[EXCERPTS] TRANSCRIPT: STATE DEPARTMENT NOON BRIEFING, MARCH 31

U.S. Department of State
Daily Press Briefing

INDEX
TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 1998

Briefer: JAMES P. RUBIN



SAUDI ARABIA

7-11     Status of Al-Khobar Bombing Investigation

8        US Assessment of Iran-Saudi Arabia Relationship

9-10     US-Saudi Cooperation in the Al-Khobar investigation



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 1998, 1:45 P.M.

(ON THE RECORD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)


..................

Q: Can we go back to the Saudi - the non-investigation, or the
investigation over but you don't - the Saudi, the bombing, the loss of
American lives, the wounding of Americans, which is getting back-page
treatment because nothing's come out from the Saudis particularly.
Where do you sit on this? The US just, what, waits for the Saudis to
publish something ultimately?


RUBIN:  I urge those --



Q:  Well, I saw your statement.



RUBIN: -- those of you who asked me questions based on reporting
yesterday to go back and look at the original remarks and you may find
that they weren't as clear as originally reported.


The Saudis' remarks that they have closed the investigation, which I
believe is the question that I got yesterday - when I looked again at
the remarks, it is not at all clear that that is what the official was
saying. On the contrary, he appeared to be saying that the big
picture, there's nothing new and nothing new to find but they are
working on the details. Well, most investigations focus on the details
and from that, one can build out into understanding what might have
happened.


But let me say this - from the perspective of the United States, the
Al Khobar bombing investigation remains wide open. We are continuing
to have exchanges with the Saudi Government and have had repeated and
very high level assurances of cooperation form them. We expect that
cooperation to continue. But beyond saying that the investigation is
wide open and that those responsible will be found and to the best of
our ability and, in addition, that a price will be paid, all I can say
is that this is an ongoing criminal matter and it would be up to the
FBI to say anything more, if at all.


Q:  So their investigation is wide open; they have --



RUBIN:  No, I didn't say that, Barry.



Q:  Then what's wide open? I'm sorry, I misheard you.



RUBIN:  As far as the United States is concerned -



Q:  (Inaudible) - own investigation.



RUBIN: Our investigation, from the United States perspective, the Al
Khobar bombing investigation remains wide open. We are working with
the Saudis. We have high level assurances of cooperation. The
premature reports, based on interpretations of what this particular
minister may or may not have said, do not strike us as indicating that
their investigation is complete. So, everybody's investigation, as far
as I can figure, is ongoing and we intend to continue to work with the
Saudis.


Q:  (Inaudible.)



RUBIN:  Because I didn't say, anyway -



Q: (Inaudible) - worldwide. I mean, their investigation is proceeding,
so is yours.


RUBIN: Right. Again, I can't speak for the Saudis about their
investigation. All I can debunk is the premature report that it was
closed. As far as we're concerned, this investigation is wide open and
we're going to continue to work with the Saudis on getting to the
bottom of it. So, in that sense, they're going to continue to work
with us and therefore their work is not complete.


Q: These questions aren't based on some snooping into the Royal
retinue, I mean, Americans were killed. This has never been settled.
Nobody has been brought to justice. Nobody --


RUBIN:  Right. And these -



Q: So, I mean, Americans have an interest in knowing, despite all the
who, who, who, when you deal with the Saudis. We do want to know what
is going on.


RUBIN:  So what's the question, Barry?



Q: The question is how does the US currently assess Saudi Arabia's
relationship with Iran, and does it have any bearing on the
investigation?


RUBIN: I have no way of assessing Saudi Arabia's relationship with
another country. What I can assess is our intention to get to the
bottom of this investigation and to follow the leads wherever they may
go, regardless of anybody's relationship with any other country. This
is about Americans getting killed and we will follow this
investigation wherever it leads.


Q: Are you convinced that the Saudis are going at this full-blast, or
is there investigation influenced by their relations with other
countries?


RUBIN: We have had high-level assurances from the Saudi Government of
their cooperation. We expect that cooperation to continue.


Q: Well, we haven't asked you in about six months, you see. They've
repeated that they've given high-level pledges, but we haven't asked
in a while how the actual cooperation is. Can you assess that?


RUBIN: We expect the Saudi Government to continue to cooperate with
the United States, and we expect that cooperation to be full and
complete.


Q: Jamie, you said a minute ago - unless I misunderstood - that you
didn't believe there were any suspects under detention.


RUBIN:  I certainly said nothing about suspects.



Q:  Well, the Saudis have said that there are suspects.



RUBIN:  Right, but the word "suspect" did not cross my lips.



Q: Well, there are people under detention that the Saudis describe as
suspects in this bombing, correct?


RUBIN: Right. As you may have divined now from the last five minutes
of discussion, this is an ongoing criminal investigation. When we talk
about criminal investigations on the record, from this podium, we tell
you that we have ongoing criminal investigations and we will get to
the bottom of it. We don't assess those investigations; we don't give
you previews of those investigations; and we don't assess the ebbs and
flows of investigations. What we do is investigate; and that's what
we're doing.


Q: Do the Saudis say in private to you the same thing they say in
public to us, which is that they have suspects in detention?


RUBIN: There's no chance of me telling you privately about an
investigation the Saudis may have privately talked to us about. I've
told you that all I'm going to tell you on this subject is that we're
investigating. If you have further questions, I would encourage you to
speak to the FBI.


Q:  The Saudi pledges of cooperation have not been matched by --



RUBIN:  You started off so well -- it was quiet --



Q:  -- by actual cooperation; isn't that correct?



RUBIN:  What?



Q: The Saudi pledges of cooperation have not been matched by actual
cooperation.


RUBIN: I'm not going to get into the position of assessing the
investigation. It's not the State Department's investigation; it's the
FBI's investigation. We obviously contribute to the process, but if
you have questions about the state of play of the investigation, I
urge you to contact the FBI.


Q:  Is it a complicated case that should take a long time?



RUBIN: That would be a question about the investigation and the state
of play and the difficulty, and therefore, would be well-directed at
the FBI.


Q: No, I just mean, without describing what might make it - see, the
tone on Lockerbie is, for instance, which is an act of terrorism, too,
is quite different. I mean, Administration officials demand and
insist, bring them to justice.


RUBIN:  No, because - Barry, because we came to a conclusion.



Q:  Because it's Libya and this is Saudi Arabia.



RUBIN:  Barry, we came to a conclusion.



Q:  All right.



RUBIN: If you're going to make analogies, try to have reasonable
analogies.


Q:  Yeah.



RUBIN: We drew conclusions about what happened in the Lockerbie
bombing. We investigated it and we drew conclusions. And once we came
to conclusions and we had suspects identified with state-sponsorship,
we acted to impose sanctions. What I can assure you is that when we've
concluded the investigation and drawn conclusions not based on
suppositions that you and your colleagues are prepared to report -
we're talking about a situation where lives are at stake, and we're
not going to make judgments until we have a reasonable level of
confidence about what we're talking about. When we have that
reasonable level of confidence, when the investigation has been
completed, then we will act accordingly.


Q: One last question - did you speak of them pledging to cooperate, or
are you saying they have cooperated fully?


RUBIN: We have had repeated and very high-level assurances of
cooperation, and we expect that cooperation from the Saudi Government.


Q:  Have you had that cooperation?



RUBIN: That would require an assessment of the investigation and if
you want an assessment of the investigation about its ups and downs,
its pluses and minuses, I --


Q:  You speak neutrally of what you expect the Saudis to do.



RUBIN:  No, no. Barry you're --



Q:  I mean, the investigation has gone on for years.



RUBIN: Barry, we're not making any progress here. You're asking me to
assess the investigation -- have the Saudis cooperated, have they not?
That's an assessment of an investigation that the State Department is
not conducting. So if you are intent on getting an answer or probably
not an answer to that question, I would direct that question towards
those conducting the investigation, who would be in a better position
to give you information as to the ebbs and flows, ups and downs,
pluses and minuses of such an investigation.

..............


(end transcript)