[DEBATE] : US: Saudi Arabia destabilising Iraq

[Riaz K. Tayob]

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2007
0:18 MECCA TIME, 21:18 GMT
Al Jazeera
US: Saudi Arabia destabilising Iraq

Khalilzad said that Saudi Arabia and other US friends were not doing 
enough to help Iraq [AP] The US ambassador to the United Nations has 
accused Saudi Arabia and other US allies in the Middle East of 
undermining efforts to curb violence in Iraq.

Zalmay Khalilzad's comments, during a CNN interview on Sunday, follow 
reports that the US is set to announce the proposed sale of $20bn in 
weapons to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

Khalilzad said he was also referring to Saudi Arabia when he wrote in an 
opinion piece in the New York Times last week that "several of Iraq's 
neighbours - not only Syria and Iran but also some friends of the US - 
are pursuing destabilising policies".

"Yes, well, there is no question that ... Saudi Arabia and a number of 
other countries are not doing all they can to help us in Iraq," 
Khalilzad, the former US ambassador to Iraq, said.

The envoy said that some of Iraq's neighbours were not engaging the 
government or the Shia-led majority and had no diplomatic representation 
in Baghdad.

"The level of positive effort that they are making compared to the 
stakes involved for the region is minimal," he said.

Iraqi officials have openly accused Saudi Arabia of funding Sunni 
fighters and failing to prevent would-be suicide bombers from crossing 
the Saudi border into Iraq.

US talks

Khalilzad's comments came a day before Condoleezza Rice, the US 
secretary of state, and Robert Gates, US defence secretary, go to the 
Middle East to bolster Iraq and discuss weapons sales with allies.

Rice and Gates will make rare joint visits to Egypt and Saudi Arabia 
before separate trips to other parts of the region.

Rice will also travel to Jerusalem and Ramallah to meet Israeli and 
Palestinian officials [AFP] The duo "are going to be talking to the 
Saudis as well as others about what they might do" in supporting the 
Iraqi government, not only on the security front but also diplomatically 
and financially, Sean McCormack, the US state department spokesman, said.

In a bid to soothe concerns of pro-Western Sunni nations worried about 
Iran, Washington is also expected to discuss military aid packages and 
arms sales with them.

The arms deals, according to one administration official, are aimed at 
shoring up US allies in the Middle East and countering "a more 
aggressive Iran".

US allies in the Gulf are "very concerned about what our commitment and 
the possibility of withdrawal from Iraq means for the region", a 
Pentagon official said.

Arms deal block

In related news, Anthony Weiner and Jerrold Nadler, two US Democratic 
representatives, said on Sunday, they would introduce legislation to 
block the Saudi arms deal, accusing the oil-rich country of exporting 
terrorism and acting against US interests.

"We need to send a crystal clear message to the Saudi Arabian government 
that their tacit approval of terrorism can't go unpunished," Weiner said.

"Saudi Arabia should not get an ounce of military support from the US 
until they unequivocally denounce terrorism and take tangible steps to 
prevent it."

Weiner and Nadler said they would introduce legislation to block the 
deal, and emphasised that 15 of the 19 hijackers on September 11, 2001, 
were Saudi citizens.

US media has reported that the Bush administration is set to announce a 
series of arms deals worth at least $20bn with Saudi Arabia and the five 
other Gulf states on Monday. Source: Agencies

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