Top US official blasted for anti-Saudi remarks

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Top US official blasted for anti-Saudi remarks

13-01-2004

RIYADH, Arab News — Saudi Arabia yesterday reacted angrily to a tendentious campaign led by US hawks after Richard Perle, an adviser to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, lumped the Kingdom in the “axis of evil”.

Perle told CNN on Sunday, “The Saudis qualify for their own membership in the axis of evil,” which President George Bush had named as Iran, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea.

“I hope that those who believe we are now getting full cooperation are right,” he added, referring to Saudi Arabia’s role in the US-led war on terror.

“I have yet to see the evidence,” Perle charged in the latest assault on the Kingdom by influential US neo-conservatives.

Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi ambassador in London, branded Perle a “Zionist extremist”.

The envoy told the Al-Hayat newspaper that Perle “has predicted the disintegration of Saudi Arabia and expressed his own point of view much more than that of Washington.”

Saudi Arabia owed its existence to “God, followed by its faithful people,” he added.

The Okaz newspaper set the tone of the riposte in the media. “The hawks stubbornly follow the same political line they laid out for this administration to impose their hegemony over the world,” it said.

“While the whole world refuses war as a means of settling conflict … Washington is alone against the tide, losing friends and making enemies,” the daily said.

Okaz warned that tolerating campaigns directed against one of its strategic interests, the (Bush) administration was acting against American interests.

Al-Watan hit out at such “irresponsible statements” which the daily accused were part of a “tendentious campaign”.

“Richard Perle, one of the main planners of the war in Iraq, only knows the language of force, murder and destruction,” the paper said. “From his statements and those of his ilk, we do not believe that the United States wants to improve its image in the world.”

The Al-Yaum branded Perle a “rotten fruit … dishing out accusations left and right.”

“Through its flagrant interference in the affairs of other states,” Washington was becoming “a tool destroying world peace,” added Al-Jazirah daily.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=37957&d=13&m=1&y=2004

Comment:

After being a loyal supporter of America for a very long time the saudis now find themselves described as the axis of evil.

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Saudi regime are fools if they thought being Americas best friend would help them they fooling no one but themselves.

They where told years ago can't trust American regime now its coming back to haunt them.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by ak47: *
Saudi regime are fools if they thought being Americas best friend would help them they fooling no one but themselves.

They where told years ago can't trust American regime now its coming back to haunt them.
[/QUOTE]

The same feeling is quite prominent in the US about Saudi.

The feeling is that the ties that this country has with extremist elements is too deep set for change.....

Especially Saudi, since the 9/11 terrorists/heroes had very extensive saudi connections.

So what is new about this...

BTW, this is not neccersarily my opinion so no point in splitting hairs on this with me....

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Toddytapper: *

The same feeling is quite prominent in the US about Saudi.

The feeling is that the ties that this country has with extremist elements is too deep set for change.....

Especially Saudi, since the 9/11 terrorists/heroes had very extensive saudi connections.

[/QUOTE]

There a big difference in your comparison.

America is a country with colonial ideas they go around the world using and abusing nations for there own benefit.

Saudi is not a colonial nation you cannot say saudi is a world player at all. What political leverage does Saudi have none have you ever seen or heard a Saudi policy on the world stage NO is the answer!

Saudi military, security and even its oil weapon are firmly in the hands of outsiders i.e Amerika. They rely on America for almost everything from basic soap to military hardware.

As for the 9/11 example you gave without going of topic too much as these things tend to do, The b ladin family was offered unbeliveable protection in the US after this incident, The US government has massive connections to these people and the Report out in 2003 which was investigation into 9/11 had several pages related to Saudi which where blanked out.

Now either the US is embarrased by the revelations on these blank pages or they got something to hide.

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AK 47,

See my point is that

Such anti Saudi feelings are rife in American society as a whole and many officials have actually said so poenly so there is no need to be surprised about this particular comment

The two facedness of American policy is well known and frankly they are very consistant....

The 9/11 was just one example, there are plenty more.

Actually I agree that the comment showed that they are two faced, but then the American attitude has always been that Foreign Policy makes for strange bedfellows.....

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toddy

on this point about saudi regime i will agree with u, but also the policy of having a foriegn policy of using and abusing other nations is not good.

It will create animosity and you can see around the world the anti americanism there is right now as a result of adopting this type of policy.