According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Saudi Arabia imports $5 billion worth of goods from the United States every year while Saudi investments in America amount to $200 billion.
The newspaper report did not mention the military and civilian aircraft that the Kingdom has purchased from America over the past 20 years which also amounts to even more billions of dollars.
All this means that America should treat us as a trusted and faithful friend, if not as a privileged trading partner. What happened after Sept. 11 was that America has treated us as an archenemy simply because some Saudis were involved in those attacks. Those Saudis also happened to be among the Afghan Arabs — recruited, brainwashed and trained by America in different forms of terrorism.
Now, after the magic has been turned against the magician, in the eyes of America, the Kingdom must be held responsible for each of those individuals. Saudi school texts rather than the CIA are to blame for the brainwashing. The Saudis now receive unfair treatment when applying for visit visas and are treated like criminals when they arrive in America. Even those receiving medical treatment in American hospitals at their own expense are not spared such treatment.
All this will surely result in some kind of backlash. The newspaper reporter observed, while visiting shopping centers in eastern Saudi Arabia, that shops which formerly sold American goods had empty shelves.
This prompted the president of the Association of American Businessmen in the Eastern Province to admit that the Saudi boycott would cost the Americans a lot and that many firms, including some big names, would suffer.
What we need now is a total and complete boycott of everything American. The alternatives are in Europe, China, Malaysia and many other countries. Close cooperation with those countries would enable us to produce all that we need, including weapons and advanced technology.
Arab News From the Local Press 24 February 2003
