[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 512-513]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SAUDI ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to comment on S. 1888, the Saudi 
Arabia Accountability Act of 2003, introduced by Senator Specter. I 
commend my colleague for his leadership on this issue. Combating 
terrorism is our highest national security priority at this time, and I 
have long had concerns regarding Saudi support for terrorist groups. 
While the administration has stated that the Government of Saudi Arabia 
has recently increased its cooperation with the United States, and 
while I do believe that last week's joint U.S.-Saudi announcement 
regarding Al-Haramain branches in Pakistan, Indonesia, Kenya and 
Tanzania is a positive step, it remains evident that the Saudi 
Government has often turned a

[[Page 513]]

blind eye to many activities that foster terrorism and, in some cases, 
Saudi leadership appears to have supported terrorism directly. This 
bill serves to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia to increase its 
counterterrorism efforts or to face limited sanctions. Cutting the 
links between terrorist organizations and their sponsoring governments 
is one of the most crucial tasks in the fight against terrorism, and I 
support the goals of this legislation.
  However, the legislation raises other concerns that must be carefully 
considered by Congress. I am concerned that the legislation 
demonstrates the degree to which we, as policymakers, wear blinders in 
our relationship with Saudi Arabia. The legislation expresses 
dissatisfaction with the Government of Saudi Arabia solely for their 
lack of cooperation on the global war on terrorism. But Congress must 
not fail to mention the government's repression of women, grand-scale 
corruption, widescale detentions, and restrictions on freedom of 
expression and assembly. I fear that these omissions risk sending the 
wrong message about U.S. foreign policy priorities to the Middle East 
and other areas of the world. U.S. foreign policy objectives of 
promoting human rights and democracy must not be neglected while 
combating terrorism. These do not have to be contradictory goals. Even 
as we urge the Saudi Government to act more decisively and consistently 
against terrorism, we must ensure that the U.S. does not inadvertently 
encourage repression of desperately needed reforms in Saudi Arabia. 
Only by addressing both sets of issues can we achieve a future in which 
the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia stands on a firm footing.
  The national security implications of failing to speak out bluntly 
about Saudi support for terrorism prompted me to cosponsor S. 1888. 
However, I hope that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will take 
the opportunity to address some of these issues I have raised.

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