JEDDAH, 13 December 2003 — Instead of snuffing out a terrorist threat, US President George W. Bush’s war on Iraq created a new one, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Kingdom’s ambassador in London, said on Thursday.
“When the United States and Britain invaded Iraq, the promise of bringing peace and security was important in the expositions of both the American and British leaderships,” Prince Turki said.
“Unfortunately, that promise still has to be realized. The daily firefights, explosions and violence are making even those who believed the initial promise skeptical,” he told a conference at London’s Royal United Services Institute.
“Instead of removing the terrorist threat which President Bush saw in Saddam’s Iraq, we find today that Bush’s Iraq has become a magnet for terrorists,” Prince Turki said.
Prince Turki said the world community could not afford to see Iraq remain without peace and security, noting that the Kingdom pledged $1 billion for reconstruction.
The prince, a former chief of intelligence, said ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as conflicts in Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq, was key to anti-terror efforts.
“We must not forget that terrorism is a by-product and not an alien being descended on us from a distant galaxy,” he said. “The international community ... must realize that terrorism hijacks causes and thrives on injustice. Solve these causes and redress these injustices and we not only win peace and security, we redeem our humanity.”
Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia was not only trying to hunt down members of Al-Qaeda network, but was also “combating the ideas that made them terrorists.”
In doing so the Kingdom would ensure terrorism does not manipulate Islam. “This is being done by educating youth and stressing the moderate nature of Muslims who reject extremism and violence and also by providing jobs and addressing economic difficulties to deny terrorism its tools for attracting citizens,” Prince Turki said.
He said Al-Qaeda, which he described as a cult, had intentionally killed Muslims in Saudi Arabia, thereby forfeiting any legitimacy.
Asked about Bush’s recent call for more democracy in the Middle East, the ambassador said Saudi Arabia, like other nations, had a responsibility to reform, but poor governance was not the only reason for the existence of terrorism.
“(International) political problems also feed terrorists with their justifications,” Prince Turki said.
“The process of reform in the Kingdom started long before the Sept. 11 attacks and was not the result of pressure from the United States, Britain, Russia or any other country,” he said, but added: “The Kingdom listens to advice from its friends.”
The prince said there was no contradiction between democracy and Islam. “The Shoura Council and people choosing their leaders and pledging allegiance are basic principles in Islam,” he said.
“Democracy has its problems ... even in countries like Britain and the US, which have been practicing it for centuries now. Democracy until now has been the best means for people to choose their government in many countries of the world, but democracy is a means for choosing a government and is not an ultimate end in itself.”
