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Saudi prince calls for end to U.S. tensionsCalls claim that his country nurtures Islamic terrorists 'unfair'
From Elise Labott
DETROIT, Michigan (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia and the United States must move beyond stereotypes created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and build upon their historically close ties, the Saudi foreign minister said Tuesday. "Contrary to the perceptions advanced by some in the media, well over 90 percent of the Saudi people reject [Osama] bin Laden and what he stands for," said Prince Saud al-Faisal, citing opinion polls taken by American pollsters in Saudi Arabia. His comments were made during a foreign policy address to the U.S.-Arab Economic Forum, a gathering this week aimed at fostering better ties between the United States and the Arab world. Saud said bin Laden nurtured a hatred for both the United States and Saudi Arabia, and chose mainly Saudis to carry out the attacks to "drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the United States." As a result, the prince said, Saudi Arabia is facing "an organized campaign waged against the kingdom by some in the United States. "We are accused of having global ambitions and of supporting a global jihad, presumably to turn the world into an Islamic one," he said. "Come on. If the great powers on Earth, from the Roman Empire in ancient times to the United States today, could not change the world in their image, do you really believe that a small country like Saudi Arabia can? How absurd." Although he acknowledged that Saudi Arabia is a conservative Islamic country, he said it can be accused only of "insularity, and that we prefer to be left alone. "Yes, 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi. But should everything else be forgotten, including the fact that we are being targeted by the same terrorists?" he said. "It is inherently unfair to allow a group of deviant criminals to taint a nation of 16 million." The foreign minister said Saudi leaders have declared "a relentless war not only on the terrorists but also on those who support their ideology, fund and sustain them, or provide justification for their acts." He pointed to the breakup of al Qaeda cells, the arrest of more than 500 people of various nationalities who are suspected of terrorism, the freezing of assets of suspects and enactment of laws against terror funding. He said one of the most "painful consequences" of the September 11 attacks was the effect of new security measures in the United States, which are doing "great damage" to people-to-people contact between Americans and Saudis. "Virtually every Saudi family has a member who is a student, a medical patient, a businessman or a tourist in America. The difficulties they encounter obtaining a visa, and the process they go through when they arrive in America, brought this interaction almost to a standstill," he said. "This, to say the least, is not conducive to maintaining the healthy relations that existed between our two countries. "The undeniable truth is that the measures against Saudis in this respect are alienating them and negatively impacting trade and investment, without an equal return to the security of American citizens," said the prince, who graduated in 1964 from Princeton University with an economics degree. He said Saudi Arabia hoped the U.S. government would re-examine its policies. A number of discussions at this week's conference centered on the need for Arab countries to open their societies to attract investment and development. The prince said Saudi Arabia was undergoing political, educational and economic reforms to create a better climate for growth -- but would not jeopardize the stability of the kingdom. "The government is moving with deliberate speed on a very ambitious reform program designed to bring about change, while at the same time maintaining the social cohesion that binds the nation," he said. "Our leaders absolutely refuse to experiment with the lives of our people and their well-being." He also said that for the Middle East to develop, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved. Delivering a quote from Avraham Burg, former speaker of Israel's Knesset, he said, "There is no middle path. We must remove all the settlements -- all of them -- and draw an internationally recognized border between the Jewish national home and the Palestinian national home." With regard to Iraq, the foreign minister called on the international community to end its bickering at the United Nations and commit to rebuilding the country. "The international community must assure the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq while it transforms itself according to the wishes of its people," he said. "Those who can help should do so with good will. Recrimination and accusation only stymie efforts."
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