Saudis have been trying to pressure the US to stop bombing for ramadan.....it's not gonna happen, Prince alaweed's visit to NYC was about sending the US their message on the israeli/palestinian issue.....they are making a big mistake, without protection of the US their kingdom would easily fall victim to saddam hussien or bin laden.....we know that bin laden wishes to rule the islamic world from saudia arabia...it's not gonna happen...........................
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia has warned the Bush administration that its perceived failure to end Israeli-Palestinian violence could prompt the kingdom to reconsider its relationship with the U.S.
At a meeting in the capital of Riyadh last week, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud addressed a group of 150 prominent Saudis in a bid to convince them, as well as religious forces in the kingdom, that the government is defending Arab and Muslim interests. Crown Prince Abdullah read from a letter he sent to President George W. Bush on Aug. 27, according to three participants who took notes at the meeting, in which he wrote that "a time comes when peoples and nations part. We are at a crossroads. It is time for the United States and Saudi Arabia to look at their separate interests. Those governments that don't feel the pulse of the people and respond to it will suffer the fate of the Shah of Iran."
The prince was referring to the Iranian king, Reza Pahlavi, who was forced into exile in 1979 by an Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Western diplomats and Saudi analysts said there was no immediate threat to the stability of the Saudi monarchy but noted that the Saudi government is walking a thin line between support for the U.S. war against terrorism and widespread popular anger at the U.S. because of its perceived support of Israel.
During a phone call with Mr. Bush late last week, Crown Prince Abdullah reiterated his call for the U.S. to rein in Israel to prevent further fighting with Palestinians, according to U.S. diplomats and the official Saudi Press Agency.
A rupture between Riyadh and Washington is unlikely despite mounting Saudi frustration with U.S. Middle East policy and unhappiness over the course of the war in Afghanistan, U.S. and other Western diplomats said. They noted, however, that there was a considerable amount of debate within the royal family over the cost of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, plays a key role in controlling oil prices and production within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, moderating positions of the Arab League and supporting U.S. military control of no-fly zones in Iraq. An estimated 5,000 U.S. troops are based in the kingdom.
The U.S. diplomats said the letter from the prince, who effectively runs the Saudi government, was part of a continuing exchange between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and was consistent with other communications between the two countries. "It was a letter from a friend to a friend trying to make plain that Saudi Arabia is in an untenable position," a U.S. diplomat said. Asked to confirm the language of the letter quoted by the Saudis, the diplomat said it had been "embellished." The diplomat confirmed that the letter "reviewed how [Saudi-U.S.] relations over the years had been mutually beneficial."
Another western diplomat said the "underlying Saudi message is that failure to resolve the Middle East conflict will mean that Saudi Arabia will no longer be able to do what it has done in the past. The middle ground is shrinking. The Saudis are worried about what happens after Afghanistan."
"There is not much difference in attitude at senior levels of the family. They believe that the baggage that goes with the U.S. relationship is very much worth it. They are trying to address concerns at the popular level and among junior members of the family," one diplomat said.
People close to the Saudi government and members of the Saudi royal family said they feared destabilization of the Islamic world if the war against Afghanistan lasts into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in the middle of November, or if the U.S. begins targeting other nations such as Iraq.
"Ramadan is very important," said Prince Turki as-Sudairi, a member of the royal family and the publisher of Al Riyadh newspaper. "Emotions will run high. There will be more support for Islamic groups. Some governments could be toppled," he said. Asked what countries he was referring to, Prince Turki said: "Pakistan, Indonesia. We worry about civil war in Pakistan. The impact would be dramatic." |
