- June 25, 2007
WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives has voted to deny all aid to Saudi Arabia, despite repeated assurances by the administration that the desert kingdom was co-operating with Washington in the war on terror.
The ban is in an amendment quietly slipped by a bipartisan group into a $34.2billion ($40.4billion) bill financing US foreign operations from October.
The massive bill, involving a wide range of humanitarian programs, was approved in the middle of the night on Friday.
Similar measures on aid to Saudi Arabia have been passed by the House before.
But the latest bill goes a step further by closing a legislative loophole that in the past had allowed the administration of President George W.Bush to waive these bans by invoking requirements of the war on terror.
The amendment, championed by New York Democrat Anthony Weiner, a strong supporter of Israel, states that "none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available" by the foreign operations bill "shall be obligated or expended to finance any assistance to Saudi Arabia" or "used to execute a waiver".
While oil-rich Saudi Arabia has never been a large recipient of US aid, the Bush administration channelled more than $2.5million to the kingdom in 2005 and last year as part of their partnership in the war on terror, congressional officials said.
Neither Saudi diplomats nor administration officials have publicly commented on the vote.
But the sponsors of the amendment made it clear they were particularly upset by what they described as Saudi Arabia's support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel and has just taken control of the Gaza Strip.
In a fact sheet, the sponsors said Hamas received more than 50per cent of its financing from Saudi Arabia, and last month alone, the Saudi Government planned to send $300million to the Islamist group.
Mr Weiner charged that Riyadh was working against US interests.
"By cutting off aid and closing the loophole we send a clear message to the Saudi Arabian Government that they must be a true ally in advancing peace in the Middle East," he said.
The sponsors accused the Saudi Government of undermining US military efforts by making "no official move" to stop about 3000 Saudi nationals fighting US troops in Iraq.
They said Sheik Saleh al-Liuhaidan, head of the Saudi Arabian judiciary, had approved the transfer of money and men to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the now slain head of al-Qa'ida in Iraq.
Up to 61per cent of suicide bombers in Iraq were of Saudi Arabian descent, the fact sheet claimed.
The congressional group said Saudi clerics continued to preach hate towards the US, Israel and their allies, while the Government cracked down against those calling for democratic reforms.
"By continuing to promote and finance acts of terrorism, including those targeting innocent families, the Saudis are actively undermining our efforts to promote democracy and bring stability to the Middle East," said congresswoman Shelley Berkley, a Nevada Democrat and another sponsor of the ban.
The US should not be rewarding Saudi Arabia for "their record of broken promises and disturbing terrorist ties", she said.
Saudi Arabia is a leading source of oil for the US, often providing about 20per cent of crude imports, according to State Department statistics. It is also the largest US export market in the Middle East.
The State Department describes Saudi Arabia as "an important partner in the campaign against terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas".
AFP