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against Iraq. American soldiers and airmen have given their lives to help pro-
tect Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has difficulty acknowledging this.
American military bases remained there until 2003, as part of an international
commitment to contain Iraq.
For many years, leaders on both sides preferred to keep their ties quiet and
behind the scenes. As a result, neither the U.S. nor the Saudi people appreci-
ated all the dimensions of the bilateral relationship, including the Saudi role in
U.S. strategies to promote the Middle East peace process. In each country, polit-
ical figures find it difficult to publicly defend good relations with the other.
Today, mutual recriminations flow. Many Americans see Saudi Arabia as an
enemy, not as an embattled ally. They perceive an autocratic government that
oppresses women, dominated by a wealthy and indolent elite. Saudi contacts
with American politicians are frequently invoked as accusations in partisan polit-
ical arguments.Americans are often appalled by the intolerance, anti-Semitism,
and anti-American arguments taught in schools and preached in mosques.
Saudis are angry too. Many educated Saudis who were sympathetic to
America now perceive the United States as an unfriendly state. One Saudi
reformer noted to us that the demonization of Saudi Arabia in the U.S. media
gives ammunition to radicals, who accuse reformers of being U.S. lackeys.Tens
of thousands of Saudis who once regularly traveled to (and often had homes
in) the United States now go elsewhere.
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Among Saudis, the United States is seen as aligned with Israel in its conflict
with the Palestinians, with whom Saudis ardently sympathize.Although Saudi
Arabia's cooperation against terrorism improved to some extent after the Sep-
tember 11 attacks, significant problems remained. Many in the Kingdom ini-
tially reacted with disbelief and denial. In the following months, as the truth
became clear, some leading Saudis quietly acknowledged the problem but still
did not see their own regime as threatened, and thus often did not respond
promptly to U.S. requests for help. Though Saddam Hussein was widely
detested, many Saudis are sympathetic to the anti-U.S. insurgents in Iraq,
although majorities also condemn jihadist attacks in the Kingdom.
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As in Pakistan,Yemen, and other countries, attitudes changed when the ter-
rorism came home. Cooperation had already become significant, but after the
bombings in Riyadh on May 12, 2003, it improved much more.The Kingdom
openly discussed the problem of radicalism, criticized the terrorists as reli-
giously deviant, reduced official support for religious activity overseas, closed
suspect charitable foundations, and publicized arrests--very public moves for
a government that has preferred to keep internal problems quiet.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now locked in mortal combat with al Qaeda.
Saudi police are regularly being killed in shootouts with terrorists. In June
2004, the Saudi ambassador to the United States called publicly--in the Saudi
press--for his government to wage a jihad of its own against the terrorists."We
must all, as a state and as a people, recognize the truth about these criminals,"
WHAT TO DO? A GLOBAL STRATEGY
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