The US Congress’ recent move to pass the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) sets a dangerous precedent; and taking it lightly would be at Saudi Arabia’s peril.
The bill allows the 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government alleging it was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.
President Barack Obama said he would veto the bill and his White House later released a 28-page document showing there was no Saudi government’s role in the terror act.
The issue is far beyond a presidential veto or an intelligence classified report. This is because Obama could not abort the bill, which was approved by two thirds majority in the Congress, which is in control of the Republican Party, the traditional ally of Saudi Arabia.
Enthusiasm over the passage of the bill and over-praising of the law inside the House of Representatives further suggest that the Saudi-US relations have hit a new low.
Saudi Arabia is facing a soft war. Forget about the conspiracy theories that exist and are very visible. A clear evidence of that soft war is a malicious article by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that was published recently in the New York Times.
Zarif used his Khameini-like taqiya-flavored article to give a call to exterminate “Wahhabism” and finished it with an appeal for dialogue and cooperation with the Kingdom!
While reading the article, one may get an impression that Iran is sending messengers of peace to the Arab world. The fact is Iran is sponsoring sectarian militias and backing the so-called Sunni terror groups including those targeting the US itself.
Fueled by Ali Khameini, this war is now not just targeting Saudi Arabia, it is also targeting its current respectable position in the world.
Anyone who closely observes developments in the US, as also in its media, will discover that their perception about Saudi Arabia is undergoing a marked change.
Something like an outburst has taken place bringing to surface big differences and contrasts that were being suppressed for years for the sake of mutual interests, which included oil and countering the Soviet Union and the revolutionary Arab regimes.
Though the US has been Saudi Arabia’s oldest and trusted ally, the relations were never free from hiccups. This may be due to the contrasts between the two countries, especially in terms of values, ways of thinking, social norms and political regime. But these contrasts have always been balanced and offset by the mutual interests.
This can also be seen in the shifting interests in world’s politico-economic scenario. The Saudi oil is taking a backseat in the US economy, even though it continues to hold key to global economy; and Russia’s rise and mighty Chinese economy has made the US realign its diplomatic relations. This made the US to have a more open and frank relations with Riyadh too, aside from one based on emotions or any paranoia.
Besides, schizophrenic undercurrent has adversely dented the Saudi image in American media. Scott Shane’s article titled Saudis and Extremism: ‘Both the Arsonists and the Firefighters’, published in New York Times, few weeks ago reflects the very sentiments, which is unfortunate.
Saudis called the article “imaginary,” which represented a paradoxical response by a media-driven country that has spent millions of dollars on PR.
Saudi Arabia has been in the forefront of combating terrorism, yet a few Saudi clerics may be inspiring the terrorists with their views. It’s a dangerous moment of collision between the American and Saudi interests; yet the more dangerous is that most of the western-American differences with Saudi Arabia is concentrating on the past era, with little attention to the current battle of thought in the Kingdom. This battle is based on the country and society’s identity and the huge social and economic modernization led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
The Kingdom greatly needs to counter and repel this unfair soft war and it is doing its utmost. Part of such a battle requires internal reforms too by rooting out extremist elements, if any.
To counter it outside, the Kingdom must use diplomacy and media. Discussions with the West should be brought forward from the past to the Kingdom’s future, which is critical for the world stability.
The soft war is a reality and it is high time the political, diplomatic and media joined hands to not only strengthen the internal security strictly, but also to counter the terror campaign and its sponsors.
The bill allows the 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government alleging it was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.
President Barack Obama said he would veto the bill and his White House later released a 28-page document showing there was no Saudi government’s role in the terror act.
The issue is far beyond a presidential veto or an intelligence classified report. This is because Obama could not abort the bill, which was approved by two thirds majority in the Congress, which is in control of the Republican Party, the traditional ally of Saudi Arabia.
Enthusiasm over the passage of the bill and over-praising of the law inside the House of Representatives further suggest that the Saudi-US relations have hit a new low.
Saudi Arabia is facing a soft war. Forget about the conspiracy theories that exist and are very visible. A clear evidence of that soft war is a malicious article by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that was published recently in the New York Times.
Zarif used his Khameini-like taqiya-flavored article to give a call to exterminate “Wahhabism” and finished it with an appeal for dialogue and cooperation with the Kingdom!
While reading the article, one may get an impression that Iran is sending messengers of peace to the Arab world. The fact is Iran is sponsoring sectarian militias and backing the so-called Sunni terror groups including those targeting the US itself.
Fueled by Ali Khameini, this war is now not just targeting Saudi Arabia, it is also targeting its current respectable position in the world.
Anyone who closely observes developments in the US, as also in its media, will discover that their perception about Saudi Arabia is undergoing a marked change.
Something like an outburst has taken place bringing to surface big differences and contrasts that were being suppressed for years for the sake of mutual interests, which included oil and countering the Soviet Union and the revolutionary Arab regimes.
Though the US has been Saudi Arabia’s oldest and trusted ally, the relations were never free from hiccups. This may be due to the contrasts between the two countries, especially in terms of values, ways of thinking, social norms and political regime. But these contrasts have always been balanced and offset by the mutual interests.
This can also be seen in the shifting interests in world’s politico-economic scenario. The Saudi oil is taking a backseat in the US economy, even though it continues to hold key to global economy; and Russia’s rise and mighty Chinese economy has made the US realign its diplomatic relations. This made the US to have a more open and frank relations with Riyadh too, aside from one based on emotions or any paranoia.
Besides, schizophrenic undercurrent has adversely dented the Saudi image in American media. Scott Shane’s article titled Saudis and Extremism: ‘Both the Arsonists and the Firefighters’, published in New York Times, few weeks ago reflects the very sentiments, which is unfortunate.
Saudis called the article “imaginary,” which represented a paradoxical response by a media-driven country that has spent millions of dollars on PR.
Saudi Arabia has been in the forefront of combating terrorism, yet a few Saudi clerics may be inspiring the terrorists with their views. It’s a dangerous moment of collision between the American and Saudi interests; yet the more dangerous is that most of the western-American differences with Saudi Arabia is concentrating on the past era, with little attention to the current battle of thought in the Kingdom. This battle is based on the country and society’s identity and the huge social and economic modernization led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
The Kingdom greatly needs to counter and repel this unfair soft war and it is doing its utmost. Part of such a battle requires internal reforms too by rooting out extremist elements, if any.
To counter it outside, the Kingdom must use diplomacy and media. Discussions with the West should be brought forward from the past to the Kingdom’s future, which is critical for the world stability.
The soft war is a reality and it is high time the political, diplomatic and media joined hands to not only strengthen the internal security strictly, but also to counter the terror campaign and its sponsors.
