Riyadh Has Run Out of Patience 
Daoud Shirian / Al Hayat Op-ed

Saudi Arabia has strongly expressed its disappointment at the attitude of Washington and the international community toward the Israeli aggression against the Lebanese people. A statement issued yesterday by the Saudi Royal Court noted that Riyadh has taken a courageous stand since the beginning of the crisis, holding Hezbollah responsible for triggering the war. Saudi paid no heed to other parties' lip service. It has over the past few days tolerated the criticism of those who regarded the statement as a justification for the aggression, although the first statement was a Saudi bid to take control of a political initiative and to use the essence of the statement as to bargain for a political gain embodied in a ceasefire.

But this did not happen, and Riyadh felt that it had failed and had offered a card without a price. Therefore, it declared yesterday that "patience cannot last forever. If the Israeli military brutality continues with killing and destroying, no one can predict the consequences and regret will be in vain."

Saudi Arabia has not only declared that its patience is running out and that it is frustrated by the international political cooperation of and its support for Israel's barbaric and brutal aggression; it has also appealed to the conscience of the world to look at what is happening from an ethical perspective which Riyadh believes is tragically lacking in the way Western countries are dealing with the events.

Saudi Arabia also warned, "If the peace option fails because of Israeli arrogance, there will be no other alternative but war." Saudi Arabia does not say here that it will wage war on Israel, nor did it declare war on behalf of the Arab States. But it says clearly that what Israel is doing will plunge the region into a regional war that will not exclude anyone. Israel will be the first to be harmed by this war. In addition, Riyadh meant by this statement to tell Washington and the international community that its position today is contingent upon the cessation of Israeli brutality and that it is no longer interested in pressing and vexing Arab parties to resolve the crisis.

From the first day of the crisis, Saudi took the initiative to play that role, despite its awareness of the political cost, but it did not receive the price it deserves for the position it adopted on the eve of the outbreak of war. 

There is no doubt that the statement of the Saudi Royal Court reiterates Riyadh's position in a way that might lead to a new stage in Saudi's approach to the Middle East crisis. The statement substituted intransigency with moderation, and reluctance with approval. Furthermore, the change of the Saudi position in such an irritating way will definitely reshape the Arabs' stand.

Given the fact that the Saudi statement is both an angry and cautious warning and that it attempts to convey the gravity of the situation in a sober and elevated royal style, others will espouse positions more stringent in word and deed based on the Saudi position. The kingdom is not in the habit of declaring its political stands through the news media and it always uses political and diplomatic channels to express its views.

We may therefore say that the Americans and the European countries have failed to gain from Saudi's 'sacrifice'. If Washington had cashed in on the first Saudi statement and immediately intervened to stop the aggression against the Lebanese, it would have been able to support the moderation it claims to seek and support. And perhaps Riyadh would have been able to play an important role in restarting the delayed Lebanese dialogue and turning it from rivalry and to concord. But it has become clear that Washington is not concerned with moderation if it is not in the interest of Israel and does not serve its barbarism. 

The Saudi statement did not only deal with the political aspect of the crisis, but included generous support for the reconstruction of Lebanon and Palestine, with half a billion dollars to Lebanon and $ 250 million to Palestine, in addition to depositing $ 1 billion in the Central Bank of Lebanon.

The fact that Saudi Arabia was anxious to announce its contribution to the reconstruction of Lebanon is an indication that its frustration with the international community's political efforts does not mean that it will wash its hands of Lebanon. Nor does it want to open the door for platitudes in this regard. It played a leading role in the reconstruction of Lebanon after the civil war and will continue to play this role after the end of this war.

Perhaps the magnitude of the financial support indicates that Riyadh will not allow others to control Lebanon under the slogan of reconstruction. It therefore announced figures that are too difficult for others to keep up with. These figures are not final, as public contributions will begin today. This means that Saudi will be the biggest contributor to the reconstruction of Lebanon and the most influential party in this process.

Al-Hayat - July 26, 2006

Related Item:

Saudi Arabian Royal Court Statement of July 25, 2006

Saudi-US Relations Perspectives: Crisis in the Middle East - SUSRIS Special Section - July 2006