Fahd bin Abdul Aziz
Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz
Naef Bin Abdul Aziz
Salman Bin Abdul Aziz
Ahmad Bin Abdul Aziz
U.S. MAKING SAME MISTAKES IN SAUDI ARABIA IT MADE IN IRAN, Los Angeles Times - William Pfaff, September 1, 1998
PARIS -- Going to war against Islam is not a good idea. The president of the United
States and his Department of State insist that last week's attacks on targets in
Afghanistan and Sudan--two of the poorest countries in the world--had nothing to do with
Islam. It does little good for them to say that if the people concerned think otherwise.
Those people have plausible reasons for what they think, as the man Washington holds
responsible for the Africa bombings, Osama bin Laden, has insisted. The Saudi Arabian
monarchy has the responsibility, in Muslim eyes, of protecting the two principal holy
places of the Islamic religion, Mecca and Medina. Bin Laden says that the United States
profanes those holy places through its military presence in Saudi Arabia.
The two bombings in Africa on Aug. 7 occurred exactly eight years to the day after U.S.
troops arrived in Saudi Arabia, following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. King Fahd of Saudi
Arabia allowed them into his country on condition that they would be withdrawn once the
Gulf War was over.
The U.S. has not kept that promise. It now is installed in Saudi Arabia in a very big way.
It not only maintains military installations there but has American officials at work
inside the
ministries of defense and interior--exactly the situation which existed in Iran, before
the revolution which overthrew the Shah and expelled the U.S.
King Fahd, who now is very ill, accepts this because he fears both Iraq and the Islamic
opposition groups inside his country. He believes America can protect him. His brother and
presumed successor, Prince Abdullah, is reported to be critical of the American presence,
as are other important personalities in Saudi Arabia.
Washington has convinced itself that it must have military control of the Saudi Arabian
and gulf oil fields. It also is convinced that it knows better than the Saudi monarchy how
that country should be governed, and "reformed" after the king dies.
This was exactly what the U.S.government thought about Iran in the years that led up to
the anti-American explosion in that country. No one in the Clinton government seems
capable of grasping that a policy which catastrophically failed in Iran is not an
intelligent policy to apply in Saudi Arabia.
The second reason for Islamic hatred of the U.S. is, of course, the Clinton
administration's abandonment this year of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, walking
away from the promise Clinton made in 1993, on the White House lawn, to guarantee an
equitable settlement for the Palestinians.
After the bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, a self-proclaimed
"Islamic Army for the Liberation of Moslem Holy Places"--presumably the
organization financed or directed by Osama bin Laden--sent a communique to Radio France
International taking responsibility for the attacks.
As Safir, the second largest of Lebanon's daily newspapers, has published an analysis of
this communique, noting that it differed in major respects from the usual terrorist
rhetoric. It was written in concise, structured, educated Arabic, without the usual
slogans.
Its theological orientation (as, according to the newspaper, is that of the religious
leaders and scholars to whom the communique referred, including bin Laden himself, as well
as
figures in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh), was not fundamentalist
in the extremist sense usually understood in the West, although it was strictly orthodox.
The "nation," the communique said, had to be defended, but this was not Saudi
Arabia, Palestine, or the "Arab nation," but the "nation" of all
Muslims. The communique called the African bombings "noble" acts of legitimate
war, necessary to achieve goals demanded by the Koran and the prophetic tradition.
The enemy was identified as an international coalition of Jews (not merely Israelis) with
"Crusaders" (undoubtedly meaning Americans), together with those inside the
Islamic
nation who collaborate with this enemy. The struggle against them was presented as the
same struggle conducted in the 1980s by Afghan Muslims against the Russian invaders of
that country.
It would seem that the authors of this communique have been reading professor Samuel
Huntington on wars of civilization. Graham Fuller, of the RAND Corp., has since said of
American policy, which has "fueled huge animosity across the Moslem world," that
"unless Washington seeks to understand that anger, the whole clash of civilizations
idea could become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
When U.S. officials say that a "new kind of war" has begun, against "a
long-run threat to our way of life"--"a long war . . . a long, ongoing
struggle" (Clinton's words), they contribute to this radicalization and
universalization of a conflict which in fact is unnecessary, undesirable, and in which the
United States is going to be hurt.
An anti-American revolution in Saudi Arabia would be a disaster for American interests, as
well as for moderation in the Middle East. Broken promises to the Palestinians have
subverted peace. Cannot the president, the secretary of state, and the national security
adviser grasp that they are fueling an explosion in the Middle East for which history will
not forgive them?
Saudis secretly funding Taliban, The Independent - Robert Fisk, September 2, 1998
On the face of it, Nawaf Obaid's report looks
like any other student thesis prepared for Harvard's John F Kennedy School of Government.
Entitled "Improving US Intelligence Analysis on the Saudi Arabian Decision Making
Process", it might have mouldered on the shelves of the State Department official who
requested it.
But the young Saudi's detailed account of kingly indecision, American ignorance and secret
Saudi funding for the world's most ruthless Muslim militia has enraged his country's
government, by revealing the Kingdom's religious divisions and its secret support for the
Taliban in Afghanistan.
Quoting Saudi government officials, army officers and members of the Saudi National Guard,
Obaid, who toured the remote conservative villages of Saudi Arabia last year but is now
staying in Geneva, concludes that "US analysts have underestimated, overlooked or
misunderstood the nature, strength and goals of the Wahhabi movement in Saudi Arabia, as
well as the extent to which the secular leaders are beholden to this group".
Had US intelligence operatives "had a deeper understanding of the religious situation
in Saudi Arabia", he says, they might have been able to prevent the 1996 bombing at
Dhahran, which killed 19 Americans.
Until now, the Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, now in Afghanistan, has been blamed for
the bomb.
The first part of Obaid's thesis details the covert pressure of Saudi preachers on King
Faisal to order an oil embargo against the United States after the 1973 Middle East war, a
step he eventually took "to pre-empt internal dissent and satisfy the growing
frustration of the ulema (religious authorities)".
But it is the second half of his report, and its evidence of the immense power wielded by
the most conservative elements in the Kingdom, that has so upset the Saudis.
He quotes a "senior official" at the Saudi ministry of justice - a member of the
al-Shaikh family who have held the highest religious offices in the Kingdom - as saying
King Fahd sought the help of his senior religious leaders before allowing US troops to
land in Saudi Arabia after Saddam Hussein's occupation of Kuwait in 1990. "All the
senior ulema were categorically against the idea," a court official is quoted as
telling Obaid. "It was only after long discussions with the King . that Grand Mufti
Sheikh Abdel-Aziz Bin Baz reluctantly gave his endorsement to the idea on condition that
solid proof be presented as to the [Iraqi] threat."
The King was persuaded to admit the US forces after a meeting of the Saudi High Command at
which General Saleh el-Mahya, the army commander, talked of the "pitiful lack of
uniformed men" in his forces and General Ahmad Behery, the air force commander, said
that, given the strength of Iraqi land forces, a Saudi air defence would be
"futile".
US Defense Secretary Dick Cheney would later promise that US troops would not stay in
Saudi Arabia "a minute longer than they were needed".
A meeting of 350 ulemas at Mecca eventually agreed to the temporary US military presence.
But to appease the ulema, King Fahd was forced to make concessions, increasing the
authority of the Mutaween, the religious police who impose the strictest laws of
Wahhabiism, a purist Islamic faith original expounded by Mohamed bin Abdul Wahab, whose
descendants are now the powerful al-Shaikh family. For Wahhabis, only the strictest
Islamic law is valid, while unbelievers are infidels, deserving punishment.
This same religious police would later create the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation
of Virtue and Suppression of Vice, which has made Afghan women prisoners in their own
homes.
In Saudi Arabia, Obaid says, the US underestimated the ulemas' dissatisfaction when
American troops stayed on.
Thus, the bombers who struck at US personnel, first in the capital, Riyadh, and then in
Dhahran, "did not originate externally, but derived their theological and strategic
underpinnings from the mainstream Wahhabi sect".
As resentment grew and Sheikh Salman al-Audah and Sheikh Safar al-Hawali demanded the
withdrawal of US troops, Saudi security forces found that their followers tried to prevent
their arrest.
According to a former interior ministry official, Obaid says, the region's governor,
Prince Faisal bin Bandar, went to Riyadh "to seek . assistance from the special
forces of the Ministry of Interior". US intelligence officers "should have
recognised the significance . that this 'extremist' group gained enormous popular support
through
propaganda that directly targeted US, French and British troops".
Obaid quotes a former senior Pakistani civil servant saying that in Afghanistan "the US provided the weapons and the know-how, the Saudis provided the funds, and we provided the training camps . for the Islamic Legions in the early 1980s and then for the Taliban."
The Saudis and the US chose the Taliban, Obaid
says, with the belief that they would be able to take over Afghanistan.
But it was the Taliban's supreme commander who would later demand "a removal of all
US troops from Saudi Arabia". Ominously, Obaid adds, "this is the same call made
by Wahhabi fundamentalists in the Kingdom before the Riyadh and Dhahran bombings. And if
Mr bin Laden actually was behind these attacks, there is even more reason to fear
Taliban-inspired terrorism."
Obaid goes on: "According to a high-ranking official in the [Saudi] ministry of
justice, Sheikh Mohamed bin Jubier [current chairman of the Saudi Consultative Council],
who has been called the 'exporter' of the Wahhabi creed in the Muslim world, was a strong
advocate of aiding the Taliban."
The connection should have been clear to US operatives in the region, as it was known that
the Taliban were largely composed of Afghan refugees from Pakistani theological schools,
whose clerics "received their degrees from Saudi Arabia and taught a strict form of
Wahhabi theology and law".
LONDON, Sept 2 (AFP) - The Saudi Arabian government is secretly funding the Afghan Taliban militia, according to a report published here Wednesday. The Independent newspaper quoted an ex-senior Pakistani official as saying: "The US provided the weapons and the know-how, the Saudis provided the funds and we provided the training camps ... for the Islamic legions in the early 1980s and then for the Taliban."
The Independent said it was quoting from a report by Saudi student Nawaf Obaid originally for Harvard's John F Kennedy School of Government in the United States but now seconded by the US State Department.
The report -- "Improving US Intelligence Analysis on the Saudi Arabian Decision Making Process" -- also criticised US ignorance in the region.
It concludes: "US analysts have underestimated, overlooked or misunderstood the nature, strength and goals of the Wahhabi movement in Saudi Arabia, as well as the extent to which the secular leaders are beholden to this group."
Wahhabiism is a purist Islamic faith expounded by Mohammed bin Adbul Wahab which is followed by the religious police, the Mutaween, who founded the Taliban's Ministry for Propagation of Virtue and Suppression of Vice.
Had US intelligence operatives "had a deeper understanding of the religious situation in Saudi Arabia", says Obaid, they might have been able to prevent the 1996 bombing at Dharan, which killed 19 Americans.
The Independent said Obaid toured remote conservative Saudi villages last year preparing his report and quoted Saudi government officials, army officers and members of the Saudi National Guard.
He wrote: "According to a high ranking official in the Saudi ministry of justice, Sheikh Mohammed bin Jubier (current chairman of the Saudi Consultative Council), who has been called the 'exporter' of the Wahhabi creed in the Moslem world, was a strong advocate of aiding the Taliban."
Obaid also notes that after the US armed the Afghan militias which became the Taliban, the Taliban then called for US troops to withdraw from Saudi Arabia, where they have been stationed since 1990 after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait.
"This is the same call made by Wahhabi fundamentalists in the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) before the Riyadh and Dharan bombings," he wrote.
"And if Mr. (Osama) bin Laden actually was behind these attacks, there is even more reason to fear Taliban-inspired terrorism."
Bin Laden, a Saudi based in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, has been fingered as the man behind last month's two bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed more than 250 and left thousands injured.
The bombings provoked retaliatory cruise missile strikes by the United States on targets in Afghanistan and Sudan which Washington said were associated with bin Laden.
Water Shortages Hit Saudi Cities, AP Online, September 1, 1998
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) Scorching heat has caused severe water shortages in the western Saudi Arabian cities of Jiddah and Mecca, where water service has been limited to two hours a day. The shortages are expected to ease soon, the Arabic-language Okaz paper reported today. Several of the country's desalination plants would be increasing output so "the shortage will be resolved within the next few days," Mohammed Ali al-Faghr, a Mecca water department official, told the newspaper.
Problems began about a month ago, when the demand for water rose with the temperatures, which have been hovering at about 104 degrees with humidity at 75 percent. In the past week, the 5 million residents of the Red Sea port city of Jiddah and the holy city of Mecca have had to make do with a couple hours of water service a day. The Al-Bilad newspaper reported that the price of drinking water had risen from 25 cents a ton to $160 a ton and that families have to wait several days to get it. Saudi Arabia relies solely on desalinization plants for its water supply. There are 23 plants processing water from the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia trying to protect its economy from "instability", AFP, September 8, 1998
RIYADH, Sept 8 (AFP) - The Saudi defense minister, Prince Sultan ibn Abdel Aziz, said his country is trying to protect its economy from "instability," the official SPA news agency reported Tuesday.
"The Saudi leadership is working to safeguard the national economy from deterioration and instability," Prince Sultan told reporters while visiting the central region of al-Qassim.
"We are trying everything so as not to harm Saudi Arabia's image, economy, exports or currency," he added.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, has cut its expenditures and is seeking ways to compensate for the decline in its oil revenues.
The Saudi government said last week it will not devalue the riyal, staunching rumors fed by the kingdom's decline in oil revenue.
SAN JOSE, CALIF. (Sept. 9) BUSINESS WIRE -Sept. 9, 1998--RFID Systems Corporation (OTC:BB: RFID) announced today that the Company is partnering with a major Saudi Arabian trading company to conduct business in Saudi Arabia and other territories in the Middle East. The contract is for the demonstration, sale and installation of the Company's full line of security products in Saudi Arabia.Today's partnership announcement reinforces the Company's presence in the Middle East following its July agreement with Madison Group USA, Inc. ("MGUSA") to distribute its products and technology in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East.
The terms of this agreement call for a contract or contracts in the aggregate of $ 10,000,000 within 45 days of the initial presentation of the RFID products and technology in Saudi Arabia. Additional contract within seven months thereafter in an aggregate of $ 70,000,000 will satisfy all requirements to permanently vest the exclusive distribution rights to the new US. Saudi consortium.Among the challenges faced by governments and other institutions worldwide is the need to identify people in a secure, efficient and cost-effective way.
At a recent conference of Middle Eastern Passport Directors in Oman, the main focus was on ways of developing services at airports, seaports, and land border points that remove procedural obstacles while providing very high levels of security.RFID Systems' Personal Identification and Authentication System can be used for passport or border control and other applications where there is a need to verify a person quickly and without significant facilities costs, or simply to guard against counterfeit identification.
The Company's passport and border control system combines RFID and biometric imaging technologies with its patented compression technology that digitally encodes fingerprints and color photographs on to a microchip embedded in an ID card. To authenticate a cardholder, his or her fingerprint can be checked with a fingerprint sensor and compared to the record contained in the card, thereby providing positive identification of the user.RFID Systems Corporation develops and markets software and systems that provide secure identification of people and assets.
RFID Systems' computer and network security products utilize the Company's proven radio frequency identification technology to provide extremely high levels of security for corporate and individual computer users, corporate Intranets, and the public Internet.Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, competition, new products and technological changes, intellectual property rights and other risks.
Saudi King
Fahd urges restraint in Iran-Afghan row (September 7, 1998) According to our
sources, King Fahd has instigated the killing of 10 Iranian diplomats by the Wahabbi
Talebans to foment trouble between two Muslim countries both of which need to be
controlled. Fahd would love to see Iran invade Afghanistan the way he encouraged Saddam
Hussein to invade Iran. So sick, so out of government, yet has the time and stamina to
conspire against other Muslims.
Source: Reuters
By Sami Aboudi DUBAI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd on Monday urged Iran and the Afghan Taleban movement to demonstrate restraint as tension over the fate of Iranian nationals who went missing in Afghanistan a month ago peaked. The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted Information Minister Fouad bin Abdul-Salam bin Mohammad Farisi as saying that the monarch made the call during the weekly Saudi cabinet meeting, which he chaired for the first time since he had gall stones and his gall bladder removed on August 12. "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz urged the governments of Iran and Afghanistan to demonstrate self-restraint and to quickly work to resolve common disputes peacefully and through brotherly dialogue," SPA said. Tension between Iran and the Taleban has been high since 11 Iranian diplomats and one journalist went missing after the Islamic movement's militia seized the opposition stronghold of Mazar-i-Sharif last month. The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last week that the missing diplomats and journalist were reported to have been killed during a Taleban offensive in northern Afghanistan. Iran staged military manouevres by some 70,000 Revolutionary Guards near Afghanistan's border last week, with senior Iranian military officials saying that the location of the annual exercises was meant to send a signal to the Taleban. The troops remained near the border after the exercises ended, causing concern that Iran was preparing to attack. U.S. intelligence analysts had warned the Pentagon and the White House that Iran was poised to send thousands of troops and dozens of attack aircraft into Afghanistan and that an incursion was "imminent." A Taleban official has warned Iran against any provocative action, saying it could trigger "a fireball" of violence. But Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has allayed fears of an imminent conflict, saying there would be "no confrontation with the Taleban". Iran supports the opposition Northern Alliance which is battling against the purist Sunni Moslem Taleban movement that now controls the majority of Afghanistan. Iran, along with the United Nations, recognises the former Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani as the legitimate leader of the country. Saudi Arabia is among three countries which recognise the Taleban, which now controls most of Afghanistan. The other two are the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. King Fahd has been recuperating from the surgery to remove gall stones and his gall bladder, conducted by a U.S. surgeon and a team of Saudi doctors. Diplomats say Saudis have become accustomed to Crown Prince Abdullah managing the day-to-day affairs of the oil-rich kingdom in the king's absence.
BOEING
EXEC: SAUDI BUY KEY TO SURVIVAL OF F-15 LINE (September 15, 1998) Bandar bin
Sultan, due to the economic situation and lack of funds, has been unable to commit for
this purchase. As predicted by CACSA in 1996, the US companies are not satisfied with a
simple 'no' answer. They have started resorting to high publicity pressure. These tactics
will eventually move to a full fledged adverserial confrontation that may end up for
further erosion of al-Saud influence in the US. This is the beginning of the end of
al-Saud.
Source: Defense Daily
Sep. 15, 1998 (DEFENSE DAILY, Vol. 200, No. 18 via COMTEX) -- FARNBOROUGH,
England-Boeing [BA] is in talks with Saudi Arabia that could determine whether
the country purchases additional F-15S multi-role fighters, to ensure production of the
aircraft continues into the next century, a senior executive said.
"We have been working with our Saudi customer to make sure they understand that the
F-15 line is at risk for a gap, so if they want more airplanes they are going to have to
place an order in the near future," the executive told Defense Daily at the
Farnborough International '98 airshow here last week. "We're good through the end of
1999, but if there is an interruption in production, it would be costly for us to restart
it. At the same time we understand they have great budgetary issues."
Saudi Arabia is a key F-15 customer and has purchased 72 S-model aircraft. The country
also has a number of F-15s dedicated to the air superiority mission. Saudi officials have
expressed an interest in up to 24 more aircraft, but no formal request has yet been made
for the planes.
A drop in global oil prices, as well as domestic cash flow problems, has made it difficult
for Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich countries to easily fund costly weapons purchases.
The executive said that Saudi Arabia needs to buy at least 12 aircraft to ensure the
production continues into the next century. The F-15S is the Saudi version of the U.S. Air
Force's potent F-15E "Strike Eagle," which is a multirole fighter capable of
long-range, heavy strike missions, as well as air superiority work. The program is
considered among Boeing's most lucrative fighter efforts.
According to sources, Boeing is expected to secure an order for a full 24 aircraft,
extending production.
Should the country fail to order planes, however, Boeing may have to rely on the outcome
of two other competitions for the F-15's survival. Some F-15 parts have already gone out
of production, sources said.
The F-15 is vying for contracts in Greece and Israel. Greece is seeking between 40 and 80
strike fighters, while Israel is eyeing one more squadron of aircraft, or 25 planes, to
replace its aging F-16s.
Competitors for the Greek contract include the F-15, Lockheed Martin's [LMT] F-16, the
Mirage 2000-9 by France's Dassault, the JAS- 39 Gripen by Sweden's Saab
and British Aerospace, the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon, as well as Russian aircraft.
As for Israel, the only two serious competitors are the F-15 and the F-16. Israel operates
a vast fleet of both F-16s and F-15s, including the F-15I, the Israeli version of the
Strike Eagle. Israel has ordered 25 of the planes.
"I think each competition is going to end up being pretty unique," the executive
said. "The question is: What we will have to offer at a competitive price? My concern
is that once we have a break in our line, we will not be able to offer our customers the
kind of product they are accustomed to."
BAe
facing Pounds 500m Saudi shortfall (September 13, 1998) "The
shortfall has been caused by the slump in the price of oil, which the Saudis use to
finance purchases under the Pounds 20 billion, 10-year Al Yamamah programme. At present,
600,000 barrels a day is dedicated to Al Yamamah, but that oil buys much less than it did
because of the price fall." To dedicate 600,000 barrels a day for the purchase
of airplanes exemplifies the lack of accountability on behalf of a family buying arms to
protect itself against inside threats using public funds.
Source: Sunday Times London
BRITISH AEROSPACE (BAe) is facing a near-Pounds 500m shortfall in payments from Saudi Arabia for the Al Yamamah defence contract. Details of the deficit, which has forced BAe to part-fund the continuing contract, will emerge this week when BAe reports half-year results. The shortfall will hit BAe's cashflow and working-capital position, but will have no direct impact on its profits.
However, by affecting the group's borrowing position it could raise interest costs and eventually reduce pre-tax profits. The shortfall has been caused by the slump in the price of oil, which the Saudis use to finance purchases under the Pounds 20 billion, 10-year Al Yamamah programme. At present, 600,000 barrels a day is dedicated to Al Yamamah, but that oil buys much less than it did because of the price fall. BAe executives led by Sir Richard Evans, chairman, will emphasise this week that Al Yamamah itself remains a solid and continuing programme.
However, revenues from it are expected to fall next year as BAe's delivery of 48 Tornado fighter-bombers comes to an end. BAe's military-aircraft business, which accounts for the bulk of the company's revenues, remains more dependent on Al Yamamah than on any other contract, although the company has enjoyed considerable success in diversifying its customer base in recent years. Nick Cunningham, engineering analyst at SalomonSmithBarney, says if the oil price remains weak, it is unlikely that the programme could be maintained at Pounds 2 billion a year - which could have more serious consequences for BAe's finances in the long term. The cash shortfall on the contract could be particularly severe this year, says Salomon, because of the Tornado deliveries.
Howard Wheeldon, analyst at Matheson Investments, said that because Al Yamamah is a government-to-government deal, it will be up to the British and Saudi administrations to solve the shortfall problem.
He expects half-year pre-tax profits of Pounds 320m at BAe, up from Pounds 278m at this stage last year, and Pounds 680m for the year. In the early 1990s, the last time a low oil price led to a revenue shortfall on Al Yamamah, the Saudis made up the difference with a Pounds 1.6 billion one-off payment. Some analysts expect the same to happen this time. The oil quota has also been raised twice, first from 400,000 barrels a day to 500,000, and then to 600,000 barrels when deliveries of the 48 Tornado aircraft started. BAe hopes to sell Typhoon - the renamed Eurofighter - to Saudi Arabia, but some experts believe this is unlikely for some time.
They also think the Saudis may first buy a version of the new American F- 22 fighter. Analysts will also be seeking news of progress towards the conversion of Airbus, the four-nation European civil-aircraft co- operative, into a single corporate entity. BAe and its German partner Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) want to complete the incorporation by the end of next year, but France's Aerospatiale has delayed progress in the past. Last week France's transport minister threatened to disrupt the negotiations if BAe and Dasa tried to merge on a bilateral basis that excluded the French.
All three companies are aiming to establish a European Aerospace and Defence Company (EADC), but both the British and the Germans have hinted they are ready to go ahead bilaterally unless the French government dramatically cuts its holding in Aerospatiale to a small minority stake.
Saudi
Arabia Expels Afghan Diplomat (September 22, 1998) al-Saud support Taleban's
extreme religious fervor. They thought they could demand the head of Osama bin Laden
because of their support. When the Taleban refused to deliver bin Laden, al-Saud
retaliated under pressure from the US State Department.
Source: AP Online
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) Saudi Arabia expelled the Afghan charge d'affaires Tuesday and recalled its representative from Kabul, the official news agency reported. The Afghan envoy was ordered to leave "due to Saudi Arabia's national interests," the Saudi Press Agency said. Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that has recognized the Taliban religious militia as the legitimate government in war-wracked Afghanistan. The others are Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. The Taliban were condemned internationally after they admitted Sept. 10 that their forces had killed eight Iranian diplomats and an Iranian journalist after capturing the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif. Since then, the Iranian military has been put on alert and more than 200,000 soldiers have been deployed on Iran's border with Afghanistan. The Taliban say they have sent as many as 10,000 fresh troops to the border. Western diplomats in Riyadh say the Saudi chief of intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal, visited Afghanistan last week with the aim of trying to reduce tensions between the Taliban and Iran. Iran is accused of backing the opposition to the Taliban.
Heir to Saudi throne to meet U.S. leaders (Reuters 9/23/98)
By Tom Doggett WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Abdullah, begins a U.S. visit on Wednesday that is expected to include talks on Gulf tensions and the effect of declining oil prices on Saudi Arabia and the region. The seven-day visit, aimed at raising the prince's profile among key allies, is part of a world tour and will include meetings with President Bill Clinton and other U.S. officials. The prince was due to arrive in Washington at 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT). U.S. officials were expected to press for the latest status of a Saudi investigation into the June 1996 truck bomb at the Khobar Towers compound housing U.S. forces near Dhahran. American officials have complained of lack of cooperation. Prince Abdullah, the 74-year-old half-brother to the ailing King Fahd, began a world tour last week with visits to Britain and France. It is the first major trip to the West since 1987 for the prince, who has travelled little outside his region. He is scheduled to meet with Clinton on Thursday and then with other administration officials in the coming days on what a State Department official called a "get-to-know-you visit." Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer and an important U.S. ally, played a key role in the coalition that drove invading Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991. But, like other regional states, it has been reluctant to take an aggressive stand against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in recent years. He visits at a time when Saddam is again confronting the world over United Nations inspections of his weapons programmes. The visit also coincides with a flare-up of tension between Iran and Afghanistan after the killing by the Afghan Taleban of Iranian diplomats, which threatened to erupt into conflict. The impact of low world oil prices on future Saudi purchasing is likely to be raised. This could have a serious impact for the United States, which is the largest exporter of goods to the Arab state. The U.S. Department of Energy forecasts that earnings from oil exports, which account for about 90 percent of Saudi Arabia's export revenue, are expected to fall by 35 percent to around $29.4 billion in 1998. Since January 1998, the price of Saudi Arab light oil has averaged between $10 and $13 per barrel, down around $7 per barrel from the last few months of 1997, according to the DOE. When preparing its 1998 budget, Saudi Arabia assumed oil would bring $16 per barrel. Adjusted for inflation, Saudi oil is at the lowest prices for a sustained period since 1973. To offset the loss in oil earnings, the DOE said Saudi Arabia may have to cut back on defence spending, which accounts for about one-third of the Saudi budget, although this would have to be tempered by perceived foreign and internal threats.