US patience with Saudi Arabia wears thin

THE United States is reported to be dismayed by Saudi Arabia's "counterproductive role" in Iraq and will use a high-level visit to Riyadh next week to raise concerns that the kingdom is undermining the Baghdad government.

The Saudis see Iraq's Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, as "an agent of Iran" and appear to have boosted efforts to weaken his government, the New York Times reported yesterday.

The Bush administration has held back from publicly blaming Saudi Arabia for the chaos in Iraq, because the country is a long-time strategic ally in the turbulent region.

Washington has, instead, accused Iran and Syria of fomenting violence.

US military officials say that of some 60 to 80 foreign fighters who infiltrate Iraq each month, nearly half come from Saudi Arabia and are used mainly as suicide bombers.

The Bush administration believes that Saudi has not done enough to stem the flow.

But Saudi officials counter that the kingdom is doing its utmost to prevent young Saudis going to Iraq.

Washington is also suspicious that Saudi Arabia is supplying funds for Sunni groups opposed to Mr Maliki. These concerns will be raised when the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates, visit Saudi Arabia next week, the New York Times said.

But Riyadh has its own concerns, claiming that the US-led invasion of Iraq has bolstered Shia Iran's influence in Iraq and the wider region, and would like to see Tehran's power curbed.