You're from Uruguay.

[Herbert Stahlke]

Saudi Prince Bandar is reported to have used the
expression "You're from Uruguay" in the following quote
from the Feb. 9 Washington Post.

'The message delivered by Bandar to national security
adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell was summarized by a senior Saudi official in
these terms:

'"We believe there has been a strategic decision by the
United States that its national interest in the Middle
East is 100-percent based on [Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel] Sharon." This was America's right, the message
continued, but Saudi Arabia could not accept the
decision. "Starting from today, you're from Uruguay, as
they say. You [Americans] go your way, I [Saudi Arabia]
go my way. From now on, we will protect our national
interests, regardless of where America's interests lie
in the region."'

The only Google hits are this one and the same story in
the Feb. 11 International Herald Bulletin.

What is this expression and where is it from?

Herb Stahlke