Iran and Saudi Arabia signed

     Sep 22, The government of the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd officially changed its name to Saudi Arabia.    (www.indiana.edu/~league/1932.htm)1932        Sep 23, In 2005 King Abdullah established this day as the official unification date of Saudi Arabia and made it an official holiday.    (Econ, 10/2/10, p.49)1932        Nov 23, The kingdoms of Nejd and Hejaz merged to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud. Abdul Aziz (d.1953) proclaimed the unified Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia was named after King Ibn Saud, founder of the Saudi dynasty. Abdul Aziz al-Saud fathered 44 sons.    (SFC, 9/1/96, Z1 p.2)(SFEC, 8/23/98, p.A15)(SFC, 5/26/00, p.D3)(WSJ, 11/13/01, p.A14)(AP, 11/23/02)1932        Dec 22, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was proclaimed.    (www.rogersstudy.co.uk/hejaz/al_nahda/al_nahda.html)1933        May, Saudi Arabia gave Standard Oil of California exclusive rights to explore for oil. Socal formed the California Arabian Standard Oil Co. to drill for oil in Saudi Arabia.    (www.chevron.com)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)1936        Jan, Standard Oil of California found some gas and oil at their 1st Saudi Arabia test well, Damman No. 1.    (www.chevron.com)1936        Mar 3, Standard Oil of California struck oil at Damman No 7. Aramco made the first commercial oil find in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The English Arabist, H. St. John Philby, orchestrated the Aramco concession in Saudi Arabia.    (HN, 3/15/98)(WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.T3)(www.chevron.com)1936        The Texas Co. joined Standard Oil in Saudi Arabia. The joint venture eventually became the Saudi oil giant Aramco.    (SFC, 10/20/04, p.C6)1938        Norman Lewis (d.2003), British travel writer, authored "Sand and Sea in Arabia."    (SFC, 7/26/03, p.A22)1945        Feb 14, Saudi King Abd al-Aziz and Franklin D. Roosevelt met on a ship in the Suez Canal and reached an understanding whereby the US would protect the Saudi royal family in return for preferred access to Saudi oil. William Eddy, US minister to Saudi Arabia, arranged the meeting.    (WSJ, 10/4/01, p.A1)(Econ, 11/8/08, p.102)(http://tinyurl.com/5a3c49)1945        Mar 22, The Arab League was formed with the adoption of a charter in Cairo, Egypt. Saudi Arabia became a founding member of the UN and the Arab League.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 3/22/97)(WSJ, 11/13/01, p.A14)1947        The family-owned Olayan Group was founded in Saudi Arabia and grew to became one of the country’s largest private conglomerates.    (WSJ, 1/16/08, p.A10)1948        May 18, Arab Legion captured the fort on Mount Scopus.    (SC, 5/18/02)1948        May 18, Saudi Arabia joined the invasion of Israel.    (SC, 5/18/02)1951        Oct 20, Saudi Arabia’s modern railway was inaugurated. It was initially run by Saudi oil company, Aramco, but subsequently transferred to the state and since 1968 has been operated as a public corporation and was extended to the capital, Riyadh.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 6/27/12)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Railways_Organization)1951        Saudi Arabia put the Ghawar oil field into production. It measured 20 miles wide and 175 miles long and was the largest oil field ever found.    (WSJ, 5/6/08, p.A15)1953        Prince Fahd  was appointed as the 1st Education Minister.    (NW, 11/26/01, p.SAS)1953         King Abdul Aziz died. He was the founder of modern Saudi Arabia and fathered a total of 44 sons before his death. Aziz was succeeded by King Saud who ruled to 1964.    (WSJ, 1/9/96, p.A-10)(WSJ, 10/22/01, p.A18)1953-1964     King Saud ruled.    (WSJ, 1/9/96, p.A-10)1956        Feb 18, The US lifted its arms ban and shipped tanks to Saudi Arabia.    (EWH, 1968, p.1241)1960        Sep 14, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela formed OPEC. Fuad Rouhani (1907-2004) of Iran served as its 1st secretary-general. In 1964 he was succeeded by Abdul Rahman Bazzaz of Iraq.    (HN, 9/14/98)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)1962        May 3, William A, Eddy (b.1896), former US minister to Saudi Arabia (1944-1946), died. In 2008 Thomas W. Lippman authored “Arabian Knight: Colonel Bill Eddy, USMC, and the Rise of American Power in the Middle East.”    (Econ, 11/8/08, p.102)1962        Nov 6, Saudi Arabia abolished slavery.    (www.hrw.org/reports/1992/saudi/INTROTHR.htm)1963        Prince Fahd  was appointed as the Interior Minister.    (NW, 11/26/01, p.SAS)1964        Nov 2, Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud (1904-1975) succeeded his older brother Saud bin Abdul Aziz as king of Saudi Arabia.    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faisal_of_Saudi_Arabia)1964-1975     King Faisal ruled.    (WSJ, 1/9/96, p.A-10)1965        Prince Fahd  was appointed as the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister.    (NW, 11/26/01, p.SAS)1965        Television arrive in Saudi Arabia. It caused riots until senior clerics grasped that they could use it to promote their faith.    (Econ, 1/7/06, Survey p.9)1965-1966    King Faisal bin Abd al-Aziz defied Islamist opposition and introduced women’s education and television. There were 70 female university students in Saudi Arabia. In 2001 the number reached 200,000, 54% of the student population.    (WSJ, 1/2/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 6/30/04, p.A7)1966        In Egypt Sayed Qutb (b.1906), intellectual godfather of radical Islam, was executed by Pres. Nasser. Qutb had earlier written: "A Muslim has no nationality except his belief." He denounced western hedonism and the decadence of Muslim regimes. Qutb had spent some time in the US (1948-1951) and authored the 1951 essay “The America I Have Seen.” His brother Muhammad went into exile in Saudi Arabia where he taught at King Abdul Aziz Univ. Osama bin Laden was one of his students.    (WSJ, 3/22/04, p.A18)(Econ, 2/4/06, p.24)(Sm, 2/06, p.100)1967        June 2, Three bombs, one a car bomb, went off in the Saudi seaport town of Jidda. One outside the US Embassy, one at Grove Int'l, an American construction comp., and one at the US Military Training Mission.    (WSJ, 12/26/95, p. A-7)1967        Sep 3, Muhammad Bin Laden, a Yemeni immigrant to Saudi Arabia, died in a plane crash. He left King Faisal in charge of his ~50 children.    (NW, 11/19/01, p.35)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_bin_Laden)1972        Kamal Helbawy, a London-based Egyptian and speaker on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood, was invited to Saudi Arabia to set up the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY).    (Econ, 2/4/06, p.24)1973        Oct 17, Arab oil-producing nations announced they would begin cutting back on oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974.    (WSJ, 11/4/96, p.C1)(AP, 10/17/97)1973        Nov 19, Saudi Arabia, Libya and other Arab states proclaimed a total ban on oil exports to the United States. Gasoline prices quadrupled from twenty-five cents per gallon to over one dollar. The New York stock market took its sharpest drop in 19 years.    (HN, 11/19/98)(www.bullnotbull.com/archive/market-01222006.html)1973        Oct 16, OPEC, the Arab oil-producing nations, announced they would begin cutting back on oil exports to Western nations and Japan. The next day, the five Arab members of the OPEC committee were joined in Kuwait by the oil ministers of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. The result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974 and caused oil prices to quadruple.    (www.harvardir.org/articles/1659/)(AP, 10/17/97)(WSJ, 7/28/03, p.A8)1975        Mar 25, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness. The nephew was beheaded the following June.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 3/25/00)1963        Prince Fahd  became Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister.    (NW, 11/26/01, p.SAS)1975        Mar 25, King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz (68) of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness. The nephew was beheaded the following June. In 2008 Joseph A. Kechichian authored “Faysal: Saudi Arabia’s King for All Seasons.”    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 3/25/00)(Econ, 10/04/08, p.92)1975        Jun 18, Faisal Ibn Mussed Abdul Aziz, Saudi prince, was beheaded in a Riyadh shopping center parking lot for killing his uncle the king.    (http://tinyurl.com/47da5p)1975        Saudi Arabia began nationalizing foreign oil assets with full compensation.    (WSJ, 10/4/01, p.A1)1975        Jubail was designated as a site for a new industrial city by the Saudi government, and has seen rapid expansion and industrialization since.    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jubail)1975-1982     King Khaled ruled.    (WSJ, 1/9/96, p.A-10)1977        Feb 24, Pres. Carter announced the US was cutting off all military aid to Ethiopia because of its human rights violations. The unstated reason was the US desire to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to lure Somalia from the Soviet camp, an effort which was ultimately successful.    (www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Politics/africa.html)1977        Prince Turki al-Faisal was promoted to head of the General Intelligence Directorate. He resigned in 2001.    (WSJ, 10/22/01, p.A18)1978        Fred Dutton (1923-2005), Washington counsel and lobbyist for Saudi Arabia, helped get US congressional approval for a major arms sale to Saudi Arabia.    (SFC, 6/28/05, p.B5)1979        Apr 4, Bechtel Corp. announced that it had won a contract to manage construction of a 115-square-mile airport for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The cost was estimated a $3 billion.    (SFC, 4/2/04, p.F3)1979        Apr 11, Idi Amin was deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control of Kampala. Amin escaped to Libya and settled into exile in Saudi Arabia.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 4/11/97)(SFC, 10/15/99, p.D7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idi_Amin)1979        May 20, Helen Smith (b.1956), a British nurse, died after reportedly fall from a balcony in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The bodies of Helen and Johannes Otten (35), a Dutch tugboat captain, were found in the street 70 feet below a sixth floor balcony. Helen was found lying in the road fully clothed and Johannes, whose underpants were around his thighs, was impaled upon the spiked railings surrounding the apartment block. Helen’s father, Ron Smith, did not allow her burial because he did not believe official Saudi and British reports that the death was an accident. He believed his daughter was murdered and that her body could provide forensic evidence to expose a cover up. In 2009 Smith and his ex-wife decided to cremate their daughter before they both died.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 11/9/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Smith_%28nurse%29)1979        Nov 16, Some 200 armed men and women, Mahadi-ists, seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca. They denounced the monarchy and demanded an end to corrupting modernization and "foreign ways." Saudi preacher Juhayman al Uteybi led the radicals. French special forces shot dead all the Wahhabi extremists.    (SSFC, 10/21/01, p.C3)(WSJ, 11/12/03, p.A18)(WSJ, 9/18/07, p.A8)1979        Dec 4, In Saudi Arabia security forces overran the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which had been seized on Nov 16. One of two African-American converts, who had participated in the take-over of the mosque, was killed. The other was later released and returned to the US. In 2007 Yaroslav Trofinov authored “The Siege of Mecca.”    (WSJ, 9/18/07, p.A8)1979        Osama bin Laden left Saudi Arabia to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan, where he laid the groundwork for his al-Qaeda network.    (NW, 11/19/01, p.35)1980        Jan 9, Saudi Arabia beheaded 63 people in towns across the country for their roles in the November 1979 raid on the Grand Mosque in Mecca.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/9/00)(SSFC, 10/21/01, p.C3)1980        Aug 19, 301 people aboard a Saudi Arabian L-1011 died as the jetliner made a fiery emergency landing at the Riyadh airport.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 8/19/99)1981        Apr 21, Pres. Reagan called for support for the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia. The proposed AWACS sale was just the beginning of a secret $50 billion plan to build surrogate military bases in Saudi Arabia.    (http://tinyurl.com/98qre)(http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id110.htm)1981        May 25, Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918-2004), United Arab Emirates President, urged in 5 other Arab monarchies (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia) to form the Gulf Cooperation Council. The unified economic agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was signed on 11 November 1981 in Riyadh.    (Econ, 11/20/04, p.90)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Cooperation_Council)1981        Oct 28, The US Senate voted for the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Fred Dutton (1923-2005), Washington counsel and lobbyist for Saudi Arabia, helped get US congressional approval for a 2nd major arms sale to Saudi Arabia.    (http://tinyurl.com/98qre)(SFC, 6/28/05, p.B5)1981        Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia proposed an 8-point peace plan to end the Arab-Israeli conflict. It was adopted by the Arab League after some controversy.    (Econ, 8/6/05, p.71)1982        Jun 13, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia died at the age of 69; he was succeeded by a half brother, Crown Prince Fahd.    (WSJ, 1/9/96, p.A-10)(AP, 6/13/02)   1982        Adnan Khashoggi, an arms dealer from Saudi Arabia, settled divorce proceedings with his wife Soraya for $950 million plus property.    (SFC, 2/14/98, p.E6)1983        Nov 25, Syria and Saudi Arabia announced a cease-fire in PLO civil war in Tripoli.    (www.defense-update.com/2005/02/arafats-dissidents-challenge-to-abu.html)1983        In Saudi Arabia the King Khalid Int'l. Airport opened in Riyadh and was touted as the largest in the world. One of the terminals was mothballed at opening and remained so in 2008.    (WSJ, 8/20/96, p.A1)(Econ, 4/26/08, p.15)1983        Sulaiman Al Rajhi and his brother Saleh won permission to open Saudi Arabia’s first Islamic bank. They had begun changing money for traders and pilgrims in the 1940s. In 2007 Sulaiman Al Rajhi’s fortune was estimated at $12 billion and the Al-Rajhi Bank was the largest Islamic bank in Saudi Arabia.    (WSJ, 1/26/07, p.A1)1983-2005    Prince Bandar bin Sultan served as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in Washington. In 2006 William Simpson authored “The Prince: The Secret Story of the World’s Most Intriguing Royal, Prince Bandar bin Sultan” (www.saudiembassy.net/Country/Government/BandarBio.asp).    (Econ, 12/2/06, p.86)1984        Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, UAR) agreed on the creation of a two-brigade (10,000 troops) Peninsula Shield Force, based in Saudi Arabia near the Kuwaiti and Iraqi borders.    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsula_Shield)1985        Britain under PM Thatcher signed an $80 billion contract with Saudi Arabia to provide 120 fighter jets and other military equipment over a period of 20 years. Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US, helped negotiate the deal.    (SFC, 6/8/07, p.A16)1986        Apr 1, World oil prices dipped below $10 a barrel.    (MC, 4/1/02)1987        Jul 31, Iranian pilgrims and riot police clashed in the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government blamed Iranians for the resulting 402 deaths.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 7/31/97)(AP, 2/1/04)1987        Aug 1, Iranians attacked the Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti embassies in Tehran as word spread of rioting in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, a day earlier that claimed some 400 lives, most of them Iranian pilgrims.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 8/1/97)1987        Aug 25, Saudi Arabia denounced Iran's government as a "group of terrorists," and said its forces would deal firmly with any Iranian attempts to attack the Saudis' Muslim holy places or vast oil fields.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 8/25/97)1988        Saudi-born Osama bin Laden founded al Qaida (the base), a Sunni fundamentalist operational hub for terrorist activities. The organization’s intent was to establish an Islamic caliphate throughout the world.    (SFC, 8/28/98, p.A3)(SSFC, 7/30/06, p.A10)1989        Jan 12, Idi Amin was expelled from Zaire (later CongoDRC) and forced to return to Saudi Arabia.    (www.moreorless.au.com/killers/amin.html)1989        Jul 9, Two bombs explode in Mecca, killing one pilgrim, wounding 16. Saudi authorities blame Iranian-inspired terrorists and later beheaded 16 Kuwaiti Shiite Muslims for bombings. Iran denied involvement.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 2/1/04)1989        Rafik Hariri financed a gathering of Lebanese politicians at the Saudi city of Taif to hammer out a deal to disband militias and distribute power more equitably. The Taif Agreement maintained sectarian divisions in government and led to the end of the civil war. It stipulated that Syria withdraw its troops to the border and leave within 2 years.    (SFC, 9/28/98, p.A10)(SFC, 4/4/02, p.A13)(Econ, 2/19/05, p.43)1989        The $140 million King Fahd Cultural Center was completed on the outskirts of Riyadh. It has never been opened to the public and was maintained by a fulltime staff of 180 people.    (SFC, 11/22/96, p.A20)1990        Jul 2, Some 1402 Muslim pilgrims were killed in a stampede inside a pedestrian tunnel leading to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It was worst hajj tragedy of modern times.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 7/2/00)(AP, 2/1/04)1990        Aug 7, President Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq. The US Persian Gulf War began. Operation Desert Shield ended Feb 28, 1991. It cost $8.1 billion and left 383 US casualties with 458 wounded.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 8/7/99)(WSJ, 9/22/99, p.A8)(MC, 8/7/02)1990        Aug 8, As the Persian Gulf crisis deepened, American forces began taking up positions in Saudi Arabia; Iraq announced it had annexed Kuwait as its 19th province; President Bush warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein that "a line has been drawn in the sand."    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 8/8/00)(MC, 8/8/02)1990        Aug 11, Egyptian and Moroccan troops arrived in Saudi Arabia to join US forces in helping to protect the desert kingdom from possible Iraqi attack.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 8/11/00)1990        Aug, 540,000 American troops assembled to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait.    (WP. 6/29/96, p.A22)1990        Sep 22, Saudi Arabia expelled most of the Yemeni and Jordanian envoys in Riyadh, accusing them of unspecified "activities jeopardizing the peace and security of the kingdom."    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 9/22/00)1990        Nov 6, In Saudi Arabia a group of women got into cars and drove the streets of Riyadh in defiance of a government ban. The protest, which made headlines around the world, cost the 47 female drivers and passengers dearly. They were arrested, lost their jobs for 2 1/2 years, were banned from travel for a year and were condemned by the powerful clergy as harlots. The led interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz to ban women from driving.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 11/14/08)(AFP, 6/16/12)1990        Nov 21, President Bush arrived in Saudi Arabia, where he conferred with Saudi King Fahd and Kuwait's exiled emir.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 11/21/00)1990        Yemen’s refusal to endorse military action against Iraq after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait so annoyed the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that they expelled a million Yemeni migrant workers, costing the country huge sums in remittances.    (Econ, 7/23/11, p.45)1991        Jan 17, On the first day of Operation Desert Storm, US-led forces hammered Iraqi targets in an effort to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. A defiant Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declared that the "mother of all battles" had begun. Iraq attacked Israel with ten Scud missiles. The US Patriot defense missile was used in battle for the first time to shoot down a Scud fired at Saudi Arabia.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/17/01)1991        Jan 22, During the Gulf War, Iraq fired six Scud missiles into Saudi Arabia; all were either intercepted, or fell into unpopulated areas. However, in Tel Aviv, a Scud eluded the Patriot missile defense system and struck the city, resulting in three deaths.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/22/01)1991        Jan 24, A brief skirmish occurred high above the Persian Gulf as a Saudi warplane shot down two Iraqi jets.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/24/01)1991        Jan 29, Iraqi forces attacked into Saudi Arabian town of Kafji, but were turned back by Coalition forces.    (HN, 1/29/99)1991        Jan 30, The first major ground battle of the Gulf War was fought at the frontier port of Khafji in Saudi Arabia; eleven US Marines were killed, seven of them by "friendly fire."    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/30/01)1991        Jan 31, During the Gulf War, Army Specialist Melissa Rathbun-Nealy and Army Specialist David Lockett were captured by Iraqi forces near the Kuwaiti-Saudi border; both were eventually released. Allied forces claimed victory against Iraqi attackers at Khafji, Saudi Arabia.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/31/01)1991        Feb 23, French forces unofficially started the Persian Gulf ground war by crossing the Saudi-Iraqi border. Lessons learned in the savage 1972 Eastertide Offensive paid off at the Battle of Khafji in the Gulf War almost two decades later.    (HN, 2/23/98)1991        Feb 25, During the Persian Gulf War, 28 Americans were killed when an Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 2/25/98)1991        Mar 24, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the American commander of Operation Desert Storm, told reporters in Saudi Arabia the United States was closer to establishing a permanent military headquarters on Arab soil.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 3/24/01)1991        Apr 29, US troops continued airlifting Iraqi refugees from a camp in southern Iraq to Saudi Arabia.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 4/29/01)1991        Jul 11, A Nigerian Airlines jet carrying Muslim pilgrims crashed at the Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, int'l airport, killing all 261 people on board. The plane was a Canadian-chartered DC-8.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 7/11/97)(WSJ, 11/13/01, p.A14)1991        Khalid bin Sultan was the commander of the Saudi military forces during the Gulf war. He later became the principal owner of Al-Hayat, an Arabic language daily published in London.    (SFC, 1/4/97, p.A3)1991        A Saudi businessman started the 1st independent Arabic news and entertainment channel, the London-based Middle East Broadcasting Co.    (WSJ, 10/25/00, p.A17)1992        Sep 11, President Bush announced he was approving the sale of 72 F-15 jet fighters to Saudi Arabia.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 9/11/97)1992        In Saudi Arabia King Fahd decreed a basic law that for the 1st time outlined an institutional structure for the country. A law was passed that allowed the king to name any of his brothers or nephews as a successor, and to replace him at will.    (WSJ, 9/25/02, p.A11)(Econ, 1/7/06, Survey p.6)1992        A team of investigators announced the discovery of he long lost Arabian city of Ubar, which had disappeared around the early 6th century. George Hedges (1952-2009), a Hollywood litigator, and filmmaker Nicholas Clapp, participated in the find. Clapp later authored “The Road to Ubar: Finding the Atlantis of the Sands” (1999).    (WSJ, 3/20/09, p.A12)1993        Saudi wheat production, part of a self-sufficiency program, grew from a few thousand tons on the mid 1970s to 4.5 million tons. The production was having a negative impact on water reserves and production was cut.    (SFC, 3/29/97, p.A10)(Econ, 5/23/09, p.62)1994        May 23, Some 270 pilgrims, most of them Indonesian, were killed in a stampede in Mecca as worshippers surge toward cavern for symbolic ritual of "stoning the devil."    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 2/1/04)1994        The Saudis chose AT&T for a $4 billion telecommunications project.    (WSJ, 12/18/95, p.A-10)1994        The Saudi family of Osama bin Laden disowned him. The Binladin Group later invested with the Washington-based Carlyle Group, which also employed George Bush Sr.    (NW, 11/19/01, p.35)1994        In Saudi Arabia Osama Bin Laden, the scion of a wealthy Saudi family, was stripped of his Saudi citizenship. He financed a host of hard-line groups from Egypt to Algeria. His fortune was estimated at $250 mil.    (SFC, 8/14/96, p.A10,12)1994        Safar al-Hawaly and Salman al-Awdeh, religious militants and critics of the government, were jailed.    (SFC, 8/15/96, p.C3)1994-1996    The BBC ran an Arabic language satellite TV service from a Saudi-backed company called Orbit. It ended after Saudi’s objected to the BBC’s programming.    (Econ, 10/29/05, p.57)1995        Nov 13, A car bomb killed 7 people, including five Americans, and injured about 60 at a military training facility in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.    (WSJ, 10/14/95, p.A-1)(SFC, 6/27/96, p.A10)(SFEC, 11/10/96, p.T5)(AP, 11/13/00)1995        Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz has been in charge of the 80,000 man national guard since the early 60's.    (WSJ, 10/14/95, p.A-11)1995        A record 192 people were beheaded.    (SFC, 8/27/96, p.A10)1996        May 31, Four Saudi citizens were beheaded for the bombing of a US facility last Nov 13. The explosion shattered the Saudi Arabian National Guard training center, and killed 5 Americans and 2 Indians. [the date doesn't seem to jive]    (SFC, 6/1/96, p.A12)1996        May, Osama bin Laden was driven out of Sudan under pressure from the Clinton administration. His horse, “Swift Like the Wind,” was left behind. He had lived there for some years running a construction company and allegedly recruiting and training terrorists. Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a Saudi Arabian-backed jihadist leader, invited bin Laden back to Afghanistan and bin Laden returned.    (SFC, 8/21/98, p.A2)(SFC, 12/17/04, p.W4)(Econ, 9/17/05, p.40)(WSJ, 8/21/98, p.A4)1996        Jun 4, The Saudi debt load is already equal to about  $100 bil.    (WSJ, 6/4/96, p.A12)1996        Jun 25, At least 19 Americans were killed at a US base near Dhahran. Another 105 suffered serious injuries from a truck bomb estimated at 5,000 pounds at the Khobar Towers apartment complex adjacent to King Abdul Aziz Air Base. About 5,000 US troops served in Saudi Arabia. US, French and British aircraft resumed flying 100 missions per day over southern Iraq from Saudi Arabia. In 1997 intelligence information tied a senior Iranian intelligence officer to Hani Abd Rahim Sayegh, a man who fled Saudi Arabia shortly after the bombing. In 1999 the US threatened was set to deport Hani al-Sayegh to Saudi Arabia. Sayegh feared torture and asked for US asylum. Sayegh was deported Oct 10. In 2000 Ahmad Behbahani told a 60 Minutes journalist from a refugee camp in Turkey that he proposed the Pan Am operation and coordinated the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia. In 2001 13 Saudis and one Lebanese man were indicted for the bombing that killed 19 American airmen and wounded nearly 400 others. In 2006 a US judge ruled that Iran financed the bombing and owes families of those killed $254 million.    (WP, 6/29/96, p.A22)(SFEC, 4/13/97, p.A14)(WSJ, 10/5/99, p.A10)(SFC, 10/12/99, p.C16)(SFC, 6/5/00, p.A9)(SFC, 6/22/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 12/23/06, p.A1)1996        Jun 25, Later reports said that Osama bin Laden, an exiled Saudi billionaire, bankrolled the bombing of the US base that killed 19 US servicemen. He was an advocate of strict Islamic rule and had said that he would campaign to overthrow the Saudi royal family. He had lived in the Sudan for 5 1/2 years and recently moved to Afghanistan and was accepted by the Taliban. In 1998 a senior Saudi official absolved Iran of any involvement in the bombing. In 2000 it was reported that the Bin Laden family firm was awarded the contract to rebuild the Khobar Towers.    (SFC, 3/7/97, p.A17)(SFC, 5/23/98, p.A12)(SFC, 11/18/00, p.A12)1996        Dec, Yvonne Gilford (55), an Australian nurse, was stabbed and bludgeoned to death at the King Fahd Military Medical Center in Dammam. Two other nurses, Deborah Parry (38) and Lucille McLaughlan (30) were accused of the murder. Their sentences were commuted and the accused nurses were released May 20, 1998. McLaughlan faced charges in Scotland of stealing $2,800 from a dying AIDS patient in 1996 before leaving for Saudi Arabia.    (SFC, 9/26/97, p.A14)(SFEC, 3/1/98, p.A19)1996        Dec, Abdul-Karim Naqshabandi, a foreign worker, was executed after refusing to falsely testify against another employer. His employer, a nephew of the king, demanded his death on false charges of witchcraft.    (SFC, 10/7/97, p.A15)1996        Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd (73) ceded power to his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, who is considered to be more of a traditionalist.    (WSJ, 1/2/96, p. A-1)1996        The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan recognized the Taliban after they seized the Afghan capital Kabul. All three countries cut ties with the Taliban after it sheltered al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 2/24/06)1997        Mar 2, Saudi Arab billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal acquired 5% of Apple.    (SC, 3/2/02)1997        Apr 15, In Saudi Arabia at least 343 Muslim pilgrims died in a fire on a plain outside the holy city of Mecca and injured 1290. The fires stemmed from cooking gas canisters. Aid workers and diplomats said the death toll was at least 500.    (SFC, 4/16/97, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/16/97, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/17/97, p.A1)(AP, 4/15/98)(AP, 2/1/04)1997        Dec 18, It was reported the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud was building a 984-foot structure called "The Kingdom Centre" in central Riyadh at a cost of $427 million.    (WSJ, 12/18/97, p.A1)1998        Mar, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico began talking to reduce oil output. They pledged to take 2-3% of the world's oil production off the market in what came to be called the Riyadh Pact.    (WSJ, 6/23/98, p.A1)   1998        Apr 9, In Saudi Arabia it was reported that 2.3 million Muslims made the pilgrimage, hajj, to Mecca this year. Over 150 pilgrims died at the "stoning of the devil" ritual during a stampede that occurred on the last day of the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.    (SFC, 4/9/98, p.A10)(SFC, 4/10/98, p.A14)(SFC, 2/12/03, p.A9)(AP, 4/9/08)1998        Jun 4, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela agreed to cuts in oil production and exports for the 2nd time this year in order to raise prices.    (WSJ, 6/5/98, p.A2)1998        Jun, Prince Turki al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, chief of Saudi intelligence, negotiated with the Taliban in Kandahar for the ouster or custody for trial in Saudi Arabia of Osama bin Laden. Negotiations broke down after the Aug 7 US embassy bombings in Africa.    (SFEC, 8/8/99, p.A15)1998        Jul 20, Saudi Arabia attacked a Yemeni island in the Red Sea and killed 3 guards. 3 islands and parts of the Empty Quarter, a vast desert with potential for oil, were under contention.    (SFEC, 7/21/98, p.A7)1998        Saudi Arabia, in response to a massive outbreak of rift-valley fever, imposed a trade ban to prevent nomadic herders from selling sheep and goats for sacrifice during the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The government opted to buy more expensive Australian livestock instead.    (Econ, 2/3/07, p.80)1998        The Saudi population was about 12 million. In 2006 it reached 23 million. The forecast for 2020 was 33 million.    (SFC, 5/23/98, p.A12)(Econ, 1/7/06, Survey p.12)1999        Mar 19, Saudi Arabia permitted some 18,000 destitute Iraqis to cross the border for the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.    (SFC, 3/20/99, p.A8)1999        Jun 27, It was reported that Saudi Arabia had recently opened its borders to upscale travel groups.    (SFEC, 6/27/99, p.T3)1999        Aug 21, Prince Faisal bin Fahd, the eldest son of King Fahd, died of a heart attack at age 54. He headed the Arab Sports Federation and had just returned from the Arab Games in Jordan.    (SFEC, 8/22/99, p.D5)1999        Nov 27, Yemeni military sources reported that 2 Yemeni soldiers had been killed over the last few days in border clashes with Saudi Arabia.    (SFEC, 11/28/99, p.A26)1999        Dec 9, The first day of Ramadan. In Saudi Arabia a young man was scheduled to be beheaded by this day unless the family of a man he killed, while performing the mizmar dance, receive some $1.3 million in blood money.    (SFC, 12/6/99, p.A13)1999        Anthony Cave Brown published "Oil, God, and Gold: The Story of Aramco and the Saudi Kings."    (WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)1999        Saudi police arrested Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal and jailed him for 14 months for maintaining contact with Osama bin Laden. He was then deported to Yemen.    (SFC, 11/26/03, p.A10)2000        Jun 12, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed an agreement to end decades of border disputes.    (SFC, 6/13/00, p.A11)2000        Oct 14, A Saudi jetliner was hijacked with over 100 people and landed in Baghdad. 2 hijackers were arrested.    (SFEC, 10/15/00, p.A10)2000        Nov 8, Saudi Arabia opened its border with Iraq and signed export contracts to nearly $600 million under exceptions to US sanctions.    (WSJ, 11/8/00, p.A1)2000        Nov 17, A car bomb in Riyadh killed Christopher Rodway, a British technician. In 2001 3 Westerners were arrested in connection with the bombing.    (SFC, 11/18/00, p.A12)(SFC, 2/5/01, p.A10)2000        Nov 22, In Riyadh an explosion hit a car and injured 3 British citizens. In 2001 3 Westerners were arrested in connection with the bombing.    (SFC, 11/24/00, p.D8)(SFC, 2/5/01, p.A10)2000        Nov 22, Yemen identified the bombers of the USS Cole as 2 Saudi Arabian citizens with Yemeni family roots. One was named Abdul Mohsen al-Taifi and both had suspected ties to Osama bin Laden.    (SFC, 11/23/00, p.A22)2000        Dec 31, Six Persian Gulf nations (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) signed a regional defense pact.    (SFC, 1/1/01, p.A10)2001        Jan 26, A UN panel criticized Saudi Arabia for discriminating against women, harassing minors and for punishments that included flogging and stoning.    (SFC, 1/27/01, p.C16)2001        Jan, Abdulaziz al-Kohaji, engineering student and son of a Saudi oilman, went missing from the Community College of Denver. His body was found in a landfill in Erie, 15 miles north of Denver, a month later and police said he had been taped to a chair and strangled before being thrown into a trash bin. Mishal al-Suwaidi, Tariq al-Dossary and al-Yousif, suspects in the murder, were acquaintances of al-Kohaji and prosecutors said the motive was robbery. Suwaidi and Dossary fled to Saudi Arabia. Yousif was convicted in the US and sentenced to life. In 2004 the family of Kohaji pardoned the Suwaidi and Dossary and save them from execution.    [Sharia is Al Quaeda satanic imperialism saudi, do war vs Saudi Arabia]  (AP, 1/2/05)2001        Mar 4, Muslim pilgrims climbed Mount Arafat as some 2 million gathered for the annual hajj to Mecca.    (WSJ, 3/5/01, p.A1)2001        Mar 5, Muslim pilgrims began the stoning of the three pillars symbolizing the devil as part of the annual hajj to Mecca. 35 people suffocated to death during the stoning of the devil ritual.    (WSJ, 3/5/01, p.A1)(SFC, 3/6/01, p.A11)2001        Mar 15, Chechen rebels hijacked a Russian plane with 174 people after it left Turkey. They forced a landing in Medina.    (SFC, 3/16/01, p.A14)2001        Mar 16, Saudi commandos freed over 100 hijacked hostages held by Chechen rebels. 3 people were killed including a hijacker, a flight attendant and a passenger.    (SFC, 3/17/01, p.A10)2001        Mar 25, The Higher Committee for Scientific Research and Islamic Law claimed that Pokemon games and cards have "possessed the minds" of Saudi children.    (SFC, 3/27/01, p.F2)2001        Apr 16, Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a pact to fight terrorism and drug trafficking.    (SFC, 4/18/01, p.A13)2001        Aug 4, In Florida an immigration official turned back Muhammed al-Kahtani (al-Qahtani), a Saudi who had flown in from London with $2,800 in cash and no return ticket. He was later captured in Afghanistan and detained at Guantanamo after officials suspected that he was the intended 20th hijacker for the Nov 11 attacks. In 2008 the Pentagon dropped charges against al-Qahtani.    (Econ, 2/16/08, p.39)(AP, 5/13/08)2001        Aug 31, Prince Turki al-Faisal resigned as head of the General Intelligence Directorate and Prince Nawwaf took over.    (WSJ, 10/22/01, p.A18)2001        Sep 13, A private Lear jet with 3 Saudi passengers flew from Tampa, Fla., to Lexington, Ky., as part of an effort to help prominent Saudis, who feared reprisals over the Sep 11 attack by al-Qaida in NYC.    (WSJ, 6/1/04, p.A1)2001        Sep 14-24, Six chartered flights carrying mostly Saudi nationals departed from the US. [see Sep 20]    (WSJ, 6/1/04, p.A4)2001        Sep 20, A chartered flight left the US with members of the sprawling bin Laden family. The FBI interviewed 22 of the 26 people aboard.    (WSJ, 6/1/04, p.A4)2001        Sep 23, The 6-member Persian "Gulf Cooperation Council" (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAR) met in Jidda and pledged support for an int'l. coalition against terrorism.    (SFC, 9/24/01, p.A7)2001        Sep 25, Saudi Arabia withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Afghan Taliban government.    (SFC, 9/26/01, p.A1)2001        Oct 6, A bomb exploded in Khobar. 2 people were killed and 4 were injured.    (SSFC, 10/7/01, p.A17)2001