Assessing the Support of Middle Eastern Countries Friendly to the United States
H.A.S.C. NO. 107-18
Special Oversight Panel On Terrorism:
May 23, 2002
 
Ms. Pletka:  "The fundamental problem is simple: most Arab leaders do not agree with us as to what constitutes terrorism; arguably , some have vested interest in allowing it to continue, and they know that 99 percent of the time they will not be called to account by the United States of America.

Who are our Arab allies?  We can reel off a list of countries that come to mind:
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, united Arab Emirates, Morocco, plus or minus a few, defending on the state of the world on any particular day.  But what really makes them allies?  Military bases? Intelligence and law enforcement cooperation?  A willingness to accept U.S. assistance?  Shared values and systems of government?

On the question of values and government, the answer is clearly no.  None of these nations share our democratic system of government.

Last year, 14 people were indicted in the 1996 Khobar towers bombing that killed 19 U.S.. Air Force personnel. Eleven of those suspects are in Saudi Arabia and will not be handed over to the United States.  If the Khobar investigation was an early stage on the war of terrorism, Saudi Arabia can only be judged as evasive, unhelpful, and ultimately uninterested in justice...

If we can't agree on the basics, how can we move forward together on a comprehensive campaign to defeat terrorism?  The answer is, of course, we can't"...end quote..commdocs.house.house.gov/committees/security/has
 
Bottom Line:
 
This document is 30 pages long...we will never win the hearts of the Middle East...it's time to leave something we should have never entered!