(2009-1440-F) Saudi Arabia

The materials in FOIA 2009-1440-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult 2006-0648-F and 2006-0649-F about related materials. This FOIA contains National Security Council documents concerning U.S.-Saudi Arabian relations during President Clinton’s first term. During this period, the United States and Saudi Arabia enjoyed a positive working relationship. Saudi Arabia served as a host for American troops during Operation Southern Watch, a Joint Task Force Southwest Asia mission to monitor the no-fly zones in Iraq from 1991 through 2003. During the early 1990s, much of American-Saudi relations concerned Saudi contracts with U.S. companies and the related state of the Saudi Arabian economy. Later in President Clinton’s first term, two terrorist attacks had a direct impact on the two nations. The first occurred on November 13, 1995, when a car bomb exploded at the Office of Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard (OPM SANG). Six people died and sixty others were injured in the attack. A subsequent Accountability Review Board (ACRB) investigated the attacks. Based upon their recommendations, forces stationed in Saudi Arabia began to enhance protection of their facilities. In spite of these measures, a second car bomb exploded at the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran Saudi Arabia on June 25, 1996, killing twenty and injuring three hundred seventy-two people. After the Khobar Towers bombing, the Downing Commission made recommendations for stronger force protection for American troops stationed in the Middle East. Both attacks were attributed to Hezbollah Al-Hejaz. In addition, four Saudi nationals were arrested and executed in connection with the Riyadh bombing. Further information and a larger body of material on the Khobar Towers attack is located in FOIA 2006-0648-F. All of the documents responsive to this FOIA are located in the records of the White House National Security Council. In the Multilateral & Humanitarian Affairs office, the records created by Eric Schwartz contain a file concerning a family’s pleas for the return of a U.S. citizen in Saudi Arabia. In the office of Near East and South Asian Affairs, the files of Stephen Grummon and Martin Indyk contain general information and press clippings regarding Saudi Arabia, correspondence pertaining to disputes and contracts between American companies and the Saudi government, routine correspondence between King Fahd and President Clinton, and a copy of the remarks delivered by Saudi Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar in Tampa, Florida on May 20, 1993. The records in these files primarily date to 1993 and 1994. In the Transnational Threats office, memoranda and reports on the investigations following the OPM SANG and Khobar Towers bombings, as well records concerning force protection measures in response to these attacks, are located in the files of Steven Simon. These materials, dating exclusively to the years 1995 and 1996, also include the transcript of the Saudi Arabian television broadcast of the confessions of the four men arrested in response to the Riyadh attack. Condolence letters from the President to the spouses of those killed in the OPM SANG bombing are also located in these files. Researchers should be aware that many of the records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.