Saudi prince: US will be hurt failed Mideast peace efforts (this guy thinks he rules the world)
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
If Mideast peace efforts fail, the United States will not be left unscathed by the "dangerous result," a Saudi prince said today.
"If things deteriorate to pleasantries and the Palestinian issue is handled by slow-working committees, peace will be shaken and replaced by more rejection and violence, and at that time, the losses will be proportionate to the size of every side, and certainly America will have a share of the dangerous result," said Prince Sultan bin Turki, a nephew of Saudi King Fahd.
Crown Prince Abdullah's recent visit to the United States helped ease tension in the Palestinian areas, lifting the siege off Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and bringing an end to the standoff at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Sultan told The Associated Press.
"What he (Abdullah) achieved was beyond any other Arab leader and even European leaders. He went with a realistic vision of peace and his efforts paid off," said Sultan, who is close to Abdullah.
On Tuesday, Abdullah was quoted by the Saudi daily Okaz as saying he was hesitant to go to the United States, "but I decided to go to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people regardless of the price." The de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom met George W. Bush at the US president's Texas ranch April 25.
"President Bush told me 'I know that the Saudi people hate me,' and I told him all the world's people hate you, and he said 'You might be right,'" Abdullah was quoted as saying.
"I saw in the American President Bush a man with a pure moral character. He is honest, bold and has strong emotions, all good signs that he can achieve justice for the Palestinians," he said.
Sultan said the crown prince also expressed concern to Bush about reports Washington was planning to strike Iraq.
"Abdullah imposed himself as a strong man when he met Bush. He didn't go asking for loans or grants. He went as a leader looking for peace and earned the respect of others. He spoke about the tension of the region and warned against the risks involved and the interests at stake," he said.
Sultan said Abdullah's argument in the United States was based on the fact that "to achieve security, peace must be recognized as a launching pad and a result and dealing with the issue halfheartedly will lead to a catastrophe. A sane person understands that a peace with compromises is better than a war that will achieve a temporary victory."
Sultan declined to comment on details of the kingdom's efforts to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace since the Bush meeting. |
