Zogby Says Saudis Need Better PR Strategy in US (use smart Saudi women)

[Gloria]

From the new World Media Watch up now at http://www.zianet.com/insightanalytical
Tomorrow at Buzzflash.com


4//Arab News, Saudi Arabia Wednesday, 22, February, 2006 (23, Muharram, 1427)

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=78200&d=22&m=2&y=2006



ZOGBY SAYS SAUDIS NEED BETTER PR STRATEGY IN US

Javid Hassan, Arab News



RIYADH, 22 February 2006 — The Kingdom needs to hone the communication skills of “smart Saudi women” to put across its message effectively to the American audience, said a prominent Arabist intellectual from the US during a press conference here yesterday.



“The country is wasting its resources in trying to reach out to the Americans through their media. Such a strategy has turned out to be counter-productive,” James Zogby, president of the Arab-American Institute (AAI), told mediapersons at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce & Industry (CSCCI).



Pointing out that Saudi Arabia should review its communication strategy, Zogby said talented Saudi women from the mass media could be mobilized to explain the Saudi point of view to the target audience, such as the American youth, the elite, opinionmakers and other influential people in the US.



Zogby also disclosed that current thinking in the US administration was in favor of relaxing visa restrictions for students and businessmen wishing to visit the US. “They do realize that they were overreacting to events in the aftermath of Sept. 11. New procedures would be put in place by the State Department. As a result, the restrictions would be eased somewhat,” he said.



He said it was a smart move on the part of the Saudi government to try to send more students to the US. This would increase pressure on the State Department to rationalize the visa procedure for both students and the business community.

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[Canuckistanian]

1. Yes, because Saudi women are an example to us all

I can't imagine a freer group than Sau'di women. They're so.. so... liberated.

Now if only someone could find someone to DRIVE them to their next speaking engagement...

[Hello_Kitty]

2. This makes my head hurt

I've no doubt there are plenty of smart and articulate Saudi women but there's no way one of them is gonna convince me of the validity of that culture vis a vis the treatment of women and Shariah law.

As for issuing more student visas, while I'm certain the vast majority of Saudi students simply want to study and mean us no harm, I really don't think that country is entitled to perks like that, given their history of harboring and supporting terrorists. Why don't they build their own damn schools?

[Azathoth]

3. No offense, but screw Zogby

This isn't a Frank Luntz-style spin-it-till-it-looks-good situation. Saudi Arabia is a repressive regime led by a sect of fundamentalists who maintain rigid control over Saudi society and actively preach violence and jihad against the West. Saudi women do not live as first class citizens, and getting a handful of "smart Saudi women" to promote the "Saudi point of view" is a lot like Republicans rounding up a handful of African-Americans and having them try to convince the rest of the country that the GOP actually cares about the plight of the black community. If Zogby really wants to see the US relax things like visa restrictions, then he's going to have to address some inconvenient problems on the Saudi end of things, like why most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis and why nearly all of the foreign suicide bombers in Iraq are Saudis.

[Hekate]

4. That's kind of what I thought

This problem really, really cannot be wished away. The way women are treated per the Saudi culture, government, religion, and custom is not one of "perception" but of harsh reality.

Saudi Arabia is on the short list of countries that I, as an American woman, would not want to visit for very long, much less live in for an extended period. Let's just say it's a girl thing.

Hekate

[JDPriestly]

5. You mean like Carmen Bin Laden?

Apparently, Carmen Bin Laden was European, moved to Saudi Arabia and married one of Osama Bin Laden's brothers. She left Saudi Arabia because she did not want her daughters to live the lives of Saudi women. She said.

"But, you know, for me, as a mother of two daughters at the time, what was bothering me was that I was wondering what their future would be as a woman in that society.

In Saudi Arabia, a woman can be independent financially and own property, but morally she's always under the tutorship of a male relative."


http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/07/15/cnna.carmen.bl/

Her book is entitled "Inside the Kingdom."