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Analysis: Current State Of U.S.-Saudi Relations
Weekend Edition Saturday: November 2, 2002
 U.S. & Saudi Arabia
SCOTT SIMON, host:
US relations with Saudi Arabia have been in decline since September 11th of 2001 in the discovery that 15 of those 19 hijackers were Saudi. Some American commentators have begun questioning the value of this 60-year-old US-Saudi alliance, while in Saudi Arabia, many are angered by what they consider unfair American criticism of their country. From Riyadh, NPR's Kate Seelye reports.
KATE SEELYE reporting:
Saudi lawyer Katabel Shamari(ph) is busy preparing a lawsuit against the US government. Shamari represents the families of the 127 Saudis captured in Afghanistan now being held by the US at Guantanamo Bay. The US government suspects them of links to al-Qaeda, but Shamari insists most are innocent.
Mr. KATABEL SHAMARI (Saudi Lawyer): (Foreign language spoken)
SEELYE: `No charges have been brought against these men,' says Shamari. `What the US is doing is illegal and unjust.'
The Saudi legal action follows a $1 trillion lawsuit filed this summer in the US by the families of the victims of September 11th. Members of the Saudi royal family, as well as Saudi banks and Islamic charities, are accused of backing al-Qaeda. The lawsuits reflect the growing anger and mistrust between the two countries, and voices on both sides have begun calling for a re-examination of their alliance. But in a recent interview, Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, sought to downplay the US-Saudi tensions.
Prince SAUD AL-FAISAL (Saudi Foreign Minister): If relations are based on a history of cooperation and acting together, certainly we have that.
SEELYE: But Saudi Arabia has been harshly attacked for what some in the US media say is its lack of cooperation in the war on terror and that has angered Saudi officials. They believe the charges are part of a smear campaign being encouraged by certain members of the Bush administration. This summer, a Pentagon advisory board was briefed by a Rand Corporation analyst who called Saudi Arabia `the kernel of evil' because of its alleged support for terror. Other conservative commentators have accused Saudi leaders of tolerating the financing of terror. Officials say such allegations are absurd because Osama bin Laden is considered as much of a threat to the Saudi government as he is to the US. Prince Saud says that he believes bin Laden chose Saudis for the September 11th attacks intentionally.
Prince AL-FAISAL: I think it was an effort by these deranged terrorists to drive a rift between Saudi Arabia and the United States because they conceive--and they are right--this relationship was a good work for the stability of the region.
SEELYE: Now even people-to-people relations are strained. Many Saudi students have been denied visas to study in the US, and almost everyone here says they feel as though they're being labeled a terrorist by the US media. Khalid Al-Maeena is editor in chief of the Jeddah-based Arab News.
Mr. KHALID AL-MAEENA (Editor in Chief, Arab News): You are applying the principle of collective guilt. You are sort of saying everything is wrong. Everything is not wrong. There are groups from here who contributed to the disaster, but I did not contribute; the government did not contribute.
SEELYE: Some American commentators argue that the Saudi government did, in fact, contribute by promoting an intolerant brand of Islam that they say encouraged extremists. But since last fall, Saudi leaders have called for an end to anti-Western sermons in mosques and the government says it has reviewed its educational curriculum in an effort to remove any inciteful material. Most here say the hatred of America among some Saudis is primarily the result of US foreign policy. Khalid Al-Batarfi(ph), managing editor of Al-Madinah newspaper, says Saudis are especially upset over what they view as American bias toward Israel and its threats against Iraq.
Mr. KHALID AL-BATARFI (Managing Editor, Al-Madinah): People are angry, and I am angry, and even the best friends of the United States are angry at what's going on.
SEELYE: Saudi disillusionment with the US has led many to boycott American products and to withdraw investments in the US. But businessman Hussein Shubokshi(ph) says despite the anger and the differences, the two allies need a marriage counselor, not a divorce.
Mr. HUSSEIN SHUBOKSHI (Businessman): People still believe that the main ally is America and we need to just work at improving this relationship.
SEELYE: Analysts here say Saudi Arabia still needs US security guarantees while the US, they say, would be hard pressed to find another ally with Saudi Arabia's clout in the Muslim world and its influence in global oil markets. Kate Seelye, NPR News, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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