~~GULFWIRE~~VOICES OF THE REGION~~WEEK OF AUGUST 19, 2002~~ (fwd)

["Clement M. Henry" <chenry@mail.la.utexas.edu>]

This is a course about international oil and here is the number one
producer, holding some quarter of the world's reserves.  So this is a
country you will all have to learn something about.  Here is the latest
on the news wires, extracted and transmitted by an American group close to
Saudi and American oil interests, sympathetic to Saudi Arabia, in other
words, but also serious and scholarly.

*****************************
Clement M. Henry
Professor of Government
University of Texas at Austin
Austin TX 78712
tel 471-5121, fax 471-1061

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 14:07:52 -0500
From: GulfWire e-Newsletters <GulfWire@arabialink.com>
To: "<<GULFWIRE>>" <GulfWire2@arabialink.com>
Subject: ~~GULFWIRE~~VOICES OF THE REGION~~WEEK OF AUGUST 19, 2002~~

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            ***** GULFWIRE ~~ VOICES OF THE REGION ******
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           THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS AND
            THE U.S.-GCC CORPORATE COOPERATION COMMITTEE

                       WEEK OF AUGUST 19, 2002

=========================================================================
COMMENTARY FROM LEADING FIGURES AND MEDIA OUTLETS IN THE ARAB GULF STATES
=========================================================================
THE VIEWS CONTAINED IN THESE ITEMS DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF
       GULFWIRE OR THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S.-ARAB RELATIONS
=========================================================================

GULFWIRE ~ VOICES OF THE REGION ~ TABLE OF CONTENTS

·  SAUDI RESERVES OF GOODWILL by Nawar Obaid
·  SAUDI-US RELATIONS - Arab News Column
·  FUND FLOW - Arab News Editorial
·  SAUDI-US RELATIONS UNDER SPOTLIGHT - Arab News Column
·  WHAT HAPPENS TO A US ALLY - Arab News Column
·  MANY SAUDIS FEEL BETRAYED BY AMERICA - Arab News Column
·  GULF NEWS SAYS: SO THIS IS DEMOCRACY - Gulf News Editorial
·  GULF NEWS SAYS: BUSH SEEKING JUSTIFICATION - Gulf News Editorial
·  GULF NEWS EDITORIAL - DEAF TO REASON - Arab News Editorial
·  GULF NEWS SAYS: REVENGE MAY NOT BE SWEET - Gulf News Editorial
·  THE POLITICS OF CHOICE AVOIDANCE - Arab News Column
·  LOPSIDED U.S. FOREIGN POLICY CAUSE FOR CONCERN - Gulf News Column
·  ARAB PERSPECTIVE: ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR THREAT CONFIRMS OPEN SECRET - Gulf
News Column
·  GULF NEWS SAYS: A FORCE TO RECKON WITH - Gulf News Editorial
·  STRAINING TIES FOR STRANGE GOALS - Gulf News Column

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SAUDI RESERVES OF GOODWILL
Nawaf Obaid

For the last decade, some of the harshest criticism of the Saudi government
has come from the new generation of liberal Islamic clerics within the
kingdom. These individuals, while religiously conservative, advocate liberal
political and economic reforms. Most have spent years in jail or under house
arrest for their views. However, after September 11, as American public
opinion has shifted against the Saudis, such domestic criticism has largely
disappeared. Even the most outspoken critics of the Saudi royal family have
united behind their government as Saudis come to see themselves in America's
crosshairs.

This souring of relations has led Saudis to believe the worst about the
United States. For instance, a recent story holds that the Pentagon had
commissioned a plan to partition Saudi Arabia. While there is no evidence
that such a study exists, the kingdom is now rife with the rumor. Last year,
this would have been dismissed as paranoid gossip; today it is widely
believed.

In fact, the "study" has become a rallying-point for many in the kingdom,
even long time critics of the monarchy. Last week, the Arab satellite
station al Jazeera dedicated its most popular talk show to a discussion of
the supposed American study. The main guest, Mohsen Al Awaji, a prominent
liberal Islamic scholar jailed for his criticisms of the royal family,
denounced the plan on the show. Another leading dissident of the Saudi
administration, Sheikh Safar Al Hawali, called in to angrily declare that
the "U.S. will never be in a position to dictate how we manage our domestic
affairs." Even the most senior Saudi Shi'ite cleric, Sheikh Hassan Al Saffar
(who would ostensibly benefit from the plan if the mainly Shi'ite oil-rich
eastern province were detached from majority Sunni Saudi Arabia), condemned
the idea vociferously. From his self-imposed exile in Bahrain Sheikh Al
Saffar stated "no sane upright Muslim should ever listen to anything the
United States has to say about Islam and Islamic countries." And recently,
prominent members of the royal family who have publicly most distanced
themselves from the United States — such as Minister of Defense Prince
Sultan and Minister of the Interior Prince Nayef — have seen their
popularity skyrocket.

Of course, it is natural for domestic opponents to unite in the face of an
external enemy. But officially, there is no "enemy." The Bush administration
remains publicly committed to the so-called "special" Saudi-American
partnership, and nearly all senior U.S. policy-makers realize the importance
of the Saudi royal family to U.S. vital interests.

But Saudis see evidence for a growing animosity toward them across many
levels of American society. A string of editorials and analyzes in major
U.S. media outfits have vehemently criticized the kingdom for its perceived
role in the September attacks. And pundits such as Bill Kristol, editor of
the influential Weekly Standard, have publicly advocated the removal of the
Saudi monarchy. Another influential Saudi dissident, Sheikh Ayid Al Qarni,
has appeared on numerous Arab satellite networks, arguing that such remarks
are part of "an orchestrated U.S. media campaign against the kingdom."

American determination to remove Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein with or
without the support of the kingdom or the Arab world has strengthened the
domestic perception that Americans hold the Saudis and Arabs in disdain.

After September 11, certain shortcomings in Saudi society and major lapses
in its government policies have become apparent. But more than 50 years of
cooperation with the United States should provide impetus to work with, not
alienate, this vital U.S. ally. As the world's largest exporter of
petroleum, Saudi Arabia has played a stabilizing role in global energy
markets for decades, guaranteeing Americans reasonable oil prices. And while
Saudi foreign policy will always be informed by the kingdom's
responsibilities as guardian of Islam's holiest sites, the Saudi royal
family has more often been a force for cooperation, not conflict, with the
non-Muslim world. This stance has been extremely valuable to America in
economic, political and military terms.

But, if the Bush administration moves away from a policy of mutual respect,
upon which this partnership was founded, the Saudi government will find it
more difficult to work with America on the shared goals of regional peace,
economic development, and oil price stability. America and Saudi Arabia are
at the heart of two great, but very different, civilizations. That major
disagreements should occur is natural, but through 10 American
administrations and five Saudi kingships these differences were handled
peacefully. If those who want an enemy in Saudi Arabia gain the upper hand,
they will, unfortunately, find one; and the world will become a much more
dangerous place.

Nawaf Obaid is a Saudi oil and security analyst.

[Reprinted with permission of the author]

Also Published 8/12/2002:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20020812-73678934.htm

Also see:
"Backlash in Saudi Arabia," by Nawaf Obaid, Christian Science Monitor,
August 12, 2002 - http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0812/p09s02-coop.html

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SAUDI-US RELATIONS
Mukhtar Baloul/Al-Watan - Arab News - August 17, 2002

The Sept. 11 events have resulted in the American media turning against
Saudi Arabia as well as against its stand in support of Arab and Islamic
causes. The latest example of the vilification campaign against Saudi Arabia
is the Rand Corporation report. This and previous reports accuse the Kingdom
of supporting and promoting terrorism, saying most of the suspects who
carried out the terror attacks on Sept. 11 held Saudi passports. The reports
make this accusation without presenting any solid proof.

This anti-Saudi campaign may not represent the views of the American
government or President George W. Bush but it does play a major role in
molding American public opinion, which in turn influences the White House
policies and decisions. There is enough evidence to indicate that extreme
anti-Saudi views and attitudes are being voiced in the US media. These views
are now being expressed by various think tanks to put pressure on the
government. This is a dangerous turn in the campaign.

The Rand report prepared by Laurent Murawiec, a Rand analyst, at the request
of Richard Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board, shows a
shift in anti-Saudi attacks from press to centers of strategic studies.

Although US officials have quickly distanced the government from the report,
saying it did not represent the administration's views, such reports will be
used by the government as a reference in future dealings with Saudi Arabia.
American officials have reassured Saudi authorities that such reports will
not affect the strong Saudi-US ties. But they are definitely going to affect
ties in the future in the absence of effective action to ward off negative
effects.

The main objective of what has been or will be written is to link Saudi
Arabia to terrorism. The aim is to impose policies and actions on Saudi
Arabia with which it does not agree. Strategic study centers and media
organizations in the US are influenced by intelligence agencies as well as
groups which take extreme anti-Saudi stance.

The Sept. 11 events came in handy for the extremists and enemies of Saudi
Arabia within and outside the circle of decision-makers.

The enmity against Saudi Arabia is growing among public and private
organizations in the United States. They may not represent the government's
views, but nobody can guarantee that they would not change the government's
attitudes and policies in the future. The American government acts in line
with the public opinion.

In this situation, quick and effective steps must be taken to counter this
campaign within the United States. We can enlist the help of US oil
companies working in Saudi Arabia and American banks that deal with the
Kingdom. We should also make use of the Saudi-US and US-Arab friendship
councils as well as the Kingdom's old friends in the US in our bid to change
American public opinion in favor of Saudi Arabia.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17821

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

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FUND FLOW
Arab News Editorial 22 August 2002

Ever since Sept. 11, there has been repeated speculation about whether or
not Saudi investors would pull their money out of the US, either because of
fears of financial recriminations or because of the fragile state of the US
economy, or both. For the past eleven months, it has been just that —
speculation. Saudi banks saw no mass flow of funds back into the Kingdom.
There was some inflow of capital but not as much as was invested abroad; the
net effect was still an outflow.

Last week's astonishing lawsuit filed in the US by families of Sept. 11
victims against Saudi individuals, banks and charities may change things.
Already there are fresh reports — and from highly respectable sources such
as the Financial Times of London and the BBC — of Saudis responding by
moving large amounts of their US investments — up to $200 billion it is
claimed — to the European market.

It is easy to see the lawsuit acting as an incentive to investors to look
afresh at the safety of their funds. It would be naive to imagine that this
is going to be the one and only such case targeting Saudi assets; there is
an anti-Saudi mood in the US, and Saudi property and investments are going
to be seen as easy prey. Moreover, not only is the US notoriously litigious,
it is, for all its belief in the free market and its dependency on foreign
investors to fund government debt, notoriously interventionist. The US
authorities are far more prone to issue orders freezing the accounts of
particular groups or nationalities than the Europeans, and often on the most
tenuous of grounds. Who can, therefore, predict with conviction that the US
authorities or courts will not attempt at some point in the future to seize
Saudi assets in the country.

However, it must be remembered that the figure of $200 billion reported as
moved is just speculation. There is nothing to confirm it, not yet anyway.
It would be almost impossible to move all that money in just a few days. Two
billion dollars, perhaps, but not two hundred billion. To liquidate and
transfer such an amount would take weeks if not months. In any event, it is
impossible to account for the nationality of fund movements: who can tell if
monies moving from the US to Europe are Saudi, Arab or African or
institutional?

More tellingly, the figures do not add up. It is reckoned that private Saudi
investments abroad amount to $750 billion, of which investments in the US
account for 60 percent or $450 billion. Of that, some 35 percent (around
$160 billion) is in the US capital market —- equities and bonds. The rest,
$290 billion, is mainly in property. Given the state of the US real estate
and stock markets, this is not the time to sell. Nor is there any evidence
of mass sales of property or stocks, either of which would trigger sudden
price slumps and make front-page news across the US. There is no sign of it.
But just because there is no evidence of massive amounts of Saudi money
moving out of the US into Europe — bankers also report no evidence yet of
investments returning home— that does not mean that investors are not
thinking about it. There is now a sense that the US is not as safe, not as
rewarding and certainly not a welcoming and friendly as it was.
In time, that is bound to have major consequences.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17998

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

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SAUDI-US RELATIONS UNDER SPOTLIGHT
By Amir Taheri, Arab News Staff - 17 August 2002

Have relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States hit a rough patch?
The question, raised after the leaking of a report by a Washington think
tank in which Saudi Arabia was identified as "enemy," has triggered a
torrent of comments on both sides.

Broadly speaking, these are of two types.

The first type could be described as "ostrich-like", coming from people,
often of good will, who try to dismiss the report as the fruit of one
deranged researcher's imagination. The "ostrich" club insist that there is
nothing wrong in Saudi-US relations and that the dramatic events of the past
few months have had no impact on what they describe as "a special
relationship." Like the proverbial ostrich that buries its head in sand to
avoid seeing unpleasant sights, those who defend such a position are victims
of their illusions.

The second answer has come from what one could describe as the "rooster"
club, continuing with our bird analogy. The American members of the
"rooster" club shout that Saudi Arabia is, indeed, the enemy and has to be
"dealt" with as quickly as possible. The Arab members of the "rooster" club,
on the other hand, shout that the US was never a true friend and, having
just revealed its true nature, should no longer enjoy special treatment from
the Kingdom.

While the "ostrich" club has not seen enough in Laurent Murawiek's
controversial report, the "rooster" club has chosen to see too much.

What is certain is that US-Saudi relations are under the spotlight in both
countries. On both sides, the assumption that Washington and Riyadh would
automatically be on the same side on almost all issues is no longer tenable.

A change of mood started with Riyadh's refusal to take an active part in the
campaign against the Taleban, and has continued with a refusal by the Saudis
to support the US in overthrowing the Iraqi regime by force. On the American
side, we have witnessed a campaign of vilification against Saudi Arabia,
illustrated by hundreds of articles, congressional speeches and television
soundbites. Opinion polls show that, for a majority of the Americans, Saudi
Arabia is now grouped with other "hated nations."

The decision by Rudolph Giuliani, then mayor of New York, to reject a $10
million check from Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal for the survivors of the Sept.
11 tragedy, was a defining moment. It dented the image of the Arab
philanthropist, always ready to sign checks for good, and sometimes not so
good, causes. The thousands of American charities, universities, think tanks
and individuals that have enjoyed Saudi generosity for decades now use the
smaller print to identify their benefactors.

In more concrete terms, the US has pressed the brakes a bit to delay the
Kingdom's admission into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Also, Saudi
Arabia is no longer routinely consulted on American policy toward the Muslim
world.

Should anyone be alarmed? Not necessarily. There is always some good in what
happens.

A serious review of relations between the US and Saudi Arabia, as developed
from the mid-1960s onward, is long overdue. In that period, the two needed
each other to counter threats, ranging from Nasserism to Khomeinism, and
passing by communism. From 1980 onward, they shared an interest in
countering the extension of the Soviet empire in Afghanistan. In 1990 they
needed one another to push Saddam Hussein back into his cage.

Two facts helped bestow on Saudi Arabia an importance beyond its demographic
size. The first is that it contains 25 percent of the world's oil reserves.
Even the most conservative forecasts show that oil is likely to remain the
chief source of global energy for at least another 30 years, which means
Saudi reserves could retain their strategic value for another generation.
The second fact is that Saudi Arabia, as the site of Islam's two most
honored cites, Makkah and Madinah, enjoys a unique status in the Muslim
world.

The type of relationship that developed in those years was focused on
geopolitics and chiefly concerned with military, intelligence and security
issues. There was no need for a people-to-people relationship. The two could
conduct their business through diplomatic and secret service channels and
behind closed doors.

All that has changed.

The process of decision-making in Saudi Arabia is more open now than it was
three decades ago. The base of decision-making has also been broadened, at
the level of discussion and consultation, thanks to the emergence of new
councils, and the attempt by part of the Saudi media to initiate debate on
some aspects of policy.

More importantly, one can now speak of a Saudi public opinion where almost
none existed in the 1960s. This is because a new middle class has taken
shape in the Kingdom and is keen to inform itself on issues of contemporary
life.
Change has also come on the American side.

The shock of Sept. 11 has not been absorbed. The fact that 15 of the 19
terrorists were Saudi citizens cannot be effaced through public relations
operations. What is needed is a genuine campaign of explanation, not Madison
Avenue-style whitewash.

Can the US and Saudi Arabia be bosom friends? In the sense that the American
humorist James Thurber defined friendship, the answer is: no. According to
Thurber, a friend is someone who can drop in to see you on a weekend with
his wife and children and stay for a barbecue.

Deep differences in social mores, cultural traditions, religious
sensibilities, and family structures make it problematic for Saudi Arabia to
forge the kind of friendship that the US has, for example, with Canada or
Britain. For example, the Americans do not understand why women are not
allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia. At the other end, the Saudis are horrified
by the dominant themes of sex and violence in American culture.

The US and Saudi Arabia are also poles apart in their political systems. The
American system is based on perpetual elections at all levels; in many
places even the dog-catcher is elected. The Saudi system, however, has no
election. All this does not mean that the US and Saudi Arabia cannot have
friendly relations without being friends. Both sides need a greater
understanding of each other, warts and all.

The Saudis need to understand that winning, at times buying, the sympathy of
the American power elite is no longer enough. They need to establish rapport
with the American people. The Americans, for their part, should understand
that it is possible for a nation to have different social values and
political structures without being their enemy. Both sides need to abandon
the myth of a "special relationship", and, instead, to focus on a practical
relationship based on mutual interests. Where national interests diverge
there is no shame, or harm, in each going its way.

Put in that context, it would not be difficult to see that the 15 terrorists
of 11 September were as much the enemies of the Saudi people as they were of
the American people.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17822

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

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WHAT HAPPENS TO A US ALLY
Masuma Al-Mubarak/Al-Watan - Arab News - August 21, 2002

The strong relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United
States of America go far beyond US relations with the other states of the
region. In the wake of the British decision in 1968 to withdraw from east of
Suez, the US placed Saudi Arabia at the center of a network of alliances in
the region.

The US sought to cement Saudi-American relations by realizing the Kingdom's
influential position in the Arab and Islamic world. Despite growing Arab and
Muslim enmity toward everything American, the Saudis have remained loyal in
their commitment to the US and determined to continue both friendship and
alliance.

Instead of weakening the determination after the founding of the Gulf
Cooperation Council, Saudi-US relations were strengthened, especially after
the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war. Never before have the American
administration or its foreign policy advisors doubted the importance of the
Saudi-American alliance.

The role played by the Kingdom in the liberation of Kuwait in 1990-91 was
undoubtedly the most vital. Despite initial US and British skepticism about
the Kingdom's cooperation, the Kingdom opened its territories for Desert
Storm and its operations against Iraq.

The Kingdom's enemies and Saddam's supporters were opposed to the move and
used such arguments as the sacred lands were being trampled on by non-Muslim
soldiers.

True to its Arab values and loyal to its commitments, Saudi Arabia provided
all logistic facilities for coalition forces until Saddam had been defeated
and Kuwait liberated.

The strong relations between the Kingdom and the US continued relatively
undisturbed by either regional or international upheavals until Sept. 11.
There is no lasting friendship, so the saying goes, in international
relations. In the eyes of much of the US, a close friend and ally became an
enemy overnight. Since September the media has unleashed a barrage of
virulent attacks against the Kingdom.

The hate campaigns have not spared even the Kingdom's domestic policies.
Many victims of humiliating searches and arbitrary detentions were Saudi.
An absurd principle, followed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is
that since Bin Laden was formerly a Saudi citizen, all Saudis are Al-Qaeda
collaborators or at least Al-Qaeda sympathizers. This ruinous approach has
wreaked havoc with the two countries' relations.

Now the question is whether the relations can regain their old warmth. The
US attitude seems to be that the Kingdom's views which differ from US ones
is a stumbling block to normalizing relations.

Another strong indication against the resumption of normal relations is the
recent Rand Corporation report.

How can US officials suddenly put a close ally such as the Kingdom into the
enemy camp?

One wonders what the Saudi government and public have done to deserve such
treatment. If it is because of the Saudi refusal to agree to the US plan to
attack Iraq, will the US leaders who disagree with the plan also be
considered anti-American?

The Saudi stand on this issue is no different from any other Arab countries,
including Kuwait.

All Muslim countries, non-aligned nations and even the European Union
believe that an attack on Iraq will ultimately be against the Iraqi people
who have suffered too long and who would continue to suffer.

(The writer is professor of international relations at Kuwait University)

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17958

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

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MANY SAUDIS FEEL BETRAYED BY AMERICA
By Donna Abu-Nasr - Arab News - August 23, 2002

On a blistering 120-degree morning in August, a Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot
named Sultan Al-Duweihi took his place in line for a visa outside the US
Embassy.

Being made to stand outside and wait was a new experience for many of the
two dozen Saudis in line. Since Sept. 11 the rules are stricter. No longer
can Saudis leave the paperwork to their travel agent; everyone between ages
12 and 70 has to be interviewed by a consular officer, and approval can take
more than five weeks.

"This is too much — over and beyond disgusting," said Al-Duweihi. "Saudis
are being collectively punished for the actions of a few." He was referring
to Sept. 11.

Americans would argue that new precautions are only natural. But Saudis feel
betrayed by a country where many studied, vacationed and did business, and
which they looked to as a bastion of the freedoms and human rights.

"People see the visa line as a sign that says, 'Hey we hate you, we regard
you with suspicion, we don't want you,'" said Khaled M. Batarfi, a managing
editor of the Saudi newspaper Al-Madinah and a journalism graduate of the
University of Oregon. Saudi and US officials insist that
government-to-government ties remain solid, that the basis of the
relationship has not changed.

"The relations are there. They have existed for 70 years," Prince Saud, the
foreign minister, told The Associated Press recently, and added that he saw
nothing to indicate a change.

But at the non-governmental level the new frostiness has been evident in one
incident after another: Rudy Giuliani, as New York mayor, spurning a
donation to the city from Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal; relatives of Sept. 11
victims suing Saudi officials, banks and charities, claiming they helped
finance Osama Bin Laden's network and the terror attacks; a US defense
think-tank analyst suggests the United States target Saudi oil fields and
financial assets unless the kingdom does more to fight terrorism.

Without offering any specifics, US officials say the Saudis are giving
exceptional help in law enforcement and intelligence since Sept. 11, and
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said this month he was happy with the
relationship.

Saud has said his country is sharing with US officials information obtained
from 16 alleged members of Bin Laden's network, Al-Qaeda, who had fled
Afghanistan into Iran and were recently turned over to Saudi Arabia. But
another division looms, over how to deal with the Iraq question.
Saud told the AP the Kingdom will not allow the United States to use Saudi
soil for an attack on Iraq.

The United States would most likely use the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar,
which it quietly has been setting up, for an attack on Iraq.

Then there's the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Senior Saudis, accuse the
United States of tilting further toward Israel, and ordinary Saudis have
expressed their anger by raising tens of thousands of dollars for the
Palestinians.

Dawood Al-Shirian, regional director of the daily Al Hayat newspaper, said
the crisis has had an impact on Saudi-US relations. Saudi nerves are also
jangled by stories in the Saudi press as well as unsubstantiated hearsay
about Saudis being held in US jails, US landlords not renting to Saudis and
Saudis being singled out for humiliating searches at US airports.

Nowadays Al-Riyadh daily has been carrying ads for universities in Romania,
the Czech Republic, Malaysia, China and Arab countries as alternatives to US
colleges.

Outside the embassy, 42-year-old Ali Hassan was full of understanding when
he arrived to apply for a visa to travel to Orlando, Fla.

"I don't mind waiting. I don't like it, but you have to understand the
global situation," said Hassan as he settled into line.

But after waiting more than eight hours for a two-minute interview with a
consular officer, he said he had changed his mind.

"I thought the whole thing would take maximum three hours," he said. "But
nine hours? That's not only humiliating. It also doesn't make any sense."

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17994

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

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GULF NEWS SAYS: SO THIS IS DEMOCRACY
Gulf News Editorial - August 23, 2002

"The Bush administration is finally revealing its vision for the Middle East
region. It has brought out into the open what was long suspected. It has
also re-emphasized its acute lack of understanding of the conditions and
culture that have guided successful government in the Middle East for
centuries..."  Complete editorial...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=61328

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GULF NEWS SAYS: BUSH SEEKING JUSTIFICATION
Gulf News Editorial - August 19. 2002

"Reports that the U.S. will increase funding to the Iraqi opposition come as
no surprise. Neither the fact that America intends to increase funds –
purportedly for covert operations – nor the fact that the information has
reached the international press, will been seen as startling. Of late,
America's "secret" intentions over Iraq have been well-publicized, often by
intention, sometimes through leaks. Although even those "leaks" may have
been deliberate; a testing of the waters – or public opinion – on what to
do. For it is obvious that while President George W. Bush is chafing at the
bit to go into Iraq and wreak vengeance for his father, he is not quite sure
exactly what to do or how to go about it..."  Complete report...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=60969

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GULF NEWS EDITORIAL - DEAF TO REASON
Arab News Editorial - August 21, 2002

It has been painfully clear, since it came to office, that the Bush
Administration does not listen to Arab views. It does not matter what the
subject is, be it the Israel-Palestine issue, a possible strike against Iraq
to depose Saddam Hussein or, indeed, anything else. In the past few days
alone, there has been a fresh roar of Arab warnings to the US not to attack
Iraq — from the Kingdom, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, the UAE, and other
friends of the US in the region. It is not because they have any affection
for Saddam Hussein; on the contrary, the day he ceases to be president of
Iraq will be one of general rejoicing in the Arab world. But despite the
fact that he is a most vicious tyrant with hands steeped in the blood of so
many of his own people, there is the unavoidable fact that an attack at this
present time against Iraq would destabilize the region dangerously. That may
sound like putting practicality before morality, but it is not. Far more
people would die if the Middle East were convulsed in political uproar than
are presently threatened by Saddam Hussein — which, in the event, is much
disputed.

Any exasperation at Washington's firmly closed ears, or even bitterness that
it so vigorously casts its friends' opinions to the wind, might be tempered
by the knowledge that the Arabs are in good company. The rest of America's
friends and allies, with the exception of the British government (even it is
sorely divided), are firmly opposed to any present military action against
Iraq. They too are studiously ignored. That is in itself one of the more
astonishing aspects of Washington's Iraq policy. Normally, it would be
inconceivable that it would opt to go it alone against the advice and wishes
of its NATO partners. Unfortunately, the fact that it also ignores its
closest allies is small consolation when compared to the awesome possibility
that a war may be imminent.

But if Bush is not listening to the Arabs, or even to his European partners
in NATO, will he listen to warning voices at home? We now hear American
elder statesmen concurring that this is not the time to attack Iraq; that to
do so alone could split NATO, destroy the American-led war on terror and
unleash massive international economic recession if oil supplies are
disrupted in consequence. They imply that the White House has not taken on
board such possibilities. In normal circumstances President Bush cannot
afford to ignore the views let alone the implicit criticism of men like
former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and Laurence Eagleburger. If
he now does, it will be proof of how deaf to reason he and his
administration have become.

Meanwhile, what he must think of Russian president Vladimir Putin announcing
this week a $40-billion trade pact with Iraq is probably unprintable. This
is the man he presented as his buddy in the fight against international
terrorism. The timing cannot have been accidental: Russia too is sending an
unmistakable message that a strike against Iraq would be folly. Sadly, Bush
and his team will probably simply see it as further evidence that the rest
of the world is out of step and fickle.

That is how a superpower proves itself a superpower — by showing that it has
no need for friends. And that is also how it turns friends into enemies.

http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=17943

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

=== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ======

GULF NEWS SAYS: REVENGE MAY NOT BE SWEET
Gulf News Editorial - August 22, 2002

"All sorts of havoc could rain upon the West, while America – and maybe some
allies – try to depose Saddam. It is this unknown factor that holds back
universal enthusiasm for overthrowing the Iraqi President..."  Complete
report...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=61258

=== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ======

THE POLITICS OF CHOICE AVOIDANCE
By Amir Taheri, Arab News Staff - August 23, 2002

"Within the next few days the German government is expected to call on the
European Union to make its support of any military action against Iraq
conditional to prior approval by the United Nations' Security Council.  The
idea is not new. All those who don't want to take a clear position on
whether or not Saddam Hussein should be overthrown by force use the trick of
referring the decision to the Security Council..."  Complete column...
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=18014

=== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ======

LOPSIDED U.S. FOREIGN POLICY CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Mustapha Karkouti - Gulf News - August 22, 2002

"A very selective small multi-national group of specialists and commentators
on Middle East got together privately last week on the outskirt of the
French Capital. It did not take them long to conclude that this American
president's Middle East peace plan is so biased in Israel's favor that it
even surprises, on occasion, Israel's premier himself."  Complete column...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=61070

=== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ======

ARAB PERSPECTIVE: ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR THREAT CONFIRMS OPEN SECRET
Gulf News - Column - August 23, 2002

Amid the U.S. preparations for the war against Iraq, Israel has threatened
the latter with nuclear warheads if Baghdad attacks it. Meanwhile, a number
of members of the U.S. Republican Party have opposed the intended assault
against Iraq. Huda Fawzi of Gulf News Research Center reviews the Arab
press' discussion of these latest developments..."  Complete report...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=61334

=== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ======

GULF NEWS SAYS: A FORCE TO RECKON WITH
Gulf News Editorial - August 21, 2002

"The UAE Armed Forces have, of recent years, received international
recognition for a number of activities they have undertaken on behalf of the
nation. Whether these activities be fighting alongside allied troops,
partaking in peacekeeping duties, participating in mine-clearing in war-torn
areas, or humanitarian endeavors, the UAE Armed Forces have been
instrumental in rendering assistance in one form or another. Rightly, the
citizens of the nation have every justification in being proud of the
exemplary ways in which the military services conduct themselves, whether
within the confines of the country or as ambassadors abroad..."  Complete
report...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=61166

=== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ====== voices ======

STRAINING TIES FOR STRANGE GOALS
Gulf News Column - August 23, 2002

"Egypt has joined Saudi Arabia on top of the list of Arab and Islamic
countries suffering from the campaign of defamation that rages in the U.S.,
writes Al Jazeera (Saudi Arabia) in its editorial comment..."  Complete
report...
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/opinion.asp?ArticleID=61332

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EDITOR'S COMMENT
GulfWire does not take an editorial position on the issues and opinions
reported here and aims to remain objective in coverage of developments in
the Arab Gulf states. However, it is important that among the insights we
provide, we bring the reality of contemporary opinion in the Gulf even if
it is sometimes stinging to the targets of its criticism.  We hope to
illuminate not infuriate. For those who rely on an understanding of
developments in the region to ignore the reality of public and official
sentiments in the Gulf is to move forward in these relationships at their
peril.

Patrick W. Ryan
Editor-in-Chief, GulfWire
========================================================================

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