House votes to cut off aid to Saudi Arabia

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;j...storyID=5687124

 

House Votes to Block Aid for Saudi Arabia

Thu Jul 15, 2004 11:40 PM ET

 

By Anna Willard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers cheered as the House of Representatives voted on Thursday to strip financial assistance for Saudi Arabia from a foreign aid bill because of criticism that the country has not been sufficiently cooperative in the U.S. war on terror.

 

The vote was a stinging defeat for the Bush Administration which had strongly opposed the measure saying it would "severely undermine" counterterrorism cooperation with Saudi Arabia and U.S. efforts for peace in the Middle East.

 

The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.

 

The funds were designated for military training but approval would have triggered millions of dollars in discounts on hardware and other military training, lawmakers said.

 

"I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to the Saudis and I don't want anyone else's to," said Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley.

 

Supporters of the measure also argued that with Saudi Arabia's massive wealth from ownership of one-fourth of the world's proven oil reserves, the kingdom should not need financial aid from the United States.

 

The Senate would also have to strip the Saudi aid from its version of the foreign assistance bill before it stands a chance of being enacted.

 

U.S.- Saudi ties were shaken by the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 were Saudi nationals and revelations that individual Saudis had financed al Qaeda, whose leader, Osama bin Laden, was born in the kingdom.

 

A study by the Council on Foreign Relations found recently that Saudi Arabia has stepped up its efforts to halt the flow of funds to militant groups, but said more needed to be done.

 

Arizona Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, said the timing of the House measure "could not be worse." He acknowledged Saudi Arabia had not always been a model partner in the war on terror but said "we need all the friends and allies we can get."

 

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

 

We'll see if the Senate does anything.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

..............

 

Wow.

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

By the way, if this is an appropriations bill they're voting to amend, the Senate will not vote on it. In fact, I believe it IS an appropriations bill.

 

If that's the case, I believe we can start a pool on how long it takes for the House of Saud to fall.

 

 

EDIT: Reading the article, it seems the $25,000 is more of a fine than anything, a "we know what you're (not) doing, so shape up" type of measure. So, perhaps my previous comment was premature, but let's hope this is the start of a trend.

[C Dubya 04 0]

"Supporters of the measure also argued that with Saudi Arabia's massive wealth from ownership of one-fourth of the world's proven oil reserves, the kingdom should not need financial aid from the United States. "

 

 

This I fully agree with. What have the Saudi's done for us anyways, besides harbor the terrorists who attacked here?

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

"Supporters of the measure also argued that with Saudi Arabia's massive wealth from ownership of one-fourth of the world's proven oil reserves, the kingdom should not need financial aid from the United States. "

 

 

This I fully agree with. What have the Saudi's done for us anyways, besides harbor the terrorists who attacked here?

They used to let us use their bases, IIRC.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Those HOR folks are always a rowdy bunch.

 

Too bad most of the time the Senate is a killjoy...

[KingPK 0]

Really, Congress needs to take a cue from the British Parliament and put Republicans on one side of the room and Democrats on the other and have them face each other, allowing them to yell at each other as much as possible.

 

Either that, or a Senate-clearing brawl over social security. C-Span needs RATINGS, dammit!!

[NoCalMike 0]

Not suprising that Bush didn't support this......

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

the funny part is that the Saudi government is in a deathmatch with Al-Queda right now.

[Dr. Tom 0]

Good. The hell with the House of Saud. They've harbored and supported terrorists for years. I'd like to see every cent of that money stay in this country instead of going to those two-faced cocksuckers.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

Good. Good. GOOD! Fuck the House of Saud!

 

 

Nice to see them finally getting slapped.

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Thank fucking God.

 

 

Seriously, it's about time.

[NoCalMike 0]

Thank fucking God.

 

 

Seriously, it's about time.

I heard the Senate is gonna kill it though......

[Dr. Tyler; Captain America 0]

They can't. The Senate has no control over appropriations.

[Guest INXS]

We can do stuff like this now that we've got our own private oil supply

[Guest Cerebus]

They can't. The Senate has no control over appropriations.

Wha?

[Guest MikeSC]

They can't. The Senate has no control over appropriations.

Wha?

I thought ALL bills, even appropriations, had to pass both houses. The Senate can't propose them, though. But, I don't remember off the top of my head.

-=Mike

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Yeah, the House makes the wack spending bills that get all the media attention, then the Senate just negate it all under the radar. Then there are those hippie joint sessions that add millions of extra things so the bill can pass both branches and the Prez. signs it...

[Guest unleashedfury]

The House voted 217-191 to remove $25,000 in the $19.4 billion 2005 foreign aid bill earmarked for Saudi Arabia.

 

The funds were designated for military training but approval would have triggered millions of dollars in discounts on hardware and other military training, lawmakers said.

 

"I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to the Saudis and I don't want anyone else's to," said Nevada Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley.

 

Who are they kidding? why would Saudi Arabia need an aid any way?

 

The fact of the matter that ever since 1992, Saudi Arabia has been spending at least 16 billion $ every year on defense and security. The Saudi army is twice the army it was before the 91 Gulf war. They sure as hell wouldn't need any American help even if Saddam didn't fall.

 

Quoted by CheesalaIsGood:

If that's the case, I believe we can start a pool on how long it takes for the House of Saud to fall.

 

Believe me if I tell you there is nothing worse for the united states than the fall of the House Of Saud. The muslims DESPISE America because they know that Israel wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for American tremendouse help. Muslims (and I mean the people and not the goverments) don't recognize Israel AT ALL. Of course that is only one among many reasons why over 1 billion muslims don't feel warm about America and , its closest ally, England. Anyway, the fall of the Saudi goverment is very unlikely for a lot of reasons.

 

Quoted by INXS:

We can do stuff like this now that we've got our own private oil supply

 

I beg to differ, cutting off 25,000 $ over a military training is nothing to brag about. The Middle Eastern media didn't even mention anything about it. Besides, the whole world will still be needing the saudi oil supply for the next 40-50 years. But oil production is not a priority in Saudi policy anymore. If you must know, oil makes about %35 of Saudi economy which is down from %65 in 1980 and is expected to be %20 in 2020. In other words, Saudi Arabia is expected to be the first middle eastern industrial country in 2025 due to the very effective economic strategy that has been ongoing since 1998.