DOCSLIB.ORG

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations Christopher M. Blanchard Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs June 14, 2010 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL33533 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations Summary The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ruled by the Al Saud family since its founding in 1932, wields significant political and economic influence as the birthplace of the Islamic faith and by virtue of its large energy reserves. Since 2005, King Abdullah bin Abd al Aziz Al Saud has sought to strengthen Saudi relations with European and Asian counterparts and has worked to build and lead an Arab consensus on regional security issues such as Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Domestic reforms under King Abdullah have codified royal succession rules, begun restructuring the justice system, and updated some educational curricula and practices. An Al Qaeda-inspired terrorist campaign inside the kingdom appears to have ebbed as security improvements and anti-extremism campaigns have been implemented. However, Saudi authorities remain focused on the threat of a resurgence in domestic terrorism. In March 2010, officials announced the arrest of over 110 individuals suspected of continuing involvement in Al Qaeda activities. Robust energy export revenues in recent years strengthened the kingdom’s regional and global economic position and are now providing Saudi leaders with resources to meet investment needs and fiscal challenges posed by the global economic downturn. A close Cold War-era relationship between the United States government and the ruling Al Saud family was built on shared interests in securing Saudi oil production and in combating global Communism. Since the end of the Cold War, the emergence of the Al Qaeda terrorist threat and volatile regional security conditions in the Middle East have tested U.S.-Saudi relations. The direct participation of 15 Saudi nationals in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the identification of several Saudi nationals and entities as alleged supporters of terrorism have called into question Saudi Arabia’s reliability as an ally for some U.S. observers. Increased official counterterrorism cooperation and shared concerns about Iranian foreign policy have provided a new strategic logic for U.S.-Saudi security relations since 2003. Long-standing defense ties remain intact, and U.S. arms sales have continued, with over $18.7 billion in potential Foreign Military Sales to Saudi Arabia approved by the executive branch and Congress since 2005. While security cooperation has improved since 2003, the United States and Saudi Arabia continue to face a core challenge identified by the 9/11 Commission in its final report: defining a broader bilateral relationship that “leaders on both sides are prepared to publicly defend.” The Obama Administration has continued to hold high-level consultations with key decision makers in the Saudi royal family on issues of mutual concern, including energy policy, finance, Israeli-Arab peace, Iran, trade, and counterterrorism. In conjunction with a May 2008 visit by President Bush to Saudi Arabia, the previous Administration announced new agreements relating to nuclear cooperation, infrastructure security training, and visas. The Obama Administration has signaled its intention to engage the Saudi government as a strategic partner in efforts to promote regional stability and to defeat Al Qaeda. The 111th Congress has considered foreign assistance requests for Saudi Arabia and prohibited the use of FY2010 funds for assistance to Saudi Arabia, subject to a national interest waiver authority granted to the Secretary of State. The Obama Administration is requesting $360,000 in border security assistance and $10,000 in International Military Education and Training (IMET) funding for Saudi Arabia in FY2011. This report provides background information about Saudi Arabia and analyzes current issues in U.S.-Saudi relations. Congressional Research Service Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations Contents Recent Developments..................................................................................................................1 Background ................................................................................................................................4 Saudi Arabia’s Political Development....................................................................................4 Saudi-U.S. Relations, 1931-1991...........................................................................................5 Saudi-U.S. Relations, 1991-2001...........................................................................................7 September 11, 2001, and its Aftermath ..................................................................................8 The 9/11 Commission Report ..........................................................................................9 Saudi Responses .............................................................................................................9 Recent Assessments ............................................................................................................10 Terrorist Financing Concerns ........................................................................................10 Toward a New Relationship?............................................................................................... 11 Recent Bilateral Agreements .........................................................................................13 Recent Congressional Interest in Saudi Arabia...........................................................................14 U.S. Foreign Assistance to Saudi Arabia and Congressional Prohibitions.............................15 International Military Education and Training (IMET)...................................................15 Counterterrorism Assistance..........................................................................................16 Prohibitions on Foreign Assistance................................................................................17 FY2010 Appropriations Debate.....................................................................................18 U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia .........................................................................................19 Background ..................................................................................................................19 Criticism and Action in the 110th Congress ....................................................................20 BAE Corruption Inquiry................................................................................................22 Current Issues in U.S.-Saudi Relations ......................................................................................23 U.S.-Saudi Military Cooperation.........................................................................................24 U.S. Military Training Mission in Saudi Arabia (USMTM) ...........................................25 Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program (PM-SANG).............................25 Office of Program Management Ministry of Interior – Facilities Security Forces (OPM MOI-FSF) .......................................................................................................26 Counterterrorism.................................................................................................................26 Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ................................................................................27 Combating Extremism ..................................................................................................28 The Arab-Israeli Conflict.....................................................................................................30 Saudi-Palestinian Relations ...........................................................................................31 Saudi Peace Proposals...................................................................................................31 Iraq.....................................................................................................................................33 Saudi Policy Priorities in Iraq........................................................................................34 Saudi-Iraqi Diplomatic and Economic Relations............................................................34 Economic Relations and Trade ............................................................................................36 U.S.-Saudi Trade...........................................................................................................36 U.S. Oil Imports and Saudi Policy.................................................................................36 U.S.-Saudi Foreign Direct Investment ...........................................................................37 Saudi Boycott of Israel and WTO Membership .............................................................38 Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and Political Reform ....................................................39 Political Reform Debates and Elections.........................................................................40 Leadership and Succession............................................................................................41 Social Reform Debates and Recent Leadership Changes................................................42
Recommended publications
  • Program Occasional Paper Series Summer 2012

    Program Occasional Paper Series Summer 2012

    MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES SUMMER 2012 MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM SUMMER OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES 2012 Saudi Arabia’s Race Against Time The Saudi offi- The overwhelming impression from a two- David B. Ottaway, cial from the week visit to the kingdom is that the House Senior Scholar, Ministry of of Saud finds itself in a tight race against time Woodrow Wilson International Interior’s “ideo- to head off a social explosion, made more Center for Scholars and former Bureau logical security” likely by the current Arab Awakening, that Chief, Washington Post, Cairo department was could undermine its legitimacy and stabil- relaxed and ity. Ironically, the threat stems partly from confident. The King Abdullah’s deliberate policy to stimulate government had uprooted scores of secret reform by sending a new generation of Saudis al-Qaeda cells, rounded up 5,700 of its fol- abroad for training in the sciences, technolo- lowers, and deafened Saudi society to its siren gy, and critical thinking—skills that his king- call to jihad to overthrow the ruling al-Saud dom’s own educational system, dominated by royal family. For the kingdom, the threat ultra-conservative Wahhabi religious clerics, from Islamic terrorists had become manage- has failed to provide. able. So, what is the main security concern Thousands of beneficiaries from the King of the Saudi government today? The answer Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program, came as something of a surprise: the return of underway since 2005, have returned from U.S. 150,000 Saudis who have been sent abroad to colleges and universities to face bleak prospects study, nearly one half of whom are now in the for a job, house, or marriage.
  • Wahhabism Is It a Factor in the Spread of Global Terrorism?

    Wahhabism Is It a Factor in the Spread of Global Terrorism?

    Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis and Dissertation Collection 2009-09 Wahhabism is it a factor in the spread of global terrorism? Dillon, Michael R. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/4575 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS WAHHABISM: IS IT A FACTOR IN THE SPREAD OF GLOBAL TERRORISM? by Michael R. Dillon September 2009 Thesis Co-Advisors: Abbas Kadhim Mohammed Hafez Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED September 2009 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Wahhabism: Is it a Factor in the Spread of Global 5. FUNDING NUMBERS Terrorism? 6. AUTHOR(S) Michael R. Dillon 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION Naval Postgraduate School REPORT NUMBER Monterey, CA 93943-5000 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10.
  • In Search of Stability: Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring

    In Search of Stability: Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring

    In Search of Stability: Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring GRM PAPER Gulf Research Center René Rieger In Search of Stability: Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring This paper was presented at a workshop titled “Saudi Arabia and the Arab Uprising: National, Regional and Global Responses” organized as part of the Gulf Research Meeting (GRM) 2013 in Cambridge, UK, by the Gulf Research Centre Cambridge. © Gulf Research Center 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior© Gulf permission Research of Centerthe Gulf 2014 Research Center. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, orGulf transmitted Research Center in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the GRC In Search of Stability: Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring GRM PAPER In Search of Stability: Saudi Arabia and the Arab Spring René Rieger audi Arabia’s reaction to the Arab Spring has been labeled by several academics and the majority of Western media as counterrevolutionary.1 However, this characterization of Saudi policy is an incorrect generalization. It is true that Riyadh has been making significant efforts to safeguard the political status Squo in the Kingdom and the remaining Arab monarchies, including in the Gulf. On the other hand, the Saudi regime supported both the Libyan rebels and the NATO military intervention against the Gaddafi regime; it has been supporting revolutionary factions in Syria, and, at least temporarily, has sought a rapprochement with the post-revolutionary leadership in Egypt.
  • Saudi Arabia BLUEPRINT for U.S

    Saudi Arabia BLUEPRINT for U.S

    How to Build a More Sustainable and Mutually Beneficial Relationship with Saudi Arabia BLUEPRINT FOR U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY MARCH 2015 Human Rights First American ideals. Universal values. On human rights, the United States must be a beacon. Activists fighting for freedom around the globe continue to look to us for inspiration and count on us for support. Upholding human rights is not only a moral obligation; it’s a vital national interest. America is strongest when our policies and actions match our values. Human Rights First is an independent advocacy and action organization that challenges America to live up to its ideals. We believe American leadership is essential in the struggle for human rights so we press the U.S. government and private companies to respect human rights and the rule of law. When they don’t, we step in to demand reform, accountability and justice. Around the world, we work where we can best harness American influence to secure core freedoms. We know that it is not enough to expose and protest injustice, so we create the political environment and policy solutions necessary to ensure consistent respect for human rights. Whether we are protecting refugees, combating torture, or defending persecuted minorities, we focus not on making a point, but on making a difference. For over 30 years, we’ve built bipartisan coalitions and teamed up with frontline activists and lawyers to tackle issues that demand American leadership. Human Rights First is a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights organization based in New York and Washington D.C. To maintain our independence, we accept no government funding.
  • A Global Election: Analyses of Chinese, Russian, and Saudi Arabian

    A Global Election: Analyses of Chinese, Russian, and Saudi Arabian

    A GLOBAL ELECTION: ANALYSES OF CHINESE, RUSSIAN, AND SAUDI ARABIAN NEWS COVERAGE OF THE 2016 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION by ETHAN CHRISTOPHER STOKES KARLA GOWER, COMMITTEE CHAIR ANDREW BILLINGS MARGOT LAMME WILSON LOWREY JEFREY NAIDOO A DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Graduate Studies in the College of Communication and Information Sciences of The University of Alabama TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA 2017 Copyright Ethan C Stokes 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT This dissertation was designed to investigate how state-owned news media outlets from China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia covered the 2016 U.S. presidential election. More specifically, this study includes analyses of Chinese, Russian, and Saudi Arabian news stories from four major events throughout the 2016 election campaign: 1) the national conventions for the Republican and Democratic parties, 2) the first presidential debate, 3) Election Day, and 4) Inauguration Day. Drawing from the global news flow theoretical framework, this study examined the extent to which media dependency was present among the international news coverage. Furthermore, drawing from the nation branding theoretical framework, this study assessed how these state-owned news outlets presented the U.S. nation brand to their audiences. Using a content analysis methodological approach, the researcher coded 365 news stories into various quantitative coding categories and qualitative themes. The overall results show that the Chinese and Saudi Arabian sources favored Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party, while the Russian sources favored Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Additionally, the results show that these news outlets cited U.S.
  • Author Series February 27, 2013 Washington, DC Karen Elliott

    Author Series February 27, 2013 Washington, DC Karen Elliott

    Author Series February 27, 2013 Washington, DC Karen Elliott House Author and Former Publisher of The Wall Street Journal On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines—And Future Diana Negroponte: And now the reason you came this evening, to listen to our heroine. Friends, friends, we’re going to start the program. Good evening. You are not here under false pretenses, you are here to meet, listen and buy the book, for Karen Elliott House, author of On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, and then the next part of the title that I like so much, Fault lines—and Future. Karen is a friend, author, journalist, an academic, but also a wonderful writer. Most of us can’t write properly; she writes brilliantly. It’s a book that you take with you on that train journey, that long airplane journey, and you don’t want to put it down. She spent time in Saudi Arabia, many years—over many years this book has been written, and so it has a depth and feeling about life in Saudi Arabia, about its people, about its young people, about its women, its leaders, the family, Al-Saud; it is wonderful. But before she makes her remarks, I want to recognize some fellow colleagues and board members of the Women’s Foreign Policy Group. We are an organization which is dedicated to women’s leadership, and giving a voice, a woman’s voice on key international issues, of which Saudi Arabia is a key one, particularly as we hear that the Saudi government is committed to supporting the Syrian opposition and that raises questions about how, when and where.
  • Suing Islam: Tort, Terrorism, and the House of Saud

    Suing Islam: Tort, Terrorism, and the House of Saud

    Oklahoma Law Review Volume 60 Number 2 2007 Suing Islam: Tort, Terrorism, and the House of Saud Don Garner Faulkner University, [email protected] Robert L. McFarland Faulkner University, Jones School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/olr Part of the International Law Commons, Law and Society Commons, and the Torts Commons Recommended Citation Don Garner & Robert L. McFarland, Suing Islam: Tort, Terrorism, and the House of Saud, 60 OKLA. L. REV. 223 (2007), https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/olr/vol60/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Oklahoma Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. OKLAHOMA LAW REVIEW VOLUME 60 SUMMER 2007 NUMBER 2 SUING ISLAM: TORT, TERRORISM AND THE HOUSE OF SAUD DONALD W. GARNER* & ROBERT L. MCFARLAND** Wahabism produced the religious schools; the religious schools produced the jihadists. Among them was Osama bin Laden and the nineteen perpetrators of September 11.1 Introduction As the new millennium dawned with the fiery collapse of the World Trade Center Towers, America awoke to the reality of Islamic terrorism. In the days following 9/11 many eyes turned to Saudi Arabia after it was reported that all of the bombers were committed to Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia’s particular brand of Islam. Fifteen of the 9/11 jihadists were Saudi nationals.2 Osama bin Laden was born and schooled in the desert Kingdom © 2007 Donald W.
  • Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia's Social Contract

    Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia's Social Contract

    Research Paper Jane Kinninmont Middle East and North Africa Programme | July 2017 Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia’s Social Contract Austerity and Transformation Chatham House Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia’s Social Contract: Austerity and Transformation Contents Summary 2 1. Introduction 3 2. Vision 2030 9 3. The Saudi Social Contract 17 4. Vision 2030: Disrupting the Social Contract? 26 5. Consulting the Public? 37 6. Conclusion 40 About the Author 43 Acknowledgments 44 1 | Chatham House Vision 2030 and Saudi Arabia’s Social Contract: Austerity and Transformation Summary • It is now generally accepted that the rulers and citizens of Saudi Arabia must come to terms with a future in which oil resources play a far less significant role in the economy than has historically been the case. This is bound to change the implicit social contract between the government and its key constituencies. • Saudi Arabia has a long-term plan – as part of its wide-ranging Vision 2030 strategy – to reduce the economy’s reliance on oil and the state by boosting investment in the private sector. Vision 2030 essentially continues, in amplified and expanded form, policies that the country has had in place for some decades. These have had some successes in generating non-oil growth and encouraging some Saudis to work in the private sector, but implementation has repeatedly fallen short of the ambitious targets that have been set, with the result that the Saudi economy remains overwhelmingly dependent on oil-fuelled government spending. • Vision 2030 is prominently associated with King Salman’s son Mohammed bin Salman – or ‘MBS’ – newly promoted to crown prince as of June 2017.
  • The U.S.–Saudi Arabia Counterterrorism Relationship Hearing Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Representatives

    The U.S.–Saudi Arabia Counterterrorism Relationship Hearing Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Representatives

    THE U.S.–SAUDI ARABIA COUNTERTERRORISM RELATIONSHIP HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TERRORISM, NONPROLIFERATION, AND TRADE OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION MAY 24, 2016 Serial No. 114–162 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 20–256PDF WASHINGTON : 2016 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 15:47 Jun 15, 2016 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\_TNT\052416\20256 SHIRL COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida TED POE, Texas BRIAN HIGGINS, New York MATT SALMON, Arizona KAREN BASS, California DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina ALAN GRAYSON, Florida MO BROOKS, Alabama AMI BERA, California PAUL COOK, California ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas GRACE MENG, New York SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania LOIS FRANKEL, Florida RON DESANTIS, Florida TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas TED S.