Bruce,
Scumbag Islamists- some "religion" huh? I suppose this is in the name of "Allah" too. Servitude and sexual slavery. http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews <http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8682375> &storyID=8682375 U.S to rebuke Saudi on human trafficking- officials Thu Jun 2, 2005 02:23 PM ET By Arshad Mohammed and Saul Hudson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States plans to rebuke Saudi Arabia for doing too little to stop the trafficking of people as Washington pushes its ally to improve its human rights record, U.S. officials said on Thursday. The State Department will cite Saudi Arabia on Friday as one of the world's worst offenders in an annual report evaluating countries' efforts at combating the trafficking of thousands of people forced into servitude or the sex trade every year, the officials said. The criticism comes after President Bush urged Saudi Arabia this year to be a leader of reform in the Middle East and follows a similar U.S. report in September that accused the kingdom of severe violations of religious freedom. The congressionally mandated trafficking report will list Saudi Arabia in its lowest, "Tier 3," category of countries that "do not fully comply with the minimum standards (laid down by U.S. law) and are not making significant efforts to do so." That one-step downgrade means Saudi Arabia may be subject to sanctions, including the withholding of U.S. aid that is not for humanitarian or trade purposes, if it does not improve in three months. Bush has the right to waive sanctions, which even if applied would not likely have much practical effect on Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter whose energy resources are vital to Washington. One U.S. official, who asked not to be named, suggested the real impact of the report was that the stigma it created rather than any threat of sanctions. "No country wants to be on this list because they do not want to be seen as not working effectively and actively against this problem," he said. Saudi officials were not immediately available to comment on the expected criticism. Victims of trafficking in Saudi Arabia come mainly from the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to work as domestic servants and laborers while others from Africa are forced into begging rings, according to last year's State Department report. Last year, the lowest category included nations such as Burma, Cuba and North Korea, which have traditionally had strained ties with the United States. The U.S. officials declined to say which other nations would be in Tier 3 this year. Many governments, particularly those rebuked in the State Department's annual rights reports, complain the United States has little credibility in criticizing other nations because of scandals in recent years involving U.S. abuse of prisoners. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, when most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, Washington's relations with the kingdom have been strained. With high oil prices affecting the U.S. economy, critics have charged the Bush administration has criticized Saudi Arabia's rights record too mildly for fear of triggering a backlash from the oil supplier [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give underprivileged students the materials they need to learn. 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