO KING OF ARABIA
                    EVEN AS U.S./SAUDI RELATIONS UNRAVEL

                             US/SAUDI Trade Takes Steep Dive
                            Saudi Students Told To Go Elsewhere

MER - Mid-East Realities - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 8/27/2002:
   Prince Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan is racing to the Western White House ranch today to see just what he can do with Bush II about the US./Saudi future; and indeed about his own.  Though Bandar super cautiously , for a change, never discusses this subject in public, he actually has his eye on the big prize, becoming King of Arabia himself after the current elderly Crown Prince, Abdullah, is gone from the scene one way or another.  One route to that grand prize is to somehow get his father, the Defense Minister, into position to first claim the throne himself, one way or another.  Another route is to position himself, as he has, as the US choice -- as was the case when Abdullah II was pushed into the Hashemite palace in Amman rather than former King Hussein's brother who had been Crown Prince awaiting the job for more than 30 years -- and then wait for all of the older generation to die off before grab for the throne with all the might the world's only superpower can bring to bear.
    Meanwhile, the whole fabric of Saudi/U.S. relations is unraveling.   Saudi money is departing; Saudi purchases are being made elsewhere, Saudi students are being told to go elsewhere, and the Saudi elite has been told to line up at the Embassy for interviews if they want new visas.   These are the visible manifestations of the real problems that are now so entangled as to be potentially unmanageable -- politics, culture and religion.  The Israelis of course are both laughing and cheering; having pushed for just such developments for a long time now; and knowing that they and their policies are really in charge in the American capital.
     For the Saudi Royals and their Kingdom the real problems began not so much on 9/11 but when the Saudis did three subsequent things.   First they told the Americans that the giant multi-billion dollar military bases build in recent years could not be used for the new American regional wars, essentially for building and consolidating the 'new world order' being primarily manufactured by the US and Israel.   Second they irritated the Israelis greatly by 'interfering' with their so-called 'Saudi Peace Plan', overall a regurgitation of what for Israel are very unacceptable UN resolutions and prior Arab League positions.   And thirdly they held a huge public TV telethon to raise large sums of money for the Palestinians -- another major no-no so far as Israel is concerned.
    Now the battles for the future of Arabia, of the Middle East region, of the once Holy Land, and also of concubine-born Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, are all more fully engaged than ever.



                        SAUDI BOYCOTT CAUSES 30 PERCENT DROP IN U.S. EXPORTS

MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE - Sunday, August 25, 2002:  ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia's unofficial boycott on American products has significantly affected exports from the United States.

U.S. government data report that U.S. exports to the kingdom have reached their lowest level since 1990. Saudi sources cite the boycott that began in April 2002 for the reduced exports. The boycott was encouraged by prominent Saudis and advertised in newspapers, mosques, schools and over the Internet.

The U.S. Census Bureau said that during the first half of this year U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia amounted to $2.2 billion. This was a 30.5 percent decrease from the same period in 2001.

In the first half of 1998, U.S. exports to the kingdom reached an all-time high of $5 billion. In 1990, U.S. exports to Riyad were reported at $1.7 billion.

The United States has exported a range of goods and services to Riyad, much of which included weapons. For its part, Saudi Arabia exported mostly crude oil to the United States.

The greatest decrease in U.S. exports was comprised of beverages, tobacco and machinery.

The U.S. government statistics also cited a sharp drop in Saudi exports, mostly crude oil, to the United States.
The Census Bureau said Saudi exports to Washington reached $5.6 billion during the first half of 2002.

This was a 24.2 percent decrease from the same period during the previous year. Saudi Arabia has been the leading U.S. trading partner in the Middle East, with Riyad exporting $14.2 billion worth of goods and importing $6.2 billion in 2000.

In all, Saudi Arabia exported $13.3 billion to the United States last year, the foreign trade division of the U.S. Census Bureau reported. Of that figure $12.6 billion, or 95 percent were oil and natural gas.



       U.S. REJECTS SAUDI STUDENTS, BUT BILATERAL DEFENSE TIES MAINTAINED

ABU DHABI — Monday, August 26, 2002 - Western diplomatic sources said U.S. authorities refused entry to 60 Saudi students who were accepted in universities in the United States under a program by Saudi Aramco.

The Kuwaiti Al Rai Al Aam daily reported on Monday that Aramco, responsible for the marketing of Saudi oil, is expected to seek alternatives to U.S. universities. They could include the American University in Cairo or the American University in Beirut.

The newspaper said the U.S. rejection of the Saudi students would be raised by Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan in Washington. Bandar is scheduled to meet President George Bush on Tuesday in an attempt to improve bilateral relations.

Despite these and other tensions which have been increasing, Saudi Arabia intends to maintain defense relations with the United States, Middle East Newsline reported.

Gulf defense sources said the Saudi Defense Ministry has decided to maintain a schedule of military visits and training programs scheduled with the United States during 2002. The sources said Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz has also approved talks to complete a cooperation program for 2003.

"The Saudis don't want to highlight defense relations with the United States," a Gulf defense source who monitors the kingdom said. "But they don't want to sever defense ties or do anything that rules out their improvement after any U.S. war against Iraq."

Last week, Prince Sultan received a U.S. military delegation and discussed plans for U.S. training and exercises during 2003. The delegation was led by Maj. Gen. Michael Faraj, who represents the the U.S. military training mission in the kingdom.

Over the weekend, another U.S. military delegation from the Central Command met with Saudi Chief of Staff Gen. Saleh Bin Ali Al Muhaya. A Saudi government statement said the two sides discussed improving relations and other issues.

On Tuesday, President George Bush is scheduled to meet Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan at Bush's ranch in Texas in a discussion that is expected to be dominated by Iraq and bilateral relations. Bandar is expected to deliver a message from Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz.

"This is an important meeting and will bring Saudi-U.S. relations back to normal," the Riyad daily Okaz, quoting a senior U.S. administration source, said. "They will discuss four major topics: bilateral relations, war on Iraq, the Palestine issue and the fight against terrorism."

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that leading Saudi military officials have agreed to visit Washington this fall to begin a series of high-level talks. The talks were to have taken place over the summer but Riyad cancelled at the last minute.

The newspaper said the Saudi military is a hollow shell and badly in need of help.

Saudi officials as well as the government-controlled press have acknowledged increasing tensions with the United States. They confirmed a report that Saudi Arabia has withdrawn $200 billions of deposits from the United States over the last few months, but cite financial rather than political motives.

A high-ranking official of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency confirmed that $200 billion have been withdrawn by Saudi businessmen from the United States. But he denied that the money has been deposited in Saudi banks.




                                --------------------------
        MiD-EasT RealitieS  - http://www.MiddleEast.Org
                              Phone:   (202) 362-5266
                              Fax:   (815) 366-0800
                              Email:   MER@MiddleEast.Org

To subscribe free to MER email to MERList@MiddleEast.Org with subject SUBSCRIBE

To unsubscribe email to MERList@MiddleEast.Org
with subject UNSUBSCRIBE