WASHINGTON, 12 September — The Kingdom, waging a multimillion dollar campaign to repair its image in the United States, ran a full-page ad in major American media on Tuesday pledging never to forgive those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks or to forget the victims.
Prince Abdullah, the regent, also wrote a personal letter to President George W. Bush, in which he faulted the 19 suicide hijackers who crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon for "allowing themselves to be used as a tool to do great damage to Islam... and all Muslims."
Prince Abdullah, in his letter delivered to the White House on Tuesday, condemned the Sept. 11 attacks as a crime against "humanity at large," and promised to stand with the United States in combating terrorism.
"I would like to make it clear that true Muslims all over the world will never allow a minority of deviant extremists to speak in the name of Islam and distort its spirit of tolerance," he wrote.
The fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi-born has angered many Americans, raising doubts about the durability of the US-Saudi relationship. Seeking to counteract the negative spiral, the Saudis have hired well-connected public relations firms and spent more than $5 million, according to documents on file with the US Justice Department.
The campaign is unprecedented for Saudi Arabia, which traditionally conducts its US relations via personal ties with top officials.
"The strategy is very straightforward," said Michael Petruzzello of Qorvis Communications, which is paid $200,000 a month to manage the new public relations strategy.
"After Sept. 11, US-Saudi relations were cast into some doubt. Our job is to reaffirm for the American people that Saudi Arabia is a friend and important ally," he said.
"The hijackers don’t represent the Saudi people. The people of Saudi Arabia love America," Petruzzello said.
Sources acknowledged there was considerable debate over what if anything the Kingdom might do in commemoration of the anniversary given that any gesture could spark controversy.
A report that the royal family was considering presenting the racehorse that won this year’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes as a gift to the victim’s families was quickly quashed.
Nail Ahmed Al-Jubeir, a spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, denied this was ever considered. "That’s an insult to the victims if you donate a horse," he said.
One decision was the simple full-page ad that ran in this week’s Time, Newsweek and US News & World Report magazines and in Tuesday’s USA Today newspaper.
It features a hand holding a single lighted candle against a backdrop of other candles.
"As we mark the first anniversary of Sept. 11, words cannot express the deep sense of sorrow and loss which we share with all Americans," the ad reads. "We will never forgive the perpetrators, nor forget those who suffered. We remain committed to ending the scourge of terrorism in alliance with the United States and the world community; and dedicated to a future where children of all nations can live without fear and flourish in peace," it said.
The new Saudi strategy has included television and radio commercials in most US media markets when Prince Abdullah met Bush last April, more accessibility to the press, cultivating American research groups and distributing papers presenting Saudi positions on terrorism and other issues.
Al-Jubeir believes the campaign has had a positive effect but still the critics persist, faulting the Kingdom for encouraging religious extremism. US-based organizations and individuals known for pro-Israel sentiments have stirred the debate.
According to the Justice Department filings, Saudi Arabia spent $2.5 million during the first six months of 2002 on lobbying and $542,000 during 2001. This compares to $4.3 million spent by Israel during the first six months of 2002 and $10.4 million in 2001.
In addition to Qorvis, groups on the Saudi payroll include a Qorvis affiliate, Patton Boggs, one of Washington’s most prominent lobbying firms; Frederick Dutton, a former aide to President John F. Kennedy and long-time Saudi adviser; Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld, a firm headed by Robert Strauss, former US ambassador to Russia and former head of the Democratic National Committee; and James P. Gallagher, a former Republican Senate staff member.
