Saudi Arabia Is Fond Of American Presidents

Jimmy Carter's library is heavily subsidized by Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries:

NewsMax has reviewed annual reports that indicate millions of charitable dollars have flowed into the center from His Majesty Sultan Qaboss bin Said Al Said of Oman, Jordan, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and from the Government of the United Arab Emirates.

Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been donated to the center by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. H.R.H. Prince Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah of Morocco has also contributed tens of thousands of dollars.

But he is not the only one--and Arab largesse is not limited to Democratic presidents either. According to the Washington Post:

Bill Clinton's presidential library raised more than 10 percent of the cost of its $165 million facility from foreign sources, with the most generous overseas donation coming from Saudi Arabia, according to interviews yesterday.

The royal family of Saudi Arabia gave the Clinton facility in Little Rock about $10 million, roughly the same amount it gave toward the presidential library of George H.W. Bush, according to people directly familiar with the contributions.

The Washington Post says it has confirmed other library donors as well:
At least $1 million from Kuwait (which also gave at least that much towards former president George H.W. Bush), Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and Brunei. Clinton also received at least $1 million from Saudi businessmen Abdullah al-Dabbagh, Nasser al-Rashid and Walid Juffali--and from Issam Fares, a U.S. citizen who at one time served as deputy prime minister of Lebanon.

Of course the Arab millions is more of an issue by Jimmy Carter since he is the more active former president, as opposed to Bill Clinton, who is currently preoccupied with his wife's presidential campaign. Still, one would imagine that so much money comes with a price.

Or is payment of one.

Still, I suppose Bill Clinton isn't in a position to do the same kind of damage that Carter is.

[Hat tip: Michelle Malkin]

Technorati Tag: Clinton and Saudi Arabia and Carter.