Word: arabia
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...sign is a telling symbol of how cautiously Saudi Arabia deals with the outside world. Although its bountiful oil reserves and strategic location make Saudi Arabia vital to the West, the country can be exasperatingly difficult for a foreigner to read. Today the kingdom seems to deserve closer scrutiny than usual: the past year's drop in oil production has diminished Saudi Arabia's income, while rumors of dissension within the ruling House of Saud have proliferated...
...country, of course, still shines with promise. As family businesses go, Saudi Arabia is immensely successful. Within a single generation, the ruling House of Saud has transformed its desert kingdom from a nomadic backwater into an influential power with all the trappings of a modern nation. Most of Saudi Arabia's wealth, in fact, has been accumulated only in the past decade: with nearly a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves, the kingdom profited handsomely when petroleum prices quadrupled in the wake of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. In 1981, for example, the country collected...
...them to keep their original promise that when others withdrew, they would withdraw." That is the essence of the message U.S. Special Envoy Robert McFarlane is expected to carry to Syria on his first swing through the region this week, meeting with Jordan's King Hussein and Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, among others. There is no indication, however, that the argument will change Syrian President Hafez Assad's mind...
Thus far, the long, debilitating war has been a military standoff. Neither side has a strategic advantage that would allow a major offensive to bring decisive results. But despite large infusions of money and arms from Saudi Arabia and the gulf states, Iraq is suffering more than Iran. Tehran's oil production is currently running about 2.2 million bbl. per day, compared with a maximum of 700,000 bbl. per day pumped by Iraq. Iraq is so strapped for cash that it has been unable to pay for many essential imports...
Ostensibly, the road is being built to facilitate trade between the two countries, but the consequences may be more far-reaching. Saudi Arabia, like most other gulf states, bans alcohol as well as such Western pleasures as dancing and nightclubbing. Reflecting the tolerant views of Sheik Isa, Bahrain is more relaxed: liquor flows freely in its hotels, and supper clubs offer the best in gulf entertainment. Already, many Saudis fly to the island looking for fun; some members of the austere Saudi royal family fear that Bahrain will turn into a gigantic weekend resort once the road is open...