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.
17 August 2002
