From "The Los Angeles Times: August 8, 2002"

U.S. Disavows Report on Saudis

, From Times Wire Services

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration distanced itself Tuesday from a

Pentagon briefing that described Saudi Arabia as an adversary of the United

States and a backer of terrorism, with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld

saying the briefing doesn't represent the views of the U.S. government and

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell repeating that message in a call to the

Saudi foreign minister.

The White House also distanced itself from the comments, and in Jidda, Saudi

Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal denounced the briefing as "pure

fiction."

The briefing to the Defense Policy Board, a Pentagon advisory panel made up

of former senior officials and retired top military officers, recommended

that U.S. officials demand that Saudi Arabia stop supporting terrorism or

face retaliation.

"The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain," asserted the

briefing, which was delivered July 10 by Laurent Murawiec, a Rand Corp.

international security analyst. It also said, "Saudi Arabia supports our

enemies and attacks our allies."

The briefing recommended that the United States target Saudi oil fields and

financial assets if the Mideast nation didn't take certain actions against

terrorism.

"It is unfortunate that there are people in some quarters who are trying to

cast doubt and undermine the solid and historic ties between our two

countries," Saud said in a statement. "I am confident that they will not

succeed."

"Saudi Arabia is a long-standing friend and a long-standing ally," White

House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We very much appreciate the way they

are cooperating in the global war against terrorism."

Rumsfeld did acknowledge differences with the Saudis.

"It is nonetheless a country where we have a lot of forces located and we

have a had a long relationship, and yet ... a number of the people who were

involved [in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks] happen to have been Saudi

individuals," Rumsfeld told Pentagon employees.

U.S. lawmakers are among those who have complained that Saudi Arabia hasn't

done enough to rein in support for the Al Qaeda terrorist network, discourage

suicide bombings by Palestinians or support U.S. military operations in

Afghanistan.