WASHINGTON, July 27 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is becoming increasingly frustrated over Saudi Arabia's support of Sunni groups in Iraq, The New York Times reported Friday.
Officials in Washington wouldn't publicly criticize the Saudis over their conduct in Iraq but the newspaper said that officials are growing impatient with Saudi Arabia's efforts in favor of Sunni groups and against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
U.S. officials said half of the 60 to 80 foreign fighters thought to enter Iraq each month are from Saudi Arabia, the Times reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are to visit Saudi Arabia next week and were expected to voice their frustration, the newspaper reported.
The Times reported that the closest U.S. officials have come to criticizing Saudi Arabia publicly was on the Op-Ed page of the Times last week, when U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad, a former envoy to Iraq, wrote, "Several of Iraq's neighbors -- not only Syria and Iran but also some friends of the United States -- are pursuing destabilizing policies."
