-Caveat Lector- http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=23713 Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY
Saudi-US Relations After Sept. 11, 2001 Published on 15 March 2003 A group of intellectuals and academics attended a forum organized by Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, in Riyadh recently to discuss Saudi-US relations after the Sept. 11, 2001 events from a Saudi perspective. In this, the first of a four-part series, the Jeddah-based managing editor of the paper, Tariq Al-Homayed, reports on what they had to say about the political fallout. In the first session, which was devoted to politics, the participants agreed that there was a problem in Saudi-US cultural ties in particular. The talks emphasized the need for the Kingdom to answer why 15 Saudis were among the Sept. 11 hijackers, not to please the US but to increase its own national security. The issue of plurality in Saudi society was also raised, and there were heated arguments about its unique features. Speakers highlighted the lack of political awareness in some Saudi media, and of personalities who had a negative impact on Saudi public opinion. Dr. Turki Al-Hamad, a well-known thinker and novelist, spoke on Saudi-US relations in a world after Sept. 11 events and how the US started reviewing the basis of interests in its foreign relations, including its ties with Saudi Arabia. Al-Hamad said that the US was trying to create a world of its own design, and consequently faced problems when it came to dealing with Saudi culture and politics. The problem was also sociocultural, added Dr. Abdullah ibn Jaber Al-Otaibi, professor of international politics at King Saud University in Riyadh. It was “society vs. state and not state vs. state,” he explained. According to Dr. Khaled Al-Dakheel, professor of political science at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi-US relations were conducted at an official level for seven decades, but the Sept. 11 events brought the cultural side to the forefront of relations and made it difficult for the two countries to reach an understanding. The lack of a common language adds to the problem, explained Al-Dakheel. “The presence of 15 Saudis on the hijacked planes on Sept. 11 does not mean everyone in Saudi society is a terrorist,” he said. “Yes, there is a real problem,” said Dr. Ziyad ibn Abdul Rahman Al-Sudairy, a member of the Shoura Council. Saudi-US relations had moved from the top down to the level of ordinary people, and this had exposed the lack of knowledge on both sides. “The Americans do not know the Kingdom and we don’t know many things about the US. We look at the US only from the angle of the Middle East situation. As a result, they have started attacking us with and without reason. And we are doing the same,” Sudairy said. There was indeed a cultural gap, Dr. Mohammed Al-Holwa, a member of the Shoura, agreed. “When the Americans found out about their ignorance of Saudi tribes and the nature of our society, they sent their journalists to collect information about us,” he said. “What did the Kingdom do? We don’t have a single center in the Kingdom that talks about the superpower America and introduces that country to our citizens,” he explained. Holwa disclosed that the Saudi Interior Ministry had proposed the establishment of a center specializing in US affairs under the supervision of King Saud University, but the proposal did not see the light of day because of “a bureaucracy that kills beautiful things.” Describing Saudi-US relations as secretive, Hussein Shobokshi, a well-known businessman and media personality, said they were based on economic interests, and ignored human and cultural factors. “While they attack us in their newspapers, we also attack them in our newspaper every day,” he observed. There are differences between the two countries when it comes to what they value, he added. “But there are also differences between the Americans and Japanese. France opposes globalization but when a McDonald’s restaurant was attacked the French society dealt with the crime and made it clear that it opposed extremism.” In defense of concerns in the Kingdom, Raed Al-Qarmali of the Foreign Ministry pointed to the US’ status as the only superpower in the world, which had enabled some American groups to impose their views worldwide. At the same time, the Kingdom’s geographical position and its relative power in the Arab world had led certain popular agencies to think that they had the power to do anything. “This led to the distortion of relations between the two countries,” he adds. Debates at the seminar revolved around what was called “Bush’s faith” and how it hampers Saudi efforts to improve ties with the US as well as diplomatic initiatives to shield Arab countries targeted by Washington. Dr. Al-Hamad at one point interjected: “We have to keep America away from our minds and discuss the interest of our country. For how long are we going to continue building our policies only on reaction?” Al-Hamad said the discussions should focus on Saudi Arabia before making an assessment of the American side. “We have to find an answer to the difficult question: Why did 15 Saudis take part in the Sept. 11 attacks?” “The answer to this question is important not only for the US but for the Kingdom,” Dr. Otaibi agreed. “We have to understand whether these youths posed a threat to national security. Others could do the same thing, but here in our country,” he added. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has said in a press statement that the presence of 15 Saudis was not the only issue. The Al-Qaeda leader could have found 15 youths from other countries to carry out the attacks. But the aim, he said, was to use those Saudi youths to destroy Saudi-US relations, as Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has also pointed out. But Dr. Qarmali had another explanation on the slow response of the Kingdom to the Sept. 11 events, saying it was purely because of the Kingdom’s conservative ways. “Conservatism and calmness are the hallmarks of our system. By contrast, the Americans respond to events quickly and make immediate decisions.” He added that Saudi officialdom was stunned by the enormity of the Sept. 11 events, and it appeared that there was a considerable time lapse before the Kingdom realized the danger involved. All participants emphasized the need to look hard at problems in Saudi society, rather than blame the Americans for everything. “We will benefit more from an internal assessment than from making excuses,” Otaibi said, but Dakheel added a note of caution. The US, he said, had to acknowledge that the Taleban and Bin Laden were not creatures of the Kingdom’s policies but the product of the Cold War. The US, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia thus had a joint responsibility. “Why should we shoulder the blame alone?” he asked. Holwa highlighted the lack of political awareness in the local media. “There are certain writers in the Saudi press who do not give priority to national security,” he said. He accused prominent media personalities of pandering to the street at the expense of the Kingdom’s interests. “If the street wants to attack America in response to its biased policies in the Middle East, you can find those attacks in our press.” Holwa responded by calling for a change in the extremist views presented in the Saudi press. “The best way to control such extremist views is to allow the spread of different views, without suppressing them,” Dakheel countered. All participants agreed on the need for promoting plurality. “Saudi politics must accept plurality,” Dakheel said. But Al-Sudairy said the absence of plurality was not a political decision but must be created by Saudi culture. “For cultural and historical reasons, Saudi society itself will not accept plurality at the family level,” he added. Al-Hamad agreed and added that the economic boom, far from changing the situation, gave people the wrong impression that they could carry on without developing the system toward a civil society. “Society must develop,” Al-Hamad said. In his concluding remarks, Shobokshi said: “In order to achieve that we have to refocus the essence of citizenship both in terms of rights and in terms of duties.” (Part II on Sunday) Opinion 15 March 2003 Copyright © 2003 ArabNews All Rights Reserved. Forwarded for your information. 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