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Monday, August 06, 2007
Today's News
- Olmert, Abbas Meet in Jericho
- by Avi Issacharof and Barak Ravid (Ha'aretz)
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced Monday, after a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Jericho, that Israel and the Palestinians would expand negotiations in efforts to establish a Palestinian state as soon as possible.
Monday’s meeting marked the first time an Israeli prime minister has visited the PA since the outbreak of the intifada, in September 2000.
- Saudi Arabia to Explore Iraq Relations
- by Lolita C. Baldor and Anne Gearan (Associated Press)
Saudi Arabia pledged Wednesday to explore opening diplomatic relations with the Shiite-led government in Iraq, an endorsement long sought by Iraq’s U.S. backers.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told the visiting U.S. secretaries of State and Defense that his country will soon send a diplomatic mission to Baghdad "and explore how we can start an embassy in Iraq."
- Saudis’ Role in Iraq Insurgency Outlined
- by Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times)
Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents and militias here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third neighbor, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior U.S. military officer and Iraqi lawmakers.
About 45% of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians and security forces are from Saudi Arabia; 15% are from Syria and Lebanon; and 10% are from North Africa.
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Setting the Record Straight
"It would be inadvisable in the extreme for the U.S. simply to pack up its forces and withdraw. The U.S. must underline its support for the Maliki government because there is no other game in town."
– Prince Turki-al Faisal, December 6, 2006, Philadelphia World Affairs Council
VS.
“In the beloved Iraq, the bloodshed is continuing under an illegal foreign occupation and detestable sectarianism. The blame should fall on us, the leaders of the Arab nation, with our ongoing differences, our refusal to walk the path of unity.”
– King Abdullah, March 28, 2007
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Need for Saudis to Play Constructive Role
TODAY'S FEATURE
 President Bush and King Abdullah
"Washington and Riyadh are clearly at odds on two of the Administration's major current Middle East policy ventures — Iraq and the Palestinians."
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by Tony Karon (Time Magazine) Despite the Bush Administration’s plan to provide $20 billion worth of advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s latest visit there to reiterate common purpose on Iraq, Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, relations between Washington and Riyadh are troubled. The two countries still share the same goals, but the Saudis are hanging tough on issues where they believe the current U.S. Administration, with only 18 months left in office, is pursuing policies that are unlikely to achieve those shared goals. Access the full article>>
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Middle East Analysis
by Ellen Knickmeyer (Washington Post)
Arab nations in the Persian Gulf are snapping up new U.S. arms offers partly out of fear that U.S. military installations on their territory would make them targets in any American war with Iran, regional experts said. …
Saudi Arabia, with Israel and Egypt, is one of the United States’ most powerful allies in the region. The United States pulled most of its forces out of the Saudi kingdom by 2003, but the five other Gulf countries host armored brigades, air-refueling sites and other installations of the U.S. Central Command. …
For the Gulf hosts, "this makes them vulnerable. It’s quite clear that if the U.S. is going to have any military strike against Iran, then they are going to use these military bases… I don’t think Iran will miss any chance to impose damage on the region," said Ibrahim Saif, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, in a telephone interview from Amman. Access the full article>>
by The Daily Star Editorial
If Saudi Arabia does in fact attend the international conference this fall, the Saudi leadership will essentially be putting its credibility on the line. The royal family risks undermining its own standing at home and across the broader Arab world if they send their own members to attend a peace conference that turns out to be nothing more than a publicity stunt and a heyday for speech writers. …
But the region is in desperate need of something more substantive than just an Arab-Israeli talkfest. The strains of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are now compounded with the chaos in Iraq and these two swamps are breeding extremists at an alarming rate. Perhaps nobody understands this better than the Saudis, and that is probably why they are willing to gamble on the prospect that the conference might achieve something. Access the full article>>
by Brian Katulis, Lawrence J. Korb, and Peter Juul, Center for American Progress
The United States can balance and leverage the two broad tracks necessary to stabilize the Middle East – Iraq’s conflicts and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Relationships strengthened by working with key countries in the region on some of the toughest issues in Iraq should facilitate efforts on multiple tracks of the Arab-Israeli conflict…
The broader goal of these efforts is to shift the current frame of perceptions about the United States throughout the region – to change widespread views that the United States simply wants to dominate and occupy countries into a more positive and constructive image that the United States seeks to serve as a partner for stability and progress in the region.
Access the full article>>
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Heard on the Street
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, said on July 29, 2007:
"Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries are not doing all they can to help us in Iraq. At times, some of them are not only not helping, but they are doing things that is undermining the effort to make progress."
Background Basics
King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
Offices: King, Prime Minister, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Historical Role: King Abdullah serves a critical role in internal Saudi politics by reconciling differences between reformist movements and traditional Islamic groups. Moreover, he continues to work with Western powers to stabilize regional conflicts in the Middle East.
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
Offices: Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, First in line to the throne
Historical Role: The Crown Prince has played a divisive role in Saudi politics for almost 45 years. He negotiated the alleged corrupt 1985 Al Yamamah arms agreement between Saudi Arabia and the U.K. Additionally, Prince Sultan denied U.S. use of Saudi bases to stage military strikes on Afghanistan. However, it was later revealed that the Kingdom allowed allied forces to operate from air bases within its borders.
Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
Offices: Minister of the Interior, Second in line to the throne
Historical Role: Prince Nayef has continually fought Western influences and relied on political support from traditional Saudi movements. Nayef denied U.S. access to several Saudis implicated in the 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers in Dhahran, which killed 19 American servicemen. In addition, he claimed that the Jewish people organized the September 11th attacks.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud
Offices: Secretary-General of the Saudi National Security Council, Former Ambassador to the U.S. (1983-2005)
Historical Role: Throughout his 22-year post as Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Bandar worked with U.S. governments in resolving Middle East conflicts. In the 2000 Camp David Summit, Prince Bandar personally urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to accept the Clinton-backed peace accord.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal bin Abdul Al-Aziz Al-Saud
Offices: Former Ambassador to the U.S. (July 2005 – December 2006)
Historical Role: Prince Turki’s abrupt departure from his Ambassadorial post after only 15 months occurred amid great controversy. Turki’s disagreements with Prince Bandar in the approach to countering Iran coupled with the illness of his brother, the Foreign Minister Prince Saud, both reportedly contributed to his resignation.
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Middle East Progress appreciates the support and cooperation of Americans for Peace Now, Geneva Initiative, Israel Policy Forum, and New Israel Fund.
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