Given the intense focus on oil production and pricing in media coverage of the Crawford Summit between Pres. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah, I’d like to draw your attention to this piece originally published by the Saudi-US Relations Organization last month.
It’s written by Herman Franssen, President of International Energy Consultants and represents his informed view of the current market. I think it does a pretty good job of showing exactly what’s going on in the oil markets. The entire piece is republished below:
A combination of market forces and supply disruptions caused oil prices to increase by a factor ten between 1973 and 1981. The impact on the global economy was catastrophic and despite earlier cries of $100 oil by 1985, high prices caused oil demand in the OECD to collapse and non-OPEC oil production to rise sharply. OPEC tried to maintain high prices through supply management but, by late 1985, spare capacity had risen to 50% of OPEC production. In 1986, OPEC changed course and it took about fifteen years for the organization to return to a comfortable market position.
Until mid 2003, most oil analysts believed that modest oil demand growth, coupled with robust non-OPEC production growth would keep oil prices at around the mid-twenties through most of this decade. What went wrong?
Oil demand exploded in 2004 largely but not exclusively due to robust Chinese oil demand and, for the first time since the 1970′s OPEC produced at capacity by the middle of 2004. Many oil market analysts had ignored early warning signs in the market of gradual tightening along much of the oil supply chain, from exploration and production to transportation and refining. The huge increase in demand in 2004 brought reality home and awareness spread that the price for decades of under-investment in the petroleum sector was higher prices in the end. Add to that supply disruptions due to the war in Iraq and smaller disruption elsewhere in a tight global market, and billions of dollars of speculative investments in paper barrels to complete the picture.
OPEC is not at fault and neither are the oil companies or the dollar; market realities have finally caught up. How long will it last? Perhaps as long as the world experiences robust economic growth and/or when OPEC succeeds in adding new spare capacity; and/or when additional deep conversion refining capacity allows for more heavy, high sulfur crude to be refined in low sulfur light products; and/or when the speculators decide to short their positions.
In the meantime, African, Latin American and poor Asian oil importing countries will be impacted most. Europe and Japan, because of their strong currencies and more efficient transportation sectors, will suffer least. We are finally paying the price for a quarter of a century of energy policy neglect.
Historical Gas Prices*Year Price Per Gallon
1950 $1.91
1955 $1.85
1960 $1.79
1965 $1.68
1970 $1.59
1975 $1.80
1980 $2.59
1985 $1.90
1990 $1.51
1995 $1.28
2001 $1.66
2002 $1.31
2003 $1.52
2004 $1.79*Prices adjusted for inflation
Source: U.S. DOE
Dr. Herman Franssen, is President of International Energy Associates in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He is associated with CSIS and the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC and MEC and CGES in London. Prior to opening his own consultancy in 1996, he was for more than a decade the Senior Economic Advisor of the Oil Minister of Oman. Dr. Franssen is a former Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency in Paris and held positions with the US Congress and the US Department of Energy. He was born and educated in The Netherlands and holds a Ph.D. in International Economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
The following is the full text of a speech by the Crown Prince to the US-Saudi Business Council in Dallas, following his meeting with President Bush. I obtained the text from Qorvis Communications, the Public Relations firm that handles PR for the Saudi government. I expect there to be a link to the text at the Saudi Embassy’s website from Washington, but it’s not yet posted there
In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful
Dear Friends:
God’s peace and blessings be upon you.
It is a pleasure to meet with you in the wake of a period that has witnessed tumultuous events and great changes in every part of the world. I am pleased to convey to you my opinion that we have overcome – with the help of God Almighty – the suffocating days and challenges, and are now at a hopeful point in time in confronting terrorism and defeating extremists, God willing, and enhancing development. This phase also holds promise for a just settlement of the Palestinian issue, which will help stem the deterioration our region has suffered in the past.
Dear Friends:
We have been able to introduce, over the past few years, long-term structural reforms, and I would like to briefly mention some of them. For example, the introduction of a tax law characterized by clarity and flexibility; the organization of the Capital Markets in a manner that corresponds to the setups of the world’s largest markets; the acceleration of privatization and the floatation of shares of public and semi-public companies through public offerings of shares; the removal of obstacles to foreign investment; and the promotion of tourism. In addition, we are also reviewing, in a comprehensive manner, our judicial system and laws with the aim of introducing more transparency and efficiency in dealing with legal cases.
All of these initiatives have created a new environment that welcomes investments and investors. And I wish to take this opportunity to encourage you to invest in the large Saudi market, with its great prospects and opportunities.
Dear Friends:
The Saudi-American partnership is a unique success story. It began with our cooperation with American companies in the exploration, production, refining and distribution of petroleum, and developed into fruitful cooperation in building the largest petrochemical industry in the region.
Because of the great importance we attach to the stability of the world energy markets, and the contribution of these markets to world economic growth, it is my pleasure to call for the convening of an international energy conference in Riyadh in the fourth quarter of this year, in which producers and consumers can discuss – with depth and transparency – the issues at hand.
You should continue to cooperate with us in the fields of minerals and gas, which open up vast areas for investment. The opportunities are great, and success is virtually assured — with the help of God – whether the investment is a direct one, or a Saudi-American joint venture.
Dear Friends:
The strong political ties which bind the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia must be accompanied by strong economic ties between the two countries. I regard your organization as one of the best channels for building economic bridges between our two countries and their private sector organizations.
In conclusion, I thank H.E. Abdulaziz Al-Quraishi for his kind speech, and wish you continued success, along with the hope that our successful partnership will continue to carry with it prosperity for our two friendly people.
May God’s peace and blessings be upon you.
The Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud Al-Faisal, also gave a press conference yesterday. This is linked at the Saudi Embassy site.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal gave a press conference in Dallas, Texas, yesterday, following the talks in Crawford between Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and U.S. President George W. Bush, which, he said, would have a positive impact on Saudi-American relations. These relations go back over 60 years, and are based on the principles of mutual respect and mutual interests.
Prince Saud commented that Crown Prince Abdullah and President Bush had discussed not only bilateral relations but other issues such as the problems of Palestine, Iraq, and Lebanon. He quoted President Bush as saying that he was concerned about restoring peace to the Middle East and establishing two independent states: Palestine and Israel. It seemed, he said, that the U.S. President would follow through on this. He confirmed that Crown Prince Abdullah had spoken of the roadmap and the Arab peace initiative. On the Lebanese issue, Prince Saud said both Saudi Arabia and the United States hope that the Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon will pave the way for a transitional government to be established and for elections to be held in that country.
On oil, Prince Saud reiterated the Kingdom’s concern to serve the interests of both oil consumers and oil producers, adding that the U.S. government had expressed appreciation for the Saudi policy in this respect. On the Saudi-U.S. Commission, he confirmed that it will be co-chaired by the two officials concerned with foreign affairs, and deal with bilateral relations. It will hold one meeting each year, alternately in the two countries. On the Kingdom’s admission to the World Trade Organization (WTO), Prince Saud said an agreement in this respect is about to be reached, with only some technical issues pending. Prince Saud made it clear that no Saudi domestic affairs were discussed during the talks.
The talks, said Prince Saud, included the situation in Iraq, and the importance of participation by all concerned parties in the political solution of the problem. He noted that the Americans had reiterated their concern for preservation of the unity and independence of Iraq and the establishment of a government that is capable of managing Iraq’s affairs.
Prince Saud confirmed that Crown Prince Abdullah has extended an invitation to President George W. Bush to visit the Kingdom, and the date of the visit will be fixed later. The Vice-President and the Secretary of State will also visit Saudi Arabia, in addition to exchanges of ministers and officials of the two countries.
Editorial: Bridge-Building Mission
It was typical that the Texas ranch meeting between Crown Prince Abdullah and US President George W. Bush should have been presented in many countries as being about soaring oil prices and how Saudi Arabia might increase oil production to help bring them down — with the war on terrorism thrown in as the sub-issue to the talks. The US media was not alone in taking this shallow view. Its counterparts in Europe, across Asia, and even here in the Middle East, chose to see the meeting in the same narrow way.
I’m pleased to see that the Arab News shares my view that media coverage of the meeting between Pres. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah was shallow. Media was focused almost exclusively on oil and missed what was really going on. Similarly, at the last Crawford Summit in 2002, the media expected Iraq to be the focus of talks when it was actually about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This unsigned Arab News editorial continues:
The price of oil and the existence of terrorism were, of course, on the agenda — Saudi Arabia wants to help, although its ability to do so by itself is overestimated. But the meeting was about so much more. It was also about peace and justice in Palestine and Iraq. Most of all, it was about reaffirming and strengthening relations between two countries that want to work together, that can do so, but which at times have found the going to be an uphill struggle since 9/11.
The Saudi-American relationship is a complex one but has so much to offer, not only to Saudis and Americans in terms of business and prosperity, but to the region and wider world because of the two countries’ geopolitical roles and influence. It is a relationship that has to be worked on at the moment. There are those in both countries who want it to collapse and who spend their time spouting venom about the other to achieve just that. And, terrifyingly, that has worked. There is an unprecedented degree of mutual suspicion and loathing at the grass-root level. Just as too many ordinary Americans now think of Arabs, and more particularly Saudis, as “the enemy,†so too do many ordinary Arabs view Americans in the same way. There is a deep vein of anti-Americanism present in Arab pubic opinion at present which, at its worst, fuels the terrorist mindset and needs to be removed urgently.
That is what the Abdullah-Bush meeting set out to do. And it succeeded even if the world media did not notice. The decision to increase the number of students, visitors and business travelers between the two nations, and in particular Washington’s agreeing to ease travel to the US by Saudi businessmen and students, is a step toward a healthier relationship of potentially massive consequence. The difficulties that Saudis have experienced in getting into the US since 9/11 have been a major factor in fueling anti-American attitudes here. This policy reversal should go some considerable way to undoing the damage.
Saudi Arabia will, sadly, still be misunderstood and maligned for some time to come by both the American and the international media. Only through familiarity will the stereotypical image of the “oil-rich, mystery desert Kingdomâ€, beloved of so many reporters abroad, start to vanish. The Texas summit has taken a step toward making that happen. It was a bridge-building exercise, enabling an old friendship to be forged anew. History will see it as a success.
UPDATE: You might be interested in reading the full transcript of the press briefing given by Secretary of State Rice and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley following the meeting. It (slightly) addresses issues beyond the price of oil, including ways in which the Saudis can be helpful in Iraq, Israel-Palestine, and extremism.
__________________________
Media reporting on the Crawford, TX meeting between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah continues. Most of the reporting seems to take a negative spin when it comes to the issue of oil. Given that the Saudis are pumping at near-capacity and that the problems seem to lie more in the refining and demand sectors, this is a little surprising. Did anyone expect a quick fix? Even if an extra supply of crude oil appeared magically overnight, it would still take weeks for that crude to make its way to US refineries. And then what?
At present, US refineriese are operating at full bore, producing an array of state-specific blends of gasoline. Some refineries are suffering short-term reductions and stoppages due to accidents, refitting, and as we saw during last year’s hurricane season, even the weather.
At present, Saudi Arabia provides something between 16%-18% of US oil imports. Increased production by the Saudis, to whatever limit is possible, will not have a direct effect on US gas prices. If it can increase production, as the Saudi government plans to do over the next few years, it could have an effect on global supply. But oil is and always will be a finite resource. Eventually, it’s going to run out. The President makes note of that in his current energy bill through his continued support of hydrogen fuels.
Unlike in 1973 when the Saudis used the “oil weapon” to punish the US for its military resupply of Israel during that year’s war with the Arab states, the Saudis are now extremely dependent on the global economy’s remaining stable. The Saudis certainly depend on oil production–and oil prices–to fuel their own economy. But hundreds of billions of Saudi money–mostly in dollars–is invested around the world. The Saudis also count on that money. A global economic crisis, for whatever reason, would have disasterous effects on the Saudi economy as much as it would on the US economy. The Saudis have no interest in damaging their own pocketbook by restricting oil production.
With that, here are some of the lead stories about the meeting…
Bush and Saudi Prince Discuss High Oil Prices in Ranch Meeting
Richard W. Stevenson– The New York TimesCRAWFORD, Tex., April 25 – President Bush discussed the surge in oil prices with Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on Monday, but focused on a plan by the Saudis to increase their oil-pumping capacity over the next decade rather than on any short-term efforts to bring prices down…
Officials said there was no explicit request by Mr. Bush for short-term steps to bring down rising oil and gasoline prices, which are threatening to take a toll on the economy in the United States and are already pulling down the president’s approval ratings. They said that Mr. Bush and other officials had already signaled to the Saudis that they wanted a commitment to pump more oil in the short run, and that last week the Saudi oil minister had publicly expressed a willingness to do so.
The officials said the Saudis used the meeting to detail for Mr. Bush the steps they intended to take to cushion the global market from future increases in demand from fast-growing economies like China and India, and from the United States and other industrial nations…
Saudi Arabia’s plans to increase production capacity are politically and geologically sensitive. In the Middle East, the Saudis have been criticized for increasing production to help the United States; the most extreme of those critics has been Osama bin Laden.
Some experts, including past and present officials of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, have said the plan may be too optimistic because of geological complexities in the oil fields and challenges in finding enough technology and labor.
Bush, Saudi Fail to Reach Deal to Lower Gas Prices: Abdullah Relays Country’s Plan to Boost Capacity
Michael A. Fletcher The Washington PostCRAWFORD, Tex., April 25 — President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah emerged from their meeting here Monday with no agreement that would lower gasoline prices in the near term, although Saudi Arabia reiterated plans to increase oil production capacity in coming years in an effort to meeting fast-growing world demand.
Bush has pressed the Saudis in recent weeks to help lower gasoline prices soon by increasing crude oil production, but Abdullah and his delegation responded here by explaining their long-term strategy to invest $50 billion over five years in a plan that would eventually increase the kingdom’s oil production capacity by close to 50 percent.
The price hikes, said Adel al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to Abdullah, are a result of a confluence of factors, including increased demand, limited refinery capacity, a lack of spare production capacity and the fear permeating the market because of the ongoing violence in Iraq.
“There is no shortage of crude oil,” he said. “It would not make a difference if we put an extra 1.5 [million] to 2 million barrels of oil on the market.”
Some oil policy experts agreed there is relatively little Saudi Arabia can do in the short run to lower oil prices. The country is producing about 9.5 million barrels of oil a day — close to its nearly 11 million-barrel capacity…
“They are scared to death about the effect of long-term high prices,” said David E. Long, a specialist on the Saudis and a former diplomat, explaining that such prices increase incentives for investment in alternative forms of energy, ultimately curbing demand for crude oil.
Saudi gives Bush no assurance on short-term oil
Joseph Curl The Washington TimesCRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush yesterday pressed Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah to increase the flow of crude oil from his nation’s vast reserves, but failed during their meeting to win any short-term relief for Americans pummeled by sky-high gasoline prices.
Instead, Bush administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, touted long-range plans already offered by the Saudis to increase capacity and production by several million barrels per day by the end of the decade…
Mr. Bush and other administration officials said that as part of a long-term solution, the Senate must vote quickly on a comprehensive energy strategy, approved by the House, that includes tapping U.S. oil reserves in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
“One thing is for certain: I need to sign an energy bill. I appreciate the House passing the energy bill. And now it’s time for the Senate to pass the energy bill,” Mr. Bush said.
The House twice passed an energy bill during Mr. Bush’s first term, but both times Senate Democrats blocked the legislation by filibuster, a move they appear ready to repeat.
This piece on how the oil industry is viewing the meeting is pretty illuminating:
Oil Slips to $54 After Saudi Assurance
ReutersLONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices eased for a second day on Tuesday as traders booked profits from a week-long rise after Saudi Arabia said it could quickly tap spare oil production capacity if necessary.
U.S. light crude
last traded down 31 cents to $54.26 a barrel, extending Monday’s 82-cent loss in New York. London Brent crude was down 9 cents to $54.31. Prices were dampened by renewed signs of rising OPEC supply and comments from the world’s leading exporter Saudi Arabia that it was ready to tap spare capacity if buyers needed more oil.
OPEC oil producers are pumping 30.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, up 700,000 bpd from March, leading tanker tracking consultancy Petrologistics said on Tuesday.
Petrologistics’ preliminary estimate for the month would put OPEC April supply above the 25-year output high hit last September and October. During those months, supply rose to 30.15 million bpd, according to Reuters surveys.
Adel al-Jubeir, foreign affairs adviser to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Abdullah, said after a meeting between President Bush and Abdullah in Texas that world oil supplies were adequate, but the kingdom was willing to provide as much crude oil as buyers wanted.
The kingdom is producing slightly over 9.5 million bpd, with between 1.3 million and 1.4 million bpd in spare production capacity that could quickly be tapped, Jubeir said.
Saudi Arabia is expected to provide most of a 500,000-bpd supply increase in OPEC supplies next month, the cartel’s President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, said last week.
“The Saudi comment has had an affect. Also, the market is struggling to push much higher without any substantial change in supply, shock news or increasing demand,” said Daniel Hynes, a commodities analyst at ANZ Bank in Melbourne.
While many analysts see sufficient supplies of crude oil and products in the short term they remain wary about constraints on global refining capacity and a possible shortage of products later in the year.
A spate of technical glitches in Louisiana, Texas and Kansas has raised fears that refineries may struggle to meet an expected rise in gasoline demand this summer.
Additional stories–essentially similar in coverage–can be found at The Financial Times and ABC business news.
Kingdom Weighs Visas on Arrival
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 26 April 2005 — Saudi Arabia is studying the possibility of issuing business and tourist visas at airports as part of its efforts to attract foreign investment and tourists, according to Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“The Kingdom has set up a committee comprising representatives of various government departments to work out mechanisms to issue visas to businessmen and tourists at airports,†Asharq Al-Awsat daily quoted Jeraisy as saying.
Jeraisy hoped that the committee would adopt recommendations that would enable businessmen and tourists to get visas at airports instead of from Saudi missions abroad. Many GCC countries have already started issuing such visas on arrival.
This could be an important break-through for both businesspeople and tourists who wish to visit Saudi Arabia. The current process is laborious and time-consuming. Whether the different offices that currently have a say in whether or not a visa is issued–particularly the security services–will go along is another matter. I’ll keep an eye on this for future developments.
The White House has released a transcript of both a joint press statement and the President’s Q&A with journalists that took place before the meeting.
In the press statement, both countries acknowledged the importance of the role Saudi Arabia is playing in the war against terror. Pointed out was the Riyadh Declaration
“which calls for, ‘fostering values of understanding, tolerance, dialogue, co-existence, and the rapprochement between
cultures. . . [and] for fighting any form of thinking that promotes hatred, incites violence, and condones terrorist crimes which can by no means be accepted by any religion or law.’”
Also on the agenda were oil production, Saudi accession to the WTO, Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, and of course the Israeli-Palestinian issue:
With regard to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia desire a just, negotiated settlement wherein two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security. We will continue our efforts to achieve this objective, and reiterate our support for the efforts of the Palestinian Authority to bring democracy, peace, and prosperity to all Palestinians. The United States thanks Crown Prince Abdullah for his bold initiative-adopted unanimously by the Arab Summit in 2002-that seeks to encourage an Israel-Palestinian and Israel-Arab peace. We believe that an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank will be a significant step forward toward implementation of the Road Map. It is our firm conviction that resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will remove a major source of tension and contribute to stability and progress in the region.
The statement ended with the following:
Finally, the United States and Saudi Arabia agree that our future relations must rest on a foundation of broad cooperation. We must work to expand dialogue, understanding, and interactions between our citizens. This will include programs designed to (1) increase the number of young Saudi students to travel and study in the United States; (2) increase our military exchange programs so that more Saudi officers visit the United States for military education and training; and (3) increase the number of Americans traveling to work and study in the Kingdom. The United States recognizes we must exert great efforts to overcome obstacles facing Saudi businessmen and students who wish to enter the United States and we pledge to our Saudi friends that we will take on this effort. A high-level joint committee has been established to be headed by the Saudi Foreign Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State that will deal with strategic issues of vital importance to the two countries.
The Arab News take on the meeting goes over the same points, with very little difference in emphasis, but does add that the Crown Prince will also be meeting with former President Clinton.
An Associated Press article manages to accentuate the negative by turning innocuous statements into refusals and snubs, however. When the President asks for the Saudis to increase oil production, he’s talking about long-term efforts, no anything that will suddenly produce an extra couple million barrels of oil tomorrow. The Saudis are already noted for pumping at full capacity now; to expand production means opening new wells, something that’s not done overnight. The article does note that Saudi advisor Adel Al-Jubeir points out that US refineries are a choke-point and a major factor in pricing. With nearly a dozen different standards for “gasoline” among the states, it’s actually not surprising that refineries are the bottleneck and that any problem with them immediately increases the price at the pump.
Another AP report cites Amb. Robert Jordan, who was my ambassador during my posting to Riyadh:
Despite the difficult matters, Robert Jordan, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said the stage was set for a much friendlier meeting than three years ago for Abdullah’s first visit to the ranch. For one thing, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a polarizing figure, is now gone – replaced by an elected president of the Palestinians, Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas will have his own meeting with Bush in the next few weeks.
Not so surpisingly, though, yet another AP industrial report notes:
Crude oil futures slipped Monday as President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah met, in part, to discuss possible ways to bring down high oil prices.Light, sweet crude for June delivery was down 42 cents at $54.97 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Heating oil futures were down nearly a cent at $1.536 a gallon, while unleaded gasoline climbed 2.37 cents to $1.676 a gallon.
In London, Brent crude was down 10 cents at $54.90 on the International Petroleum Exchange.
The Saudi-US Information Service–a non-profit organization, part of the National Council on US-Arab Relations–is following the Crown Prince’s visit with the President closely. The group has very usefully put together a set of links (which I’m lifting, with gratitude) on this summit as well as for the Crown Prince’s first visit in 2002. I’ll be revisiting their site and also scouring the net for other links, to be posted later.
-
Saudi Prince, Bush to Meet, Talk Issues – Oil Prices, Terror Issues May Create Tense Moments During Prince Abdullah-President Bush Meeting (AP)
Cheney Meets With Saudi Prince in Texas (AP)
Bush urged to press Saudis for release of dissidents (AFP)
Bush ranch summit with Saudi leader may be tense (Houston Chronicle)
Saudis said to plan energy boost (CNN) Crown Prince Abdullah’s reform credentials put him in a strong position (Daily Star–Beirut)
What Should Be the Focus of Talks Between Bush, Abdullah
Hassan Yassin, Arab NewsPresident George W. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia have a lot in common. They both come from places where family and traditional values are of great importance. They both govern following in the footsteps of their fathers and their brothers hold prominent governing roles. But most importantly they are both known to speak their minds and to believe strongly in what they say.
Here’s a good opinion piece on what the Saudis are looking for from Crown Prince Abdullah’s visit to Crawford. Palestine is sure to dominate the talks, but Iraq, democracy in Lebanon, and democratic reform in Saudi Arabia will also be covered. I look forward to reports following the visit.
Saudi Women Break Another Social Barrier
Judy Al-Bakr, Arab NewsRIYADH, 23 April 2005 — Three Saudi women have valiantly withstood social stigmas and defied traditions when they started their jobs as waitresses in a five-star hotel in Jeddah around two months ago.
Ameera, Awatef and Amna are the first Saudi waitresses. All three were students at Abdul Latif Jameel Fund for Training and Development majoring in housekeeping. Most of the course was for free for the three.
After graduating with 13 other Saudi women, they were guided by ALJ to the five-star hotel where they were accepted after an interview. They work on shifts of nine hours a day and have a weekly day-off.
Again, this looks like a little story. After all, waitresses have been around quite a while. But in the context of Saudi Arabia, this is a very big story.
It’s great that Saudi women are taking jobs that Saudi society had viewed with a very jaundiced eye. Equally important, though, is how the action of these three women will shame those Saudi men who continue to turn up their noses at any position below management. If a job is honorable enough for their sisters, men have no way to claim that it’s not good enough for them.
Four Die as Militants in Women’s Guise Trigger Shootout Near Makkah
Samir Al-Saadi & Abdul Maqsood Mirza, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 22 April 2005 — Four people, including two suspected militants, were killed in clashes with security forces yesterday in the holy city of Makkah, an official statement said.
They said two security men were also killed and four injured in the shootout, the fourth incident involving militants in Makkah in a year. Two wanted militants were arrested after the gunbattle that took place yesterday afternoon in the area of Umm Al-Joud located southeast of Makkah.
According to Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, a group of men ran a checkpoint disguised as women.
The Saudi war on terror continues….
Ever since the May, 2003 bombings in Riyadh, and increasingly since the November 2003 bombings, the Saudis have established security check-points on the roads leading into and out of major cities. Security forces are pretty well trained in what to watch for–besides their own knowledge of what looks right or wrong within their cultural milieu.
They’ve been very effective–somewhat surprisingly so, in fact–in assessing the situation and stopping the bad guys. But they’ve also been paying a fairly heavy price in doing so. To date, the number of terrorists and terrorist suspects killed has barely exceeded the number of security forces killed.
KUWAIT CITY, 20 April 2005 — In a first step toward granting women full political rights, Kuwaiti lawmakers agreed yesterday to allow women to vote and run in local council elections, but the measure requires more legislative action before it would become law.
Once again using foreign news to exert leverage on local politics, this Arab News article highlights changes taking place in Kuwaiti political development.
This story was widely covered by pan-Arab satellite TV channels, so it was no breaking news scoop to run it in a Saudi paper. But by running it, the paper intentionally underscores the differences in political freedoms and women’s rights, keeping the pressure on both government and society.
Militants Losing Ground in Saudi Arabia: Gardner
Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab NewsRIYADH, 19 April 2005 — BBC security correspondent, Frank Gardner, who was seriously wounded in the Kingdom when he was attacked by militants 10 months ago, said insurgency in Saudi Arabia was on the back foot with the Saudi security services gaining in confidence and skill.
Gardner was speaking to the BBC Sunday when he resumed his work after a prolonged period of medical treatment, initially in the Kingdom and then in Britain.“Since the attack, the Saudi authorities have engaged in numerous shootouts with the militants, killing many of the key figures and uncovering large caches of arms and explosives,†he told the BBC.
On June 6, Gardner was one of two BBC staffers sprayed with bullets by unknown gunmen in the suburb of Suweidi in the south of Riyadh. The other man, Simon Cumbers, 35, succumbed to injuries on the spot while Gardner was taken to King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH) on instructions from the Riyadh Governor Prince Salman ibn Abdul Aziz.
I had the pleasure to work with Frank Gardner when I worked out of the US Embassy in Riyadh. He was one of the better journalists covering the Middle East, one who combined good reporter’s skills with terrific background in the region. I was stunned to hear of his being attacked in Riyadh last year.
Happily, he’s now back to work. He gives his view on how well the Saudis are working on their anti-terror program from a somewhat privileged perspective. I recommend the whole article.