Saudis express dismay at U.S. indictments

By Rawhi Abeidoh

DUBAI (Reuters): The U.S. indictment of suspects in a Saudi Arabian bombing has touched a raw nerve in Riyadh, which sees it as an infringement of its sovereignty, Saudi analysts said on Monday.

They said Riyadh was angry because Washington, without any consultation, announced the indictments on Thursday before Saudi Arabia had even completed its own investigation into the 1996 Khobar bombing that killed 19 U.S. servicemen.

"This is illogical since the investigation and suspects are in the kingdom and the crime was committed on Saudi soil," said Abdelaziz al-Muhanna, a Saudi columnist.

He told Reuters that issuing indictments in this way was inappropriate because it implied the charges had been proven, whilst the Saudi probe was still going on.

Those indicted in the United States are 13 Saudi members of an allegedly pro-Iranian group called Saudi Hizbollah, or "Party of God", which Saudi Arabia says does not exist.

A Lebanese man has also been indicted in the case.

The government al-Riyadh newspaper said Washington's step had "violated the norms that link two countries with joint interests and strategies" and questioned what the motive was.

"The aim could be related to the political circumstances in the region, where America wants to have a monopoly over finding solutions or (creating) complexities," it said in a commentary.

"There is no logic in involving Iran ... unless the reason is that America is not happy with the (Saudi-Iran) rapprochement and the creation of a relationship based on trust and political and commercial exchange," al-Riyadh said.

"Unfortunately, until now the U.S. does not really comprehend Saudi Arabia and how it operates," said Nayef Obaid, senior analyst at Sheikh Khalifa's Center for Studies and Research.

"I think that the Saudis now feel that a close neighbor is more important for their internal security than an ally who is far away."

Saudi-U.S. relations were already strained over what Riyadh sees as Washington's pro-Israel bias and its reluctance to end the Jewish state's tough policies in trying to quell a nine-month-old Palestinian uprising for independence.

Saudi Arabia is a key political and economic ally for the United States in the oil-rich Gulf region. But Saudi leaders have recently become more vocal in their criticism of the U.S. Middle East policies.

Saudi leaders were unusually swift in reacting to the U.S Justice Department announcement on the indictments, effectively ruling out extradition of the alleged Saudi suspects.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on steps being taken to bring the suspects to the United States, saying Washington always actively sought the extradition of people accused of violating U.S. laws.

But Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef has said that the kingdom would insist that it, and not the United States, will investigate the bombing and put the suspects on trial.

"We do not belittle the American government's concern given that the victims were Americans and we really appreciate their cooperation with us to apprehend the suspects," he said.

But he bluntly added: "We are the ones concerned with the case and it will run its course just as other cases run their course before Saudi security apparatus and before the Saudi legal system."

One analyst described the interior minister's comment as yet another signal of Saudi Arabia's discontent at Washington's policies in the region.

"Prince Nayef's remarks are more of an escalation rather than a public-relations display to please a public angry at the U.S.," he said.

Prince Nayef said all but three of the suspects were in Saudi custody, confirming a report last month that three main suspects had vanished without trace and that Saudi authorities could not complete the investigation unless they were found.