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| Middle East |
| U.S. has quietly expelled dozens of Saudi diplomats |
| 2004-01-30 |
| [snipped, posted yesterday] |
| Posted by:PlanetDan |
| #6 I still think we should send a few of them back in plastic bags. Or 50 gal drums, wrapped in bacon with their throats cut. But then I'm no diplomat. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2004-1-30 7:06:37 PM |
| #5 don't let the screen door hit you... |
| Posted by: B 2004-1-30 11:13:24 AM |
| #4 Here's a different spin on it: The US State Department recently revoked the diplomatic visas of 16 people affiliated with an Islamic institute in Virginia, in the latest step in an ongoing joint American-Saudi attempt to "curb the spread of extremist Islamic rhetoric" in the US, the Washington Post, citing a top Saudi official, reported. The joint crackdown has led to an "exodus of Riyadh's diplomats from the United States in recent months." In its Thursday edition, the Post, citing a US official, said 16 staffers at the Fairfax-based Institute for Islamic and Arabic Sciences in the United States are among two dozen Saudi personnel whose diplomatic credentials were revoked recently. According to the unnamed official, the revocations were in the framework of "an ongoing effort to protect the homeland." He added the Saudis have been told that they must leave within two weeks. Around 70 people with Saudi diplomatic credentials have left the United States in the past four months, the Saudi official said. Saudi spin machine on full power, "We told them to come home. It was our idea, nothing to see, move along." |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-1-30 10:44:28 AM |
| #3 Sorry, I take back NOTHING I've said about the State Department. They're still being too kind, particularly in their not being open and honest about why this was done. If they wanted to be tough on the Saudis, they'd openly state why they did this; as it is, they're not even admitting they did it. This is a gem, too: The agency said Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar Bin Sultan has refused to take responsibility for the Saudi embassy in Washington. The agency cited a source as saying he hasn’t entered the embassy in years. "Many diplomats have not seen the ambassador for years," the source said. "Bandar spends most of his time at his mansions around the U.S. and the world, instead of carrying on his ambassadorial duties." What kind of ambassador never goes to his embassy? The kind that's not an ambassador. He should be PNG'd and sent back to Saudi Arabia, with a request that we be sent a REAL ambassador. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-1-30 9:19:58 AM |
| #2 Wow. If true, I take back almost every bad thing I said about State except about the 'Visa Express' program. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-1-30 8:53:15 AM |
| #1 my bad. this is the direct link: http://216.26.163.62/2004/ss_saudis_01_29.html |
| Posted by: PlanetDan 2004-1-30 8:45:04 AM |