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Politics : GOPwinger Lies/Distortions/Omissions/Perversions of Truth -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: geode00 who wrote (10906)	4/20/2004 12:07:40 AM
From: Karen Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173976

Gas prices are over $2 per gallon now here in Oregon. But the good news is the Saudis claim they have nothing to do with that fact: Saudis Say Won't Use Oil to Influence U.S. Election Mon Apr 19, 2004 05:04 PM ET By Adam Entous and Tom Doggett WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said Monday it will not use oil prices to try to sway the U.S. presidential election, denying an allegation that the kingdom would cut petroleum prices before November to boost President Bush's re-election bid. Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward said in a television interview on Sunday that Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, promised Bush the Saudis would cut oil prices before November. Woodward, author of a new book on Bush's preparations for the Iraq war "Plan of Attack," said Prince Bandar pledged the Saudis would try to fine-tune oil prices to prime the U.S. economy for November's presidential election, a move they understood would favor Bush. A Saudi official issued a statement saying the kingdom -- the world's largest oil exporter -- will not interfere with U.S. elections and will remain a reliable supplier of oil. "We do not use oil for political purposes; it is too important a commodity, and its impact on the global economy (of which we are a part) is tremendous," said Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. "Saudi Arabia also does not interfere in elections," he said. White House spokesman Scott McClellan declined to comment directly on Woodward's remarks. But McClellan said Bandar, in recent talks at the White House, "committed to making sure prices remained in a range of, I believe, $22 to $28 per barrel of oil, and that they don't want to do anything that would harm our consumers or harm our economy." OPEC has an official price target band of between $22 and $28 for its oil. It was last in that range on Dec 1, after having been above it repeatedly for weeks before that. On Monday, U.S. crude oil futures rose above $38 a barrel to a four-week high. "Prices should be determined by market forces, and we are always in close contact with producers around the world on these issues," McClellan told reporters. Woodward's assertion, meanwhile, drew criticism from Democratic presidential challenger Sen. John Kerry. Continued ... reuters.com