GulfWire ~~ Perspectives ~~ August 6, 2002 ~~ The U.S. Defense Policy Board Briefing On Saudi Arabia

          INFORMATION AND INSIGHTS ON MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENTS
               NATIONAL COUNCIL ON U.S. ARAB RELATIONS AND
        THE U.S.-GCC CORPORATE COOPERATION COMMITTEE SECRETARIAT

AUGUST 6, 2002

TAKING EXCEPTION: THE U.S. DEFENSE POLICY REVIEW BOARD'S BRIEFING ON SAUDI ARABIA -- AL JAZEERAH INTERVIEW WITH DR. JOHN DUKE ANTHONY

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Today in the United States and in many places abroad, much commentary was
generated by a lead article in the Washington Post, titled, "Briefing
Depicted Saudis as Enemies." Reporter Thomas Ricks wrote about a recent
meeting of the U.S. Department of Defense's Policy Review Board in which
Laurent Murawiec, a Rand Corporation international security affairs analyst
and former adviser to the Ministry of Defense in France, took issue with the
notion that Saudi Arabia ought to be considered an American ally.

The Board's Chairman, Richard N. Perle, served in the Department of Defense
during the Reagan Administration and is known to be the leading American
advocate of the United States invading and occupying Iraq. Members of the
Board include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Congressman
Newt Gingrich, former house Speaker Thomas Foley, former Defense and Energy
Secretary James Schlesinger, former Defense Secretary Harold Brown, and two
previous vice chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar bin Sultan, and
Adel Al-Jubair, foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdallah, were quick,
as were others, to challenge the accuracy of the Policy Review Board
briefing's essence. Prince Bandar, stating that he did not take the report
seriously, said, "It is a misguided effort that is shallow and not honest
with the facts, adding that, "Repeating lies does not make them facts."

Mr. Al-Jubair noted that the alliance spans more than sixty years, that the
relationship "has seen the coming and breaking of many storms in the region
and, if anything, it goes from strength to strength." Former Secretary
Kissinger was also at pains to disassociate himself from the overall tenor
and conclusions of the briefing.

Soon after the report appeared, GulfWire Publisher Dr. John Duke Anthony
addressed the significance of the Review Board's briefing in an interview
for Al-Jazeerah Satellite Televison's Al-Hassad Al-Yawm [Harvest of the Day]
Program. The prime time program, which airs daily at 11:00 p.m. in Qatar
and most of the GCC countries, is watched by an audience estimated at 200
million, or 40 million households, throughout the Arab world. Via
subscription, thousands more view the program in the United States and
elsewhere in the Americas.

GulfWire provides herewith an unofficial transcription of the interview.

Patrick W. Ryan
Editor-in-Chief, GulfWire

* * *

TAKING EXCEPTION: THE U.S. DEFENSE POLICY REVIEW BOARD'S BRIEFING ON SAUDI
ARABIA -- AL JAZEERAH INTERVIEW WITH DR. JOHN DUKE ANTHONY

AL-JAZEERAH: Dr. Anthony, as you are aware, today's Washington Post carried
a prominent story on a briefing that recently took place at the Pentagon's
Defense Policy Review Board. According to the report, the briefer at the
meeting is said to have described Saudi Arabia not only as not an ally of
the United States but, to use the words that were quoted, as "an enemy."
What is one to make of this?

ANTHONY: One point to make is that this is not something new. The
campaigns in which segments of the media and some Members of Congress have
been bashing Saudi Arabia, and trying to drive a wedge between the United
States relationship with the Kingdom, are numerous. They've been underway
for some time. If anything, they are increasing. What is different in
this instance is that a report of such a nature appeared as a feature
article on the front page of the Washington Post. That is new.

AL-JAZEERAH: But while the campaign itself may not be new, what is one to
think in light of a report such as this coming at this time? I mean, is it
possible that such a report will have an impact on policy? On the way the
Administration is thinking? Could those who think this way be serious?

ANTHONY: Potentially, yes, but not likely. Certainly not in terms of the
level of those in the Administration who are the ones most closely involved
in the relationship. That is, I don't think it will make any difference at
all at the key Executive Branch levels, either here or in the Kingdom. At
this level, the relationship could hardly be stronger.

In the areas of economics, energy, and regional defense, the relationship is
particularly strong. In the areas of trade and investment, and in
technology and financial cooperation as well, it's a relationship in which
there is extraordinary mutual benefit.

This is not to say that what this report and others have said, and what some
Members of Congress have been saying, is not without effect. In many ways,
it is reckless and irresponsible. But what's important is that, regarding
substance, these reports are wide of the mark in terms of reality. This
particular report is in defiance of established thought. It flies in the
face of prevailing wisdom, of considered opinion.

AL-JAZEERAH: But it's said that these and other studies are among the views
that are coming out of such organizations as the Rand Corporation.
Institutions such as these are known to have substantial standing in the
eyes of U.S. policymakers. An organization like Rand is one of the most
prestigious in the United States. Are you saying that its reports are not
likely to have an impact on U.S. policy?

ANTHONY: It's possible that they can. What I'm saying is that the Rand
Corporation has among its staff not a small number of individuals who, shall
we say, have not been known for being highly critical of U.S. ties to
certain non-Arab Middle Eastern countries, such as Israel, Turkey, and, in
the past, Iran, during the days of the Shah. Stated another way, it's not
an organization known for being especially ardent in its support of U.S.
ties to the Arab Middle East, especially to countries like Saudi Arabia, but
also Egypt, and from time to time other countries in Arabia and the Gulf.

What's also important in terms of what is taking place is that, for some who
are involved in these campaigns that seek to drive a wedge between Saudi
Arabia and the United States, there is a particular interest in taking on
the Kingdom at this time. This has been the case especially since Saudi
Arabian Crown Prince Abdallah issued his Middle East peace proposal [this
past spring]. The proposal offered the Israeli leadership everything it has
ever asked for, yet, to this day, the proposal is one regarding which
Israel's leaders have been unable to provide "yes" for an answer.

AL-JAZEERAH: Dr. Anthony, thank you very much.

* * *

O Dr. John Duke Anthony is President and CEO of the National Council on
U.S.-Arab Relations, Secretary of the U.S.-GCC Corporate Cooperation
Committee, and Publisher of GulfWire. All three are nonprofit and
nongovernmental organizations dedicated to the education of Americans and
others about the Arab countries, the Middle East, and the Islamic world.

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