US
ASKS
NON-ESSENTIAL
DIPLOMATIC
STAFF TO
LEAVE
"The
US State
Department
[Feb.
13] told
non-essential
staff at
the US
Embassy
in
Riyadh
and the
American
consulates
in
Jeddah
and
Dhahran
that
they
could
return
home if
they
feel
they
want to.
The
authorization
also
covers
non-essential
US
diplomatic
staff in
Qatar
and
Bahrain.
The move
comes
two
weeks
after US
diplomats'
dependants
in the
Kingdom
and
Kuwait
were
authorized
to
return
home if
they
wanted
to leave
and the
announcement
earlier
this
week
authorizing
the
departure
of
dependants
and
non-essential
staff at
US
missions
in
Jordan,
Syria,
Lebanon
and
Israel.
Authorization
means
that the
US
government
will pay
for
flights
home.
Half of
the 200
Americans
working
at the
US
Embassy
in
Riyadh
are
regarded
as
non-essential.
The
percentage
is the
same at
the
Dhahran
consulate....
...US
diplomats
are
concerned
not to
panic
the many
thousands
of
Americans
based in
Saudi
Arabia,
or
convey
the
image
that
they are
pulling
out in
advance
of an
attack
on Iraq.
'This is
voluntary,'
insisted
a
spokesman
at the
Jeddah
consulate
yesterday.
'It
permits
them to
go if
they so
choose,
but it
is not
an
order.'
Up to a
third of
those
working
in the
Jeddah
consulate
are
covered
by the
latest
travel
warning
and
could
return
home if
they
wished,
he told
Arab
News,
but he
did not
expect
any
sudden
or mass
exodus.
Many
would
opt to
stay for
the
moment,
he
added.
There
was no
rush to
leave
following
earlier
advice
that
dependants
could
leave.
According
to an
embassy
spokesman
in
Riyadh,
only a
quarter
of the
families
are
considering
leaving.
Five
have
left out
of the
three
dozen
families
based at
the
Jeddah
consulate,
and in
Dhahran
only one
US
diplomatic
family
has
chosen
to go,
and even
they
waited
until
the
school
vacation
started..."
[Expired
Link]
IN
SAUDI
ARABIA,
ANTI-U.S.
BACKLASH
GROWS
STRONGER
MANY
SAUDIS
ARE
BOYCOTTING
AMERICAN
FIRMS
"Al-Khobar,
Saudi
Arabia
-- At
the
Al-Rashid
Mall,
there's
little
to
indicate
that
Saudi
public
opinion
is
anything
but
wildly
pro-American.
The
huge,
glittering
mall is
full of
Saudis
worshiping
at the
shrine
of U.S.
consumerism.
There
are Nine
West,
Nike,
Starbucks
and Liz
Claiborne
outlets
and just
about
every
American
clothing
and
fast-food
chain
imaginable.
But
there's
a
backlash
brewing
in the
oil-rich
kingdom,
one that
could
tip it
away
from the
U.S.
orbit --
where it
has been
the most
important,
dependable
American
ally in
the Arab
world --
and
damage
Washington's
interests
in the
region.
Recent
U.S.
policies
--
particularly
the Bush
administration's
push to
invade
Iraq,
its
support
for the
Israeli
crackdown
on
Palestinians,
its
restriction
on visas
for
Saudis
and its
pressure
on
Riyadh
to crack
down on
those
with
financial
links to
terrorists
-- are
prompting
average
Saudis
and
government
leaders
alike to
make a
perceptible
shift in
their
allegiances..."
Complete
report...
US
EXTENDS
REGISTRATION
DEADLINE
FOR
SAUDIS
"The
US
Justice
Department
extended
by one
month
Friday
the
deadlines
for
thousands
of
visitors
from
seven
mainly
Muslim
countries
to
register
with
immigration
authorities.
About
15,000
men ages
16 and
older
from
Saudi
Arabia
and
Pakistan
have
until
March 21
to be
fingerprinted,
photographed
and
present
required
documents
at
offices
of the
Immigration
and
Naturalization
Service.
The
deadline
had been
Feb.
21...
...Most
individuals
required
to
register
are
students,
present
on
extended
business
travel
or
visiting
family
members
for a
prolonged
period,
the
department
said.
Arab and
immigration
groups
and some
foreign
nations
have
complained
that
Middle
Eastern
men have
been
unfairly
singled
out..."
[Expired
Link]
SAUDIS
MADE US
FEEL
WANTED,
US HAJIS
SAY
"Many
US
Muslims
realized
their
dream
when a
group
from the
American
Society
of
Muslims
performed
Haj this
year.
There
were
doctors,
lawyers,
teachers
and
other
pillars
of the
community
among
them,
all of
whom
help to
maintain
the
basic
structures
of US
society.
Judge
David
Shaheed
told
Arab
News
that he
became a
Muslim
30 years
ago. He
is the
group
leader
of a
delegation
of 1,000
US
Muslims
who have
been
educated,
guided,
and led
in Islam
by Imam
W D
Mohammed.
It is
the
second
Haj for
Shaheed,
his
first
having
been
completed
in 1987.
'At
Jeddah
airport,
the
processing
was
handled
a lot
better
than
before.
The way
Hajis
are
treated
made us
feel
wanted.
Everyone
tried to
make the
process
move
more
smoothly.'
The
group
particularly
appreciated
two
books
with
Hadith
about
Haj and
Umrah
given
them to
read
while
they
waited.
'These
considerations
show an
attitude
of
concern
toward
the
non-Arab
Hajis
from the
West,'
Shaheed
said.
Many
people
in the
group
find
daily
life
difficult
because
of their
choice
of Islam
and have
had to
make
great
efforts
to come
to Haj..."
[Expired
Link]
SAUDIS
PLAN TO
END U.S.
PRESENCE
- N.Y.
TIMES
"Saudi
Arabia's
leaders
have
decided
to
prepare
for an
era of
military
disengagement
from the
United
States,
to enact
democratic
reforms
and rein
in the
powerful
conservative
clergy…
…Saudi
officials
were
quoted
as
saying
the
departure
of U.S.
soldiers
would
set the
stage
for an
announcement
that
Saudis
-- but
probably
not
women,
at least
initially
-- would
begin
electing
representatives
to
provincial
assemblies
and then
to a
national
assembly…"
[Expired
Link]
QUESTIONS
OVER US
TROOPS'
SAUDI
FUTURE
"Saudi
Arabia
says a
report
suggesting
it will
ask
United
States
forces
to leave
after
the Iraq
crisis
is
speculative…
…If
they are
indeed
planning
a
dramatic
change
in the
US-Saudi
relationship,
the
cautious
Saudi
princes
are not
yet
ready to
say so
publicly…"
Complete
report…
EDICT
FORBIDDING
ATTACKS
ON
NON-MUSLIMS
REASSURES
EXPATS
"Western
expatriates
have
welcomed
an edict
issued
by the
Kingdom's
Council
of
Muslim
Scholars
forbidding
attacks
anywhere
in the
world on
non-Muslims…
…The
edict
comes in
the wake
of
advice
given to
Westerners
by many
embassies
here to
prepare
for a
swift
exit
should
the US
go to
war
against
Iraq…"
[Expired
Link]
SUSPECT'S
WIFE
RETURNS
TO
KINGDOM
SPARKING
CRITICISM
The wife
of a
suspect
held in
connection
with Al
Qaeda
links
returned
to Saudi
Arabia
with the
assistance
of the
Saudi
embassy
in
Washington
despite
her
being
under
grand
jury
subpoena
according
to the Washington
Post
on
February
5. Mrs.
Maha
Almarri
and her
five
young
children
returned
to the
Kingdom
in
November
when,
according
to an
embassy
attorney,
it was
believed
there
was no
'legal
impediment'
to her
departure,
after a
ten
month
wait,
since
the
grand
jury had
recessed.
However,
Mrs.
Almarri's
departure
has
given
new
ammunition
to
editorialists
critical
of Saudi
Arabia.
The
embassy
responded
in a
press
release
noting
Saudi
Arabia
had
formally
assured
the
United
States
she will
be
available
to U.S.
authorities
if
further
interviews
are
required.
The
statement
also
noted
that
Mrs.
Almarri,
who
suffers
from
Graves
disease,
was
never
questioned
during
the
ten-month
period
she
awaited
contact
from the
government.
According
to the
Washington
Post
Almarri's
husband,
a Saudi
native
now a
Qatari
citizen,
is
charged
with
lying to
the FBI
about
phone
calls he
made to
a phone
number
in the
UAE
belonging
to a
suspected
Al Qaeda
figure. Related
Material:
SAUDIS
AIDED
SUBPOENAED
WOMAN'S
TRIP OUT
OF U.S.
SAUDIS
OFFER
INTERVIEW
WITH
WOMAN
WHO LEFT
U.S.
EXPATS,
VISITORS
TO BE
FINGERPRINTED
"Saudi
Arabia
is to
start
fingerprinting
expatriate
workers
and all
visitors
to the
Kingdom
from the
next
Hijrah
year…"
[Expired
Link]
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