Saudi Arabia finally feels a slight prick of conscience over Gaza massacre, urges US to be even-handed

Islam and the West

28 Jan 2009, NewAgeIslam.Com

Saudi Arabia finally feels a slight prick of conscience over Gaza massacre, urges US to be even-handed

A Prince urges US to become more even-handed: A prominent member of the Saudi royal family is warning the Obama administration (in an article in Financial times, London) that failure to alter US attitudes towards the Arab-Israeli conflict radically would threaten the kingdom's "special relationship" with the US and could force Riyadh to abandon its own support for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.. -- Roula Khalaf in London   Saudi Arabia's patience is running out: America is not innocent in this calamity. Not only has the Bush administration left a sickening legacy in the region, but it has also, through an arrogant attitude about the butchery in Gaza, contributed to the slaughter of innocents. If the US wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and keep its strategic alliances intact - especially its "special relationship" with Saudi Arabia - it will have to revise drastically its policies vis a vis Israel and Palestine. -- Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal,   American-Israelis bristle at the slight protest from a vassal state: As Saudi Arabia is running out of patience, Turki al-Faisal calls for revising US policies drastically vis-à-vis Israel and Palestine. He begins it by recalling his own efforts over the decades to promote Arab-Israeli peace and especially the Abdullah Plan of 2002. .But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza,. he writes, .these pleas for optimism and cooperation now seem a distant memory.. Then comes a threat: .Unless the new US Administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk. -- Daniel Pipes ------------------------------------   Saudi prince urges US to become more even-handed By Roula Khalaf in London Published: January 23 2009 02:00   A prominent member of the Saudi royal family is warning the Obama administration that failure to alter US attitudes towards the Arab-Israeli conflict radically would threaten the kingdom's "special relationship" with the US and could force Riyadh to abandon its own support for a peaceful resolution of the dispute.   In an article in today's Financial Times, Prince Turki al-Faisal, former Saudi intelligence chief and former ambassador to Washington, says that if the US wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and maintain its strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, it "will have to drastically revise its policies vis-à-vis Israel and Palestine".   Writing days after the end of Israel's three-week Gaza offensive, he says the Bush administration, which supported the onslaught, had left a "sickening legacy in the region". And while Saudi Arabia has so far resisted Iranian calls to lead a "jihad" against Israel, "eventually the kingdom will not be able to prevent its citizens from joining the worldwide revolt against Israel".   The prince - writing before President Barack Obama made his comments on the Arab-Israel conflict last night - holds no official position in the Saudi government at the moment but his views reflect the mounting frustrations within the al-Saud royal family and the apparent need to exert immediate pressure on the Obama administration for a more even-handed Middle East policy.   Mr Obama has signalled a readiness to work for peace between Arabs and Israelis and called Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders on his first day in office in an effort to help consolidate Gaza's fragile ceasefire.   Saudi Arabia, under intense pressure during the Gaza conflict, has been eager to assert its leadership role in the region and underline that it has not been standing by while Palestinians suffer.   Last week King Abdullah warned that the Arab peace initiative that he had sponsored in 2002 - offering Israel normal relations with the whole Arab world if it withdrew from all lands occupied in 1967 - was still on the table, but would not there remain forever.   The statement came after weeks of turmoil in the Arab world as the images of Gaza fuelled widespread outrage, embarrassing Saudi Arabia and other states that have been committed to peace negotiations yet have little to show for their efforts.   The pressure intensified when Mahmoud AhmadiNejad, the Iranian president, wrote to King Abdullah asking him to take action to end the Israeli offensive.   In his FT article, Prince Turki calls on Mr Obama to address the "disaster" in Gaza and its "causes" and to condemn Israel's "atrocities" against Palestinians, not only Hamas's firing of rockets at Israel. He appeals to the US president to "strongly promote" the Arab peace initiative.   The prince's article recalls the letters that King Abdullah, as crown prince, sent to George W. Bush in 2001, warning that the kingdom would review relations with the US unless the administration adopted a forceful push for Middle East peace.   The letters rang alarm bells in Washington but were soon overshadowed by the September 11 attacks, which involved a group of Saudis. It was only after Riyadh launched its own campaign against terrorism two years later and started addressing the root causes of radicalism that ties with the US improved again.   Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/97dee9d8-e8ef-11dd-a4d0-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 ---   Saudi Arabia's patience is running out By Turki al-Faisal   Published: January 23 2009 02:00 | Last updated: January 23 2009 02:00 http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a11a77b0-e8ef-11dd-a4d0-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1 In my decades as a public servant, I have strongly promoted the Arab-Israeli peace process. During recent months, I argued that the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia could be implemented under an Obama administration if the Israelis and Palestinians accepted difficult compromises.   But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza, these pleas for optimism and co-operation now seem a distant memory. Unless the new US administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk.   Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi foreign minister, told the UN Security Council that if there was no just settlement, "we will turn our backs on you". King Abdullah spoke for the Arab and Muslim world when he said at the Arab summit in Kuwait that although the Arab peace initiative was on the table, it would not remain there for long.   America is not innocent in this calamity. Not only has the Bush administration left a sickening legacy in the region, but it has also, through an arrogant attitude about the butchery in Gaza, contributed to the slaughter of innocents. If the US wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and keep its strategic alliances intact - especially its "special relationship" with Saudi Arabia - it will have to revise drastically its policies vis a vis Israel and Palestine.   The US administration will be inheriting a "basket full of snakes" in the region, but there are things that can be done to help calm them. First, President Barack Obama must address the disaster in Gaza and its causes. Inevitably, he will condemn Hamas's firing of rockets at Israel. When he does that, he should also condemn Israel's atrocities against the Palestinians and support a UN resolution to that effect; condemn the Israeli actions that led to this conflict, from settlement building in the West Bank to the blockade of Gaza and the targeted killings and arbitrary arrests of Palestinians; declare America's intention to work for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, with a security umbrella for countries that sign up and sanctions for those that do not; call for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Shab'ah Farms in Lebanon; encourage Israeli-Syrian negotiations for peace; and support a UN resolution guaranteeing Iraq's territorial integrity.   Mr Obama should strongly promote the Abdullah peace initiative, which calls on Israel to pursue the course laid out in various international resolutions and laws: to withdraw completely from the lands occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, returning to the lines of June 4 1967; to accept a mutually agreed just solution to the refugee problem according to UN resolution 194; and to recognise the independent state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital. In return, there would be an end to hostilities between Israel and all Arab countries, and Israel would get full diplomatic and normal relations.   Last week, President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad of Iran wrote a letter to King Abdullah, explicitly recognising Saudi Arabia as the leader of the Arab and Muslim worlds and calling on him to take a more confrontational role over "this obvious atrocity and killing of your own children" in Gaza. The communiqué is significant because the de facto recognition of the kingdom's primacy from one of its most ardent foes reveals the extent that the war has united an entire region, both Shia and Sunni. Further, Mr Ahmadi-Nejad's call for Saudi Arabia to lead a jihad against Israel would, if pursued, create unprecedented chaos and bloodshed.   So far, the kingdom has resisted these calls, but every day this restraint becomes more difficult to maintain. As the world laments once again the suffering of the Palestinians, people of conscience from every corner of the world are clamouring for action. Eventually, the kingdom will not be able to prevent its citizens from joining the worldwide revolt against Israel. Today, every Saudi is a Gazan, and we remember well the words of our late King Faisal: "I hope you will forgive my outpouring of emotions, but when I think that our Holy Mosque in Jerusalem is being invaded and desecrated, I ask God that if I am unable to undertake Holy Jihad, then I should not live a moment more." Let us all pray that Mr Obama possesses the foresight, fairness and resolve to rein in the murderous Israeli regime and open a new chapter in this most intractable of conflicts.   Prince Turki is chairman, King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, Riyadh. He has been director of Saudi intelligence, ambassador to the UK and Ireland and ambassador to the US Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009 URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1159 --- A Saudi Prince's threat to Barack Obama By Daniel Pipes Published on Jan 28 2009   As Saudi Arabia is running out of patience, Turki al-Faisal calls for revising US policies drastically vis-à-vis Israel and Palestine. He begins it by recalling his own efforts over the decades to promote Arab-Israeli peace and especially the Abdullah Plan of 2002. .But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza,. he writes, .these pleas for optimism and cooperation now seem a distant memory.. Then comes a threat: .Unless the new US Administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk.   His royal highness Prince Turki al-Faisal is a leading Saudi powerbroker. Born in 1945 in Mecca to the future King Faisal, his official biography informs us Mr Turki studied at the Taif Model Elementary and Intermediate School, the Lawrenceville School, and Georgetown University. His career began in 1973 as an Advisor in the Royal Court. He served as Director General of the kingdom.s main Foreign Intelligence Service for nearly a quarter-century, from 1977 to 2001, leaving that office just before 9/11. Between 2002 and 2007, he represented his Government as Ambassador to London and Washington. In retirement, he is chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh and cochair of the C100 Group, an affiliate of the World Economic Forum. These credentials help gauge the import of the remarkable oped Mr Turki published on January 23 in London.s Financial Times, .Saudi Arabia.s patience is running out.. He begins it by recalling his own efforts over the decades to promote Arab-Israeli peace and especially the Abdullah Plan of 2002. .But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza,. he writes, .these pleas for optimism and cooperation now seem a distant memory.. Then comes a threat: .Unless the new US Administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk.. He goes on to whack Mr George W Bush in a way not exactly usual for a former Saudi Ambassador: .Not only has the Bush Administration left a sickening legacy in the region, but it has also, through an arrogant attitude about the butchery in Gaza, contributed to the slaughter of innocents. . Then comes the threat again, restated more directly: .If the US wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and keep its strategic alliances intact . especially its .special relationship . with Saudi Arabia . it will have to revise drastically its policies vis-à-vis Israel and Palestine.. Mr Turki goes on to instruct in detail the new administration what to do: Condemn Israel.s atrocities against the Palestinians and support a UN resolution to that effect; condemn the Israeli actions that led to this conflict, from settlement building in the West Bank to the blockade of Gaza and the targeted killings and arbitrary arrests of Palestinians; declare America.s intention to work for a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, with a security umbrella for countries that sign up and sanctions for those that do not; call for an immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Shab.ah Farms in Lebanon; encourage Israeli-Syrian negotiations for peace; and support a UN resolution guaranteeing Iraq.s territorial integrity. Mr Obama should strongly promote the Abdullah peace initiative. Finally Mr Turki notes that Iran.s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called on .Saudi Arabia to lead a jihad against Israel (that) would, if pursued, create unprecedented chaos and bloodshed.. He soothingly notes that, .So far, the kingdom has resisted these calls,. but then reiterates his threat a third time: .every day this restraint becomes more difficult to maintain. . Eventually, the kingdom will not be able to prevent its citizens from joining the worldwide revolt against Israel.. (The writer is director of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. www.danielpipes.org) URL: http://newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1159