When the United States announced through its leaders, thinkers and media that the world had changed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it meant exactly that. When President George W. Bush said that those who did not join the US in its fight against terrorism stood with terrorism, he meant exactly that. The whole world — we are part of it — will have to coexist with this new reality. The new reality is that the US we knew for years has gone with the wind of the explosions and the old has been replaced by the new. And the new is gripped by fear and obsessed with revenge. It sees the specter of terrorism everywhere and considers every neutral person an enemy.

In the light of the new reality, new alliances have taken shape and old alliances have collapsed. New friends have appeared in place of old ones. In short, America’s political map has changed drastically and those who want to coexist with the world’s only superpower must scramble to find a place on the new American map. The US, including its president and lawmakers, acts like a paranoid individual who fears both friends and enemies. It sees danger when there is none and it will not rest until others accept its fears and ideas without demur or discussion.

Paranoia is not a strange or unknown thing in international politics. The Soviet Union too was seized with paranoia during the Cold War. The ruler of Baghdad, as the Russian political scientist Primakov pointed out, thinks that the whole world is conspiring to finish him off. Conflicts between Arab countries show that Arab paranoia is not confined to within the walls of Baghdad.

The main issue here is that we face a superpower which is capable of imposing its will on us. The problems faced by the US after 9/11 are not something insignificant to Saudi Arabia or to the Arab and Islamic world.

There is a silent crisis which determines America’s relations with other countries. America is angry with its traditional NATO allies because they refuse to join the proposed war against Iraq. It is angry with Russia for signing deals with the Iraq. The acrimony between Germany and the US — similar to the one with France earlier — is a new development.

America’s intention to take unilateral decisions not only pushes away its Arab friends and allies but also Western allies with which it has signed security treaties and has maintained long and strong relations.

Despite these developments, the whole world wants to avoid a confrontation with the US, following the advice of a British journalist who warned against "standing in the way of a wounded lion." Europe was tolerant when the US imposed high taxes on its steel exports. Russia has also borne America’s daily punishment. When the US declared its plan to launch pre-emptive strikes against 60 countries, nobody protested against so inexplicable a move.

In the new political situation, Saudi Arabia appears — in their view — closer to an enemy than a friend. This development has not come about unexpectedly nor was it born with the recent report presented to the Pentagon. It was no secret. Those who have read the US media regularly since 9/11 have realized that there is an orchestrated move against Saudi Arabia, instigated by rightist Christian groups and Zionist lobbies.

If we accept this anti-Saudi campaign as part of a new US political reality, what should we do about it? Emotional response in times of crisis is tantamount to political suicide. Dealing with the US and its Western allies, showing more perseverance, holding more talks and conducting visits at many different levels, is a more sensible and realistic response.

Saudi-US ties have been built on mutual interests which still exist. The Saudis should remember that and remind the Americans of it. The Kingdom holds a quarter of the world’s proven oil reserves. This will not change despite oil discoveries in the Caspian Sea or plans for Iraqi oilfields.

Oil market stability and world welfare will depend on the Kingdom’s oil policies in the near future. The Kingdom has been a source of stability and moderateness in a volatile region. At the same time, the United States has invested billions of dollars in giant Saudi industries. It is a principal source of technology. Thousands of Saudi students receive their education in US schools and universities. In a world ruled by a single superpower, it would be sheer stupidity to antagonize that power, especially when confrontation is not the only choice.

Saudi Arabia’s stand on the war against Iraq is no different from Europe’s. And the reports on Saudi Arabia funding terrorists are no more than "newspaper rumors". Not a single shred of factual evidence has been produced to prove any of the allegations. This is a fact we should never tire of repeatedly telling the Americans. Wahhabism, which the Americans now believe is the reason and source of all the problems, is the very same Wahhabism which stood with the US in its fight against communists. Open and frank dialogue is the only reasonable way to deal with the United States.

In the end, we should remember that the new political situation will not last forever. There are signs of the paranoia fading. Intelligent people in the US are raising their voices, cautioning the Bush administration against taking unilateral decisions, saying they would result in the enmity of the whole world. These signs encourage us to say that confrontation with the United States is not inevitable nor should it be.

(The writer is the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United Kingdom.)

24 August 2002