| Editor's
Note
The Saudi-U.S.
Relations Information Service would like to note the
important contribution made by the Congressional
Research Service (CRS) for providing this timely
update to the state of Saudi-U.S. relations.
This SUSRIS Item of
Interest provides a summary of the report, highlights
of the most recent developments in the relationship
and a link
to the complete CRS Issue Brief.
The Congressional
Research Service is the public policy research
division of the U.S. Congress. As a legislative branch
agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works
exclusively and directly for Members of Congress,
their Committees and staff on a confidential,
nonpartisan basis.
Saudi Arabia:
Current Issues and U.S. Relations
Congressional Research Service Issue Brief for
Congress
Updated August 4, 2003
By Alfred B. Prados
SUMMARY
Saudi Arabia, a monarchy ruled by the Saudi dynasty,
enjoys special importance in the international
community because of its unique association with the
Islamic religion and its oil wealth. Since the
establishment of the modern Saudi kingdom in 1932, it
has benefited from a stable political system based on
a smooth process of succession to the throne and an
increasingly prosperous economy dominated by the oil
sector. Decrees by King Fahd in March 1992
establishing an appointive consultative council and
provincial councils and promulgating a basic law
providing for certain citizens' rights could signal a
gradual trend toward a more open political system.
The United States and
Saudi Arabia have long-standing economic and defense
ties. A series of informal agreements, statements by
successive U. S. administrations, and military
deployments have demonstrated a strong U. S. security
commitment to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was a key
member of the allied coalition that expelled Iraqi
forces from Kuwait in 1991. Saudi Arabia hosted U.S.
aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq;
between the two Iraq wars of 1991 and 2003; however,
Saudi Arabia did not offer the use of its territory
for major air strikes against Iraq in response to
Iraqi obstruction of U.N. weapons inspections.
Moreover, Saudi officials expressed opposition to the
U.S.-led military campaign launched against Iraq in
March-April 2003, although they reportedly permitted
certain support operations by U.S. and British
military forces, as well in addition to making some
facilities available to them.
Bombing attacks
against several U.S. operated installations in Saudi
Arabia have raised some concerns about security of
U.S. personnel and further security measures have been
implemented. Saudi Arabia convicted and executed four
Saudi nationals for carrying out a bombing in 1995.
After extended investigations, on June 21, 2001, a
U.S. federal grand jury indicted 14 members of Middle
East terrorist organizations for a bombing in 1996,
but none of them is in U.S. custody. A third bombing
occurred on May 12, 2003, when suicide bombers
attacked three housing compounds inhabited by U.S. and
other western personnel, killing an estimated 34
people including as many as eight U.S. citizens.
U.S. officials have
cited Saudi support in the aftermath of the September
11, 2001 attacks, including intelligence sharing, law
enforcement activities, and tracking of terrorist
financing. Some commentators maintain that Saudi
domestic and foreign policies have created a climate
that may have contributed to terrorist acts by Islamic
radicals. Saudi officials reject this viewpoint and
maintain that they are working with the United States
to combat terrorism.
Other principal issues
of bilateral interest include the Saudi position on
the Arab-Israeli conflict, security in the post-war
Gulf region, arms transfers to Saudi Arabia, Saudi
external aid programs, bilateral trade relationships,
and Saudi policies involving human rights and
democracy. In early 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah
proposed a peace initiative based on Israeli
withdrawal from occupied territories in return for
normal relations between Arab states and Israel.
MOST RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS
On July 29, 2003,
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faysal called on
the Bush Administration to release a classified
section of a joint congressional report covering
intelligence community actions before and after the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The
still-classified section reportedly described alleged
Saudi links with persons involved in the attacks and
indicated that senior Saudi officials channeled
charitable gifts to individuals that may have helped
fund the attacks. Prince Saud and other Saudi
officials denied the allegations and asked that the
classified section be released to enable the Saudi
government to rebut the allegations. The Bush
Administration refused on the grounds that disclosure
could reveal U. S. intelligence sources and methods
and might compromise the ongoing investigation of the
9/ 11 attacks.
Members of Congress
also requested release of the classified section, some
of them expressing concern that the Bush
Administration is trying to avoid publication of
information that might embarrass Saudi Arabia. One
Member called for replacement of the Saudi Minister of
the Interior for failing to stop the flow of money to
terrorist groups. At a hearing on July 31, two other
Members asked the U. S. Treasury Department to provide
a list of Saudi organizations investigated by the
Treasury Department but not publicly named as
terrorist entities.
CURRENT ISSUES
COVERED IN THE REPORT
Reaction
to September 11 Terrorist Attacks
- Lawsuits
and Investments
- The July
2002 Briefing
- Other
Reports
- Joint
Congressional Report
Security in
the Gulf Region
- Containment
Policies toward Iraq
- Operation
Iraqi Freedom
- Future U.
S. Military Presence
Bombings of
U. S. Facilities
- Riyadh,
1995
- Khobar
Towers, 1996
- Riyadh,
2003
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Arab-Israeli
Conflict
- Crown
Prince Abdullah's Peace Initiative
Arms
Transfers to Saudi Arabia
Trade
Relationships
- Problems in
Commercial Transactions
- Oil
Production
- Foreign
Investment
Human
Rights, Democracy, and Other Issues
|
Click
here to view the complete
CRS Issue Brief.
[The
issue brief is posted as a "PDF" file.
The "Reader" software plug-in is required to
open the file.
The software is available for free download from Adobe.com
(click
here).]
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