Despite official opposition, a recent Saudi Arabia Accountability Act introduced in Congress will most likely allow the Bush administration to increase pressure on the ruling family in the kingdom, Khaled Dawoud reports from Washington In the wake of the (Palestinian President Yasser) Arafat Accountability Act and the recently approved Syria Accountability Act, US Senators have tabled a bill in Congress to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia. While US administrations have traditionally maintained a negative attitude towards Damascus and the Palestinian president, Riyadh has enjoyed special relations with Washington as one of America's closest allies and the region's main oil supplier. The bill was introduced late last month by Republican Senator Arlen Specter, and entails imposing military and diplomatic sanctions on Saudi Arabia for allegedly failing "to halt Saudi support for institutions that fund, train, incite, encourage, or in any other way aid and abate terrorism". Seven Senators -- three Republicans and four Democrats -- in the 100-member Senate supported the original bill. A few days later, a New York member of the House of Representatives introduced a similar bill, supported by 21 signatures. Senior members of President George Bush's administration, however, have opposed the bill and are interested in continued cooperation with Saudi Arabia. The bill is an indication of the deteriorating relations between America and the kingdom. The idea of introducing such a bill would never have been entertained in the past, as the Saudis maintained close ties not only with the successive administrations, but also with a host of influential politicians and institutions. For most observers, the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York and Washington, and the fact that 15 of the 19 attackers were Saudi, marked a dramatic shift in relations between the two countries. The attacks sparked a steady stream of accusations against Riyadh, but according to former US Ambassador Richard Murphy, Washington harboured resentment against Saudi policies long before the 11 September attacks. This is in no small part due to the fact that Saudi authorities vehemently refused to grant US intelligence and FBI officials access to suspected members of Al- Qa'eda who carried out the bombing of a US military compound in Khobar in 1996. Such differences, however, remained limited to official channels, mostly in order to maintain the complex and intense cooperation required for oil production and regional security. Senator Specter and Republican Anthony Weiner, who introduced the bill to the 435- member House of Representatives, cited a list of at least a dozen charges against Saudi Arabia. These include the fact that the Saudis remain tolerant of the presence of Al-Qa'eda and its backers in the kingdom for the purposes of maintaining internal stability; the spreading of extremist ideas via dozens of Saudi-funded cultural and educational centres throughout the world; failure to cooperate with the United States in investigating terrorist-related incidents in which Americans were killed; and allegedly providing over $4 billion to the Palestinian group Hamas and the families of those who carry out suicide attacks against Israel. Observers in Washington were quick to point out that the Saudi Accountability Act was introduced and supported by staunch supporters of Israel. "There is an increasing sense in Congress that the Saudis not only have not been an ally, but that they have fostered our enemy," Weiner said in a recent statement. He added that, "the frustration level with the Saudis has reached fever pitch," and members of Congress were "in favour of taking some pretty draconian steps against the Saudis". However, Ambassador Murphy believes that principles which coloured American-Saudi ties for decades will not change. In recent decades, the ruling family in the kingdom has proven a loyal ally to Washington. Saudi Arabia allowed more than 500,000 US-led troops to be deployed in the kingdom during the 1991 Gulf War. For the next 12 years, Saudi and US militaries cooperated closely on the "Southern Watch" operation, which imposed a no-fly zone over southern Iraq. Over 50,000 troops were deployed on Saudi soil, and Saudi Arabia purchased arms from the US to the tune of several billion dollars per year. In return for this cooperation, US officials have always been light-handed with their criticism of Saudi policies, and have avoided pressing the oil- rich kingdom for political reforms. "I first visited Saudi in 1962, and the late Crown Prince Faisal told President Kennedy they would allow a consultative assembly," Murphy said. Only after the 1991 Gulf War, however, did King Fahd finally agree to form that assembly, the members of which are appointed by him, thus leaving them with little effective power. And last month, the Saudi government proclaimed that assembly members may now introduce bills without the prior approval of the royal family. Such a slow pace of reform, however, is no longer acceptable to Washington, particularly in the post-9/11 era and in light of the negative public attitude towards Saudi Arabia, continued Murphy. Even after 9/11, he continued, Saudis were reluctant to cooperate with US authorities, and even insisted on denying the existence of a "terrorism problem" within the country. Only after a terrorist attack targetted a compound in Riyadh in May, killing nine Americans and dozens of Saudis, did the Saudi government radically shift its policy and agree to cooperate more closely with the Americans. Saudi experts believe that the heavy-handed crackdown on suspected militants following the May attacks has been the main reason for the escalation of tensions between the two sides and the recent rise in terrorist attacks within the kingdom. US officials praised the Saudi effort and promised strong support. Saudi Arabia also agreed to form a joint task force with the FBI to investigate wealthy Saudi individuals and religious organisations allegedly funding or supporting extremist groups like Al- Qa'eda. The Washington Post also reported this week that Saudi Arabia decided to close the so- called "Islamic affairs offices" in its embassies worldwide, and has revoked the diplomatic passports of Muslim clerics who, according to Saudi critics, were spreading extremist ideas. However, key members of the US administration, in particular members of the conservative hard-line camp, are unlikely to be satisfied with what Weiner described as the "baby steps" being taken to change Saudi policies. In speeches delivered recently in London and Washington, President Bush emphasised the need for major reforms in the Arab and Muslim world, which are needed, he said, to eradicate the root cause of terrorism in the Middle East. This, according to the US president, entails introducing democratic, economic and educational reforms. Yet while official US calls for reform in Saudi Arabia have now been made public for the first time in decades, the delicate security situation in the region in light of the US-led occupation of Iraq, as well as the US dependence on Saudi oil -- 14 per cent of US oil imports come from Saudi, according to Murphy -- means that the US may continue to refrain from harshly criticising its close ally. The Saudi Accountability Act, meanwhile, will allow the Bush administration to exert more pressure on Riyadh by claiming it as a measure to placate Congress and the American public.
