Saudi: "America Can No Longer Be Trusted"

[BurtWorm]

Nawaf Obaid is current the Managing Director of the Saudi National Security Assessment Project, a government consultancy based in Riyadh.

He is author of The Oil Kingdom at 100: Petroleum Policymaking in Saudi Arabia (Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2000). he is also an Adjunct Fellow in the Office of the Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC where he co-authored, with Anthony Cordesman, National Security in Saudi Arabia: Threats, Responses, and Challenges.

He has a BSFS from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, an MA in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and completed doctoral courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program.

http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/articles/2006/interviews/060822-obaid-interview.html

SUSRIS: How has the Lebanon crisis affected the US-Saudi relationship?

Mr. Nawaf Obaid: On the professional level, the government-to-government relationship, it hasn’t changed. But it must be said that the handling of the crisis has caused a substantial amount of embarrassment for the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia came through with, what could be called “its part of the bargain.” The Kingdom was forthright in its perspective of what Hizbollah was doing. It stepped up to the plate by offering political coverage for other countries to come in and condemn what Hizbollah had done. That was made with the hope that America would rein in the Israelis. The reality proved to be the complete opposite. To some extent that embarrassed the Saudi leadership while at the same time it gave Hizbollah support within the wider Arab and Muslim world.

The expectation was that both sides would rein in their respective, if you want, constituencies. That would put an end to it, to put an end to the Israeli attack on Lebanon while beginning to isolate or sideline Hezbollah’s operations there. It actually backfired because one side did do what was needed -- Saudi Arabia came out with strong statements -- and the other side, the Americans, did absolutely nothing. And this is what led to the situation we are in today.

SUSRIS: What do you think will be the fallout of, as you put it, one side not fulfilling “its side of the bargain?”

Obaid: If there is any fallout, it is the matter of trust. This episode has really dampened trust toward the Bush Administration. The view creeping up in government circles now is that America can no longer be trusted.

SUSRIS: How would you characterize the response to this crisis among the Saudi public?

Obaid: I wouldn’t be surprised if the US had the lowest rating in Saudi Arabia. It was very low before -- the people to people situation. It has sunk even lower now.

More worrisome than popularity, as I mentioned, is the fact that a feeling of mistrust has crept into the government, within the echelons of higher government in Saudi Arabia.



...


<Much more at the link. This is a fascinating interview from the Saudi perspective on the situation in the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Iran. The Bushists will ignore it all, of course, as will the media. And we very proabably will get walked even deeper into the muck.>

[opihimoimoi]

1. When any Nation acts LOLO....they deserve to lose TRUST

[BurtWorm]

2. SUSRIS: What is your evaluation of likely courses in Iraq?

Obaid: We’ve spent more than a year on a major assessment on Iraq this year. It was an independent assessment for the government and our conclusion was that there will be a split up of the country.

In that presentation we outlined the situation from Saudi Arabia’s perspective. The facts are that the Kingdom is the largest creditor for Iraq. It is the country that is the natural bastion of the main Sunni tribes in Iraq. You know they always look to Saudi Arabia as their natural base because that’s where they mostly come from.

You know there was a lot Saudi Arabia could have done in the beginning if the Americans were ready to listen. From the beginning it was very clear the Bush Administration had no intention to listen to Saudi Arabia whatsoever. That approach has influenced what we are seeing today -- especially dealing with the insurgents, and dealing with Al-Qaeda and dealing with all of these people.

[madrchsod]

3. remember the saudi`s told bush to end the idf/hezbollah war

and he didn`t? bad move george, i guess there will be no more hand handing in texas.you fucked over the big boys -i guess bin boy was right after all.....

[BurtWorm]

4. Here's how big they fucked up

SUSRIS: The visa issue and security advisories have been raised as impediments to business relationships as well. Do you have a sense of the state of business ties?

Obaid: On the business side the American firms are just not present. There is going to be more business going to the Europeans, to the Chinese. The Americans are just not there on the ground. It is beginning to have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship.

SUSRIS: What is it Americans don’t understand about Saudi Arabia that you wish that they did?

Obaid: These days they don’t seem to understand anything about Saudi Arabia. They seem to believe more what Fox News has to say or what people who have never been to Saudi Arabia have to say about Saudi Arabia rather than what is actually going on here.

I think the major issue is to try to get people out here more and see what is going on, to see firsthand what is going on. Don’t rely on Fox News or on some analysts who have never actually been to the country.

[leesa]

11. Third biggest investors here, right? We've all but lost China. Thank God

he took that Japanese nutball PNACer to Graceland or it would have been three strikes.

[elehhhhna]

5. Fuckall. HE pissedoff the Saudi's?1!!!11! Who's left?

[BurtWorm]

6. kick

[Spearman87]

7. Did anybody do the whole slide show

.....sublink where they break down the situation in Iraq and predict a civil war/fractured state.

They estimate the “armed strength of the insurgency” to be 77,000+!! Holy Mother of God!

[bdamomma]

8. if george keeps pushing the Saudis, the Saudis will tell him to get

the Saudis will tell him to get our military out of their backyard.

[onethatcares]

9. amazing, and all that the bunnypants admin will do

is have the heritage foundation come up with more reasons to attack Iran. Who else would have the insight into Mid East countries other than others in the Mid East??? But, * has had a rough week and needs to go see mommy. I can just picture the Saudis turning the spigot off a little at a time.

Don't get me wrong, I still have distrust about the BenLaden family being flown out of the country after 9/11, but Mr. Obaid makes much more sense than Rumfilled or Condi ever did.

[DoYouEverWonder]

10. Dimson is no Poppy Bush

When the Arabs say they no longer 'trust' you, that is bad news. Hey Georgie Boy, buy a clue, you just got on their shit list. Watch out for that left hand next time.

[Nikki Stone 1]

12. Pot. Kettle. Black.

Like the Saudis are so goddamned trustworthy.

Edited to add:

On the other hand, I can't imagine why Junior is intent on losing every ME ally we have.

[Ikonoklast]

13. Efff the Saudis

They have played both sides against the middle for too long. They tell the west what they want to hear, and then go and fund the madrasses that teach hatred and intolerance. When it was perceived that Iraq threatened the Saudi oil fields during the Kuwait invasion, we were their bestest friends in all the world.

We should not be their "friends" or their "enemies", we should have a business relationship with them. If they had no oil, they wouldn't even have that from us or the rest of the world. The Bush family would be destitute if not for the Saudis.

They are still an oppressive tyranny and will be so for the foreseeable future.

One hundred years from now, after all their oil has been pumped and sold, they will have nothing. Nothing.