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Mix-Ansicht- Pentagon board told Saudi Arabia is enemy - Popeye, 06.08.2002, 07:10
Pentagon board told Saudi Arabia is enemy
Pentagon board told Saudi Arabia is enemy
WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - A briefing last month for a top
Pentagon advisory panel depicted Saudi Arabia as an enemy to the
United States and a backer of terrorism, The Washington Post
reported in Tuesday editions.
"The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from
planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to
cheerleader," stated the briefing prepared by Laurent Murawiec, a
Rand Corporation analyst, according to the Post.
The briefing was presented on July 10 to the Defense Policy
Board, a group of prominent intellectuals and former senior officials
that advises the Pentagon on defense policy, the report said, adding
that it appeared to be linked to the growing debate over how to drive
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.
"Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies,"
Murawiec was quoted as saying in the briefing.
He also urged the United States to demand that Riyadh stop
funding fundamentalist Islamic outlets around the world, stop all
anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli statements in the country," the newspaper
reported.
The briefing urged U.S. officials to target Saudi oil fields and
overseas financial assets if the Saudis refused to comply, according
to the Post.
A Pentagon spokesman was not immediately available for
comment on the report.
The newspaper quoted Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke as
saying neither the briefing nor the advisory board represented the
views of the U.S. government.
"Neither the presentations nor the Defense Policy Board members'
comments reflect the official views of the department," Clarke said
in a written statement."Saudi Arabia is a long-standing friend and
ally of the United States. The Saudis cooperate fully in the global
war on terrorism and have the department's and the administration's
deep appreciation."
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin
Sultan, told the newspaper he did not take the briefing seriously."I
think that it is a misguided effort that is shallow and not honest about
the facts," he said."Repeating lies will never make them facts."
According to the newspaper, members of the Defense Policy
Board include former vice president Dan Quayle; former Secretary
of State Henry Kissinger; former defense secretaries James
Schlesinger and Harold Brown; former House speakers Newt
Gingrich and Thomas Foley; and several retired senior military
officers. ((JoAnne Allen, Washington newsroom, fax +1 202 898
8383, washington.bureau.newsroom@reuters.com))
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