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Article: Desert Shock: Saudis Are Cash-Poor; Gulf War, Lavish Spending Leave Oil Giant Facing Painful Choices
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- October 28, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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When Iraqi tanks rumbled into position along the Kuwaiti border
earlier this month, Saudi Arabian government and business leaders
joked darkly that they couldn't decide which posed the greater
threat: the return of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard or paying
for all the tanks and troops President Clinton sent to chase the
Iraqis back across the sands.
Despite its prosperous image, this oil-rich desert kingdom is
painfully strapped for cash. Saudi Arabia's treasury, which swelled
to legendary proportions in the 1970s, has been depleted by falling
oil prices, relentless budget deficits and the staggering cost of
the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
Saudi rulers, who bankrolled a desert agricultural ...