The National Council of US-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) recently concluded its annual conference in Washington, DC. Videos, audio files, and transcripts of the conference are available at NCUSAR’s website, though not all speakers are yet posted online. Many of them are, however, including the transcript [10-page PDF] of a session that brought together Saudi Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir, US Ambassador James Smith, and several former US Ambassadors to the Kingdom.
I’d like to point out something said by US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, James Smith, said:
And the first thing I would tell you, it is not 2001, it is not 2003 and it is not 2004. So as an American, if you formed an opinion about Saudi Arabia or Saudis in the aftermath of 911, it is time to rethink your position. And as a Saudi if you formed an opinion about the United States and Americans in the aftermath of that it is time to rethink your opinion; that was eight years ago. Ours is an era of hope and expectation.
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This, I think, is the most important thing to keep in mind when approaching the issue of US-Saudi relations today. For many reasons, the US of 2001 does not exist today; for an equal array of reasons, the Saudi Arabia of 2001 is not the Saudi Arabia of today, either. It is pure mental blindness to not recognize those changes, nearly all of them for the better.
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November:23:2009 - 15:47
Excellent quote from James Smith. Well-stated in both directions. 8 years has seen a lot of change in both places, while certain undercurrents require ongoing vigilance.
November:24:2009 - 00:30
I disagree! I simply think that both the US and Saudi are still living the aftermath of 9/11 which, in my opinion, was a big conspiracy/inside job run by the US with the help of Alqaeda.
Regardless, I think “it is pure mental blindness” to not recognize the extreme and negative effects globally of 9/11. The many intrinsic democratic laws changing in the West (esp. in North America), the war in Iraq, the bullshit “War on Terror”, the violations of personal privacy and freedom, and the overall, tight, so called “security” going on everywhere.
So I’m sorry but no I don’t and can’t see “the better” happening anytime soon when many governments are using such incidents to control the public further. Police has been militarized, check points have increased, our rights for privacy are thrown out the window, public cameras are installed on street corners monitoring every move, people are being arrested for simply suspicion or matching names, our internet usage and cellphones are publicly announced and known to be monitored, the world is simply going down. I think you’d have to very blind not to see, witness and recognize all of that!
November:24:2009 - 10:46
the USA of 2009 maybe better than that of 2001, but the USA prior to 2001 was better.
as for the ksa, it will always deteriorate no matter what happens. higher oil prices saved the al-Saud’s from disaster.
November:24:2009 - 23:12
I used to get confused with the years. Thank you Ambassador.
November:24:2009 - 23:32
Also two things that need to be known. One people here have satellites and they DO watch them. America does not INTEND on forgetting 911 any time soon with such campaigns widespread “Remembering 911″ etc.
Second, it is NOT in the Arab psyche to forgive and forget and move on.
Another quote please. We are not in Kansas anymore.
November:25:2009 - 00:49
To Sparky:
Your statement equals a statement where one would state the American public’s psyche is dumb. Very thoughtful and analytical of you!
November:25:2009 - 05:47
Nedal: I did not attach a judgment to either psyche. My point was the quote took into consideration neither psyche.
American psyche can forgive and move on but people chose to keep the memory alive. There are those who want to deny the Haulocaust but it has been recorded in history. Does that make people dumb?