Iraq violence strains US-Saudi relations

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/November/middleeast_November567.xml§ion=middleeast

WASHINGTON - The deteriorating situation in Iraq has put a strain on Washington’s relations with Saudi Arabia, a top Middle East ally seeking greater US involvement in the region to counter Iran’s influence.

An advisor to the Sunni-dominated Saudi kingdom warned Wednesday that if US troops withdraw from Iraq, Riyadh could arm Iraq’s Sunni minority in the face of similar aid from Iran to Iraqi Shias.

A top aid to President George W. Bush, meanwhile, reportedly recommended that the administration pressure Saudi Arabia into using its influence to convince Sunnis to stop resorting to violence.

Nawaf Obaid, a security advisor to the Saudi ambassador in the United States, wrote in a Washington Post column that a US pullout from Iraq would lead to “massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shia militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis.”

“Options now include providing Sunni military leaders ... with the same types of assistance — funding, arms and logistical support — that Iran has been giving to Shia armed groups for years,” wrote Obaid.