U.S.-Saudi Arabia - Turki Al Faisal - Conference

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ITEM OF INTEREST
May 8, 2009

U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium
Conference Transcripts -- Session 1
Prince Turki Al Faisal

Editor's Note:

Last week a major forum addressing the state of and prospects for the relationship between the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was convened in Washington by the New America Foundation (NAF) and the Committee for International Trade (CIT) of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Distinguished speakers spent the day providing perspectives and insights on what the relationship should look like, how economics was shaping the national security picture vis a vis the relationship, the challenges for America in the region and how the perspective on these challenges look from the Saudi Arabian point of view.

Today we are pleased to provide the transcripts from the first session, "A Forward Projection of What the Saudi-U.S. Relationship Should Look Like and Needs to Achieve." Among the featured speakers was Prince Turki Al Faisal, former Saudi Ambassador to the United States and former Director, Saudi Arabia General Intelligence Service, and currently Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research & Islamic Studies.

Separate emails will provide each panelist's remarks and the question and answer period transcript. Transcripts for the remaining panels and luncheon remarks will be provided over the next few days. You can find all of the conference materials and related links at a new SUSRIS Special Section. [ "U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium" - Conference Special Section ]

Video MP3

U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium
Conference Transcripts -- Session 1
Prince Turki Al Faisal

[Prince Turki Al-Faisal] Thank you. [Greeting in Arabic] Ladies and gentlemen, to follow Chuck Hagel and Zbig Brzezinski is not an easy task. I must say, if there is anything you can say about Chuck Hagel, it is that he's not superfluous.

Zbig, I remember on your visit to Riyadh many years ago -- he insisted on having a swim at seven o'clock in the morning. We had to find him a swimming pool because Riyadh in those days didn't have too many swimming pools. Fortunately we did, and events after that justified his swim, because then we worked on working together to rid Afghanistan of the Soviet occupation.

But it's nice to see many familiar faces in this room. I would say that I would like to see unfamiliar faces as well. I am an "ex" and I think there are lots of "ex"es here. We would like to see more people who are engaged in the decision making of the United States, and not just from the administration. The Congressional leadership, I think, and their representation is sorely missing in the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States since September 11th, 2001.

When I was an Ambassador here, I tried my best to get Senators and Congressmen to visit the kingdom without much success. And I am sure my successor is having the same difficulty. So if any of you have any influence with the Congress, please use that influence. We need to have Senators and Congressman come to Saudi Arabia. It is not enough for the administration to send envoys. We need those two chambers to be fully engaged in the alliance that Brzezinski proposes between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

I would make this appeal because I see the difference between having an engaged Congress and not. That is one aspect I wanted to mention to you. And those of you in the business community and the economic world, and all of the walks of life in America, please, whatever influence you have, exercise it.

Let me just go on to briefly mention some topics that are on my mind and I think perhaps on other peoples' minds. One of course is the Palestinian/Israeli issue. We don't need more plans from Mr. Obama. We have all the plans in the world. Let's get them all implemented, if it is possible.

It has been encouraging to hear Mr. Obama talk about his commitment to finding peace in the Middle East. It has been encouraged to see Hilary Clinton engaged as she is. It is encouraging that George Mitchell is doing his rounds in the area. But I think the time is drawing short when we will need to see implementation and not just simply verbal expressions of commitment.

That is something we had a lot of in the past. We don't want anymore of that.

Another aspect, I think, of this is on Lebanon as well. I have proposed that the United States should immediately ask Israel to withdraw from Shebaa and the other areas still occupied by the Israelis in Lebanon. That is a crucial step for all of us to accomplish, and it is only the United States that can get the Israelis out of there. There is no excuse whatsoever that the Israelis say they occupy from Syrian forces back in 1967 and that they will not hand them back unless they have Syrian-Israeli agreement.

That is a fall pretense that needs to be checked and it needs to be nullified by direct U.S. intervention. I think the U.S. can achieve that. Who these territories should be handed to? I think they should be handed to the United Nations. If there is any dispute, between Lebanon and Syria about them, that's a Lebanon-Syria dispute and should not have Israel in the middle of it.

By removing that issue from the table, you remove the issue of national liberation from Lebanese politics. And when you do that you make it much easier for Lebanese political forces inside Lebanon to actively engage in national reconciliation. And if you like, the results of the coming elections in Lebanon.

On Afghanistan, Pakistan as well. As has been mentioned that many times. I'm not going to repeat it here but I think the United States policy at the moment is correct if it is implemented correctly. President Obama identified the problem in the area, which is the terrorists, whether they be on the Pakistani side or on the Afghan side. I think he should canvas world wide support to get these terrorists and provide the necessary resources for that, military, economic, political and otherwise. Achieve the objective of either capturing or killing the terrorist leaders in the area there. Declare a victory and get out.

It is no good to have NATO and U.S. forces on Afghan soil. Nor is it good to have American Predator aircraft bombing Pakistani villages and killing Pakistani civilians, although they may be also killing some terrorist leaders among them. Because that only increases the antagonism towards America and it undermines the glue that keeps Pakistan together, which is its armed forces. The armed forces of Pakistan are the only viable institution that keeps Pakistan together. The government is working very hard to try to accomplish things, but it will not be able to do that if the Pakistani armed forces are undermined.

And they are being undermined by these attacks. I think United States can get worldwide support in going after the terrorists if it simply declares that that is its end objective in Afghanistan -- not national building, not democracy, not the other very attractive slogan that people may hear about intentions in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

I would conclude by saying that Saudi Arabia in the past 81 since we began our engagement with Americans through Charles R. Crane, the American philanthropist who visited Saudi Arabia in 1928. When King Abdul Aziz had him for dinner, and talked about water resources he promised to send the king one of his geologists to look at these water resources. And he sent at these water resources. And he sent a man called Carl Twitchell who spent more than six months in Saudi Arabia traveling from north to south and from east to west.

He came back with a report to the King and he said, "King, you have no water." And he also said, "Don't believe anybody who would tell you that you do. But you have oil." And the rest is history.

So energy matters, I would say that politicians in the United States are.. ..I'm not going to use the word criminally but I think I would use the word sorely deficient in proposing that United States can be energy independent.

I think they are deceiving their people by saying that. There should be a comprehensive interdependent energy program. Not just for the United States, but for the rest of the world community. And Saudi Arabia is willing and able to do its part in any such endeavor. And I leave you with the grace of God.

Thank you.

[Visit the SUSRIS Special Section "U.S.-Saudi Relations in a World Without Equilibrium" for the transcripts from this and other panels and additional resources.]

Session One Video

Courtesy New America Foundation

Video MP3

Speaker Biography:

Prince Turki Al Faisal
Chairman, King Faisal Center for Research & Islamic Studies
Former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States
Former Director, Saudi Arabia Intelligence Services

His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al Faisal graduated from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1968. Prince Turki was appointed an advisor in the Royal Court in 1973. From 1977 to 2001, he served as the Director General of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), the Kingdom's main intelligence service. In 2002, he was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. In 2005, Prince Turki was appointed Ambassador to the United States. He served as Ambassador to the United States until February 2, 2007. His Royal Highness is involved in a number of cultural and social activities. He is one of the founders of the King Faisal Foundation and is the chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh. He is also co-chair of the C100 Group, which has been affiliated with the World Economic Forum since 2003.

AGENDA

Panel I: A Forward Projection of What the Saudi-U.S. Relationship Should Look Like and Needs to Achieve

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