[Peace-discuss] Saudi jet story false

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

Many Saudis Feel Betrayed By U.S.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 1:18 p.m. ET


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- On a blistering 120-degree morning in August, a 
Saudi Arabian Airlines pilot named Sultan al-Duweihi took his place in line 
for a visa outside the U.S. Embassy.

Being made to stand outside and wait was a new experience for many of the two 
dozen Saudis in line. Since Sept. 11 the rules are stricter. No longer can 
Saudis leave the paperwork to their travel agent; everyone between ages 12 
and 70 has to be interviewed by a consular officer, and approval can take 
more than five weeks.

``This is too much -- over and beyond disgusting,'' said al-Duweihi. ``Saudis 
are being collectively punished for the actions of a few.''

He was referring to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden and to the 19 hijackers, 15 of 
them Saudis, who killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11.

Americans would argue that new precautions are only natural. But Saudis feel 
betrayed by a country where many studied, vacationed and did business, and 
which they looked to as a bastion of the freedoms and human rights they long 
for.

``People see the visa line as a sign that says, 'Hey we hate you, we regard 
you with suspicion, we don't want you,''' said Khaled M. Batarfi, a managing 
editor of the Saudi newspaper Al-Madina and a journalism graduate of the 
University of Oregon.

Saudi and U.S. officials insist that government-to-government ties remain 
solid, that the basis of the relationship -- Saudi oil in return for U.S. 
protection against the kingdom's foreign enemies -- has not changed.

``The relations are there. They have existed for 70 years,'' Prince Saud, the 
foreign minister, told The Associated Press recently, and added that he saw 
nothing to indicate a change.

But at the nongovernmental level the new frostiness has been evident in one 
incident after another: Rudy Giuliani, as New York mayor, spurning a donation 
to the city from a Saudi prince; relatives of Sept. 11 victims suing Saudi 
officials, banks and charities, claiming they helped finance Osama bin 
Laden's network and the terror attacks; a U.S. defense think-tank analyst 
suggests the United States target Saudi oil fields and financial assets 
unless the kingdom does more to fight terrorism.

Without offering any specifics, U.S. officials say the Saudis are giving 
exceptional help in law enforcement and intelligence since Sept. 11, and 
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said this month he was happy with the 
relationship.

It could be that the Saudis, mindful of the tightrope they walk between the 
West and the Islamic militant movement, don't want to make their cooperation 
too public. Rumsfeld hinted as much when he said that if countries are 
helping ``and they'd prefer not to discuss it, that's their choice, and we 
can live with that, too.''

Saud has said his country is sharing with U.S. officials information obtained 
from 16 alleged members of bin Laden's network, al-Qaida, who had fled 
Afghanistan into Iran and were recently turned over to Saudi Arabia.

But another division looms, over how to deal with the Iraq question.

Saud told the AP the kingdom will not allow the United States to use Saudi 
soil for an attack on Iraq.

The remote Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh hosts most of the 5,000 
U.S. troops based in Saudi Arabia, but the United States would most likely 
use the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, which it quietly has been setting up, for 
an attack on Iraq.

Then there's the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Senior Saudis, notably Crown 
Prince Abdullah, who runs the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom, accuse the 
United States of tilting further toward Israel, and ordinary Saudis have 
expressed their anger by raising tens of thousands of dollars for the 
Palestinians.

Dawood al-Shirian, regional director of the daily Al Hayat newspaper, said 
the crisis has had an impact on Saudi-U.S. relations.

``Saudi Arabia has not yet decided whether to side with itself and improve 
its relations with Washington and let the Palestinians go to the United 
Nations, or cling to the Palestinians and their cause and sacrifice its 
relations with the United States,'' said al-Shirian.

Saudi nerves are also jangled by stories in the Saudi press as well as 
unsubstantiated hearsay about Saudis being held in U.S. jails, U.S. landlords 
not renting to Saudis and Saudis being singled out for humiliating searches 
at U.S. airports.

Nowadays Al-Riyadh daily has been carrying ads for universities in Romania, 
the Czech Republic, Malaysia, China and Arab countries as alternatives to 
U.S. colleges.

Outside the embassy, 42-year-old Ali Hassan was full of understanding when he 
arrived to apply for a visa to travel to Orlando, Fla.

``I don't mind waiting. I don't like it, but you have to understand the 
global situation,'' said Hassan as he settled into line.

But after waiting more than eight hours for a two-minute interview with a 
consular officer, he said he had changed his mind.

``I thought the whole thing would take maximum three hours,'' he said. ``But 
nine hours? That's not only humiliating. It also doesn't make any sense.''