Saudis to be pressed on kidnapped Americans

The chairman of the House Government Reform Committee will lead a congressional delegation to Saudi Arabia to discuss American citizens who have been kidnapped and taken to the kingdom – some held against their will.

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., whose committee held hearings into the issue June 12, will lead the bipartisan delegation, according to committee staffers. The members will "meet with senior Saudi officials, including Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal," said a statement.

"The delegation's visit presents a historic opportunity to resolve a problem that has led to significant human suffering," said the statement. Burton "hopes that the Saudis will use the opportunity presented to them in a way that will benefit both the United States and Saudi Arabia."

Accompanying Burton will be Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y., chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on the Middle East, along with Rep. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. William Delahunt, D-Mass., Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Rep. Brian Kerns, R-Ind. The delegation is scheduled to leave today.

Supporters of Burton's efforts, including several parents whose children have been taken to the kingdom, are hopeful he will be successful.

"My daughters are now 23 and 20 years of age, and I have no knowledge of their whereabouts, no communication with them and no knowledge of their lives," said Pat Roush, whose daughters were taken to Saudi Arabia years ago. "I never received a photograph of them in the entire time [they have been] held in Saudi Arabia – almost 17 years."

"Mr. Burton is meeting with top Saudi princes and will request the release of my daughters and others like them," she told WorldNetDaily. "I have 'carried the water' on this issue and am hopeful that my daughters and the other American citizens will be released from the Saudi government."

She said Burton "made a commitment" to get her children out of Saudi Arabia someday.

Roush's daughters – Alia and Aisha al-Gheshayan – were abducted from Roush's care in a Chicago suburb in 1986, in defiance of a U.S. court order, by their father, Khalid al-Gheshayan, when they were 7 and 3, respectively. Since growing into adulthood, however, they have been prevented from leaving the Saudi kingdom and have been subjected to Saudi culture, which is much less respectful of women's rights than is the U.S.

She has said she believes successive U.S. administrations have failed to act decisively to demand the release of her daughters and others held captive because of a "special" military and economic relationship with the kingdom. Washington, she says, wants access to Saudi Arabia so it can project a U.S. military presence in the region and to obtain cheap Saudi oil.

In a letter to the White House yesterday, Burton said President Bush had a "historic opportunity" to help win the release of many of those who have been kidnapped.

"You have an historic opportunity to do something significant to assist these Americans," Burton said. "When you meet with Prince Bandar on Tuesday . . . you will be able to convey your concerns about these cases to him."

"I ask you to do this on behalf of a number of our citizens who have not, in the past, had the full support of their government," said the Indiana Republican. "Please speak out and tell Prince Bandar that the issue of kidnapped U.S. children and detained U.S. citizens must be resolved."

Burton said he asked Bush "two months ago" for assistance, but "some of your subordinates chose to misrepresent what was at stake."

"You, however, are now presented with an opportunity to succeed where others before you have chosen to do little or nothing," said Burton.

American citizens who have been kidnapped and taken to the kingdom – some held against their will.

How do you call it kidnapping if they are not held against their will?

Hmmm.. When you can't leave the Kingdom, because there is an "exit visa" require and there is an inspection of your papers at the airport before you can board a plane, and I am not salking about security, I am talking about "papers" like passports and visas that are required to exit, i would hazard that then you are more or lessa "prisoner" there. Unlike the US, where the government has no direct say in whether or not you leave (the receiving country immigration wants to see a visa, but the departing country generally doesn't care) In KSA, you HAVE to have a visa to exit the country. Unless you have been there, (I lived there several years) I would recommend that you don't embarrass yourself.

Semper Fi

"How do you call it kidnapping if they are not held against their will?"

The "some" who have been held against their will are those who have actually been able to express their condition. That opportunity is not extended to all of those being held over there.

It used to be a well-known sign of the conquest of one's enemy to display the loser's women as one concubines. Western people have forgotten this trapping of barbarism in recent years, thanks to the glossy magazine covers and fashion shoots that have desensitized us. The prince who came to visit President Bush is shown on TV leaving his plane followed by a stream of blond-haired white model-types, women foreign to him, on display for his friends back in the Kingdom to see as they gloat over unsuspecting Americans. Don't expect to hear commentary about this in our press (it's not our press anyway), for this is the same media that publishes those glossy magazines in the first place. The prince's display of his lady-friends is a sign which is valuable only to his peers in the Kingdom, and Arab men around the world. This symbolism, which in an early age would be a proper call to arms, has little meaning with western men today, for most of them have been neutered and feminized to accept this disgrace as natural and harmless.

I'm not arguing about whether you can leave, I'm simply looking at the relationship of what constitutes kidnapping as it relates to the article's assertion. If someone isn't wanting to leave, it doesn't mean they are being held against their will, which is a necessary part of the definition of kidnapping. Whether or not they COULD leave is another issue.

The "some" who have been held against their will are those who have actually been able to express their condition. That opportunity is not extended to all of those being held over there.

Then the author of the article should have expressed the meaning more clearly. Something along the lines of "All of the women with whom contact has been made have confirmed that they were kidnapped and are being held against their will." would have been enough. As the article was written though, it is not clear that this is the case.

"This symbolism, which in an early age would be a proper call to arms, has little meaning with western men today, for most of them have been neutered and feminized to accept this disgrace as natural and harmless."

Not all white Americans have lost their sense of racial consciousness. Not all white Americans have bought into "multi-culturalism" and the other attempts to brainwash white folks to accept domination by other races and "cultures." On Free Republic it's probably not polically correct to use the terms I used but couldn't think of any better ones. I supposed I'll get banned for daring to speak up about it. And I agree with you that there was a time when what you mentioned previously would have been considered a very serious insult to white folks or for any other race of people that had a modicum of self respect. I consider it insulting. Bush should not allow that bastard son of an Arab potentate to set foot on his property or in the White House. He should be decalred persona non grata. The Saudi embassy should then be shut down all of them expelled from the USA.

And they laugh at us behind our backs.....

You know, the thought has occured to me that all the foot-stomping and pan-banging about Saddam is a diversion........there may be MORE THAN ONE ADVERSARY WE ELECT TO DEAL WITH.

Like they say at Nike........JUST DO IT!

The prince who came to visit President Bush is shown on TV leaving his plane followed by a stream of blond-haired white model-types, women foreign to him, on display for his friends

Right. They're called "trophy women"...so what? Are you also going to make a racist diatribe against NBA players? Or NFL players? Or how about 50-something white CEOs with their "secretaries"? They're showing off for their friends, too, pal. Beautiful "white model-types" are standard accessories of money and power. Do you have any evidence beyond your own hangups to suggest that they are in company with Bandar against their will?

Note to all: americium241 signed up (from DU?) on 2002-08-24.

All Saudi women, to some extent, are held against their will. It is illegal for a Saudi women even if she is also an American citizen to leave Saudi Arabia without the permission of a husband or a father. The American Embassy has refused to help these women leave Saudi Arabia despite the fact that they are Americans. These women are often married off by their Arab fathers to other Arab men. Women are not seen as people in the kingdom. They are the property of the males in their family. The USA should refuse to tolerate this situation. These women should be brought into the embassy and given the choice to leave.

You are correct about the 'prisoner' status of the Saudi people. Their exit visa requirement is the equivalent of the Berlin Wall. I visited West Germany in 1973 and the Wall was still up. I met an American student who'd been to the wall. He said that it was really wierd standing at the Wall and realizing that all the barbed wire, land mines, and sentries were put in place to keep people in.

All the Wahabists of the world are true fascists. They enslave the women and children within their own families and they seek to spread their religious slavery around the globe. They are a giant dark cloud on the horizon.

Burton is being "had" by this crazywoman, Roush. Check out her site at patroush.com and see if you don't think she's a dingaling drama queen and a masochist. Her daughters may be avoiding her for darn good reason...when Bush didn't do to suit her, she accused him of ignoring her because he was "Big Oil." She had equally stupid things to say of Bush the Elder, but curiously no criticism of Bill Clinton during the eight years that he did nothing and she did without her daughters without too much swooning and bleating. She's a Berkeley left-winger, and the right will get burned if they try to help her.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.