Bob Woodward is reporting that Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia has promised to help lower gas prices before the November elections in an attempt to influence the presidential vote in George W. Bush’s favor. Reuters has picked up the story:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Saudi envoy has assured the Bush administration that it will keep oil prices in a range of $22 to $28 per barrel and will not take actions that would harm the U.S. economy, the White House said on Monday….Woodward, author of the new book "Plan of Attack" on Bush's preparations for the Iraq war, said Prince Bandar pledged the Saudis would try to fine-tune oil prices to prime the U.S. economy for the election, a move they understood would favor Bush….
Prince Bandar has been the Saudi envoy to the United States for 20 years and is part of the Saudi royal family, which has had a close relationship with the Bush family for years.
On April 1, Bandar reassured the White House that the kingdom would not allow oil shortages to hurt world economic growth after Saudi Arabia led a push by OPEC to cut output by 1 million barrels a day from April.
It ought to be concerning to the American people that the Bush Administration is conspiring with a corrupt foreign government to bring about a Bush victory in 2004. If this isn’t illegal it ought to be.
