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Richard W. Murphy Makes Recommendations
about the Future of U.S.-Saudi Relations
May 22, 2002
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The
Future of U.S.-Saudi Relations
Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Middle East And South Asia of the
Committee on International Relations - House of Representatives, One Hundred
Seventh Congress, Second Session, May 22, 2002
Excerpt of a statement of the Honorable Richard W. Murphy, Senior
Fellow Middle East, Council on Foreign Relations,
Former U. S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (1981� 1983)
What should we [the United States] now press Saudi Arabia to do?
Let me suggest that we prioritize our policy vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia.
Washington should reserve the bulk of its efforts to change Saudi
foreign policy rather than its domestic policy, as some are advocating.
Since 9/ 11, a chorus of '' experts'' has been urging that Saudi domestic
reform, particularly in the realm of education and religion, become America's
primary foreign policy goal. They
are arguing that we should demand that Saudi Arabia change its education
curriculum. I believe, for at
least three reasons, such an approach would be counterproductive.
First, it is too far a reach for any outsider to fundamentally alter the
school curriculum of another country, particularly in a case such as Saudi
Arabia where the influence of the religious on education is so strong.
Second, the Saudis themselves recognize the problems inherent in their own
system and are demanding change. Even
before 9/ 11, visitors to Saudi Arabia routinely heard complaints from their
Saudi counterparts about the quality of primary and secondary education. Their
children are graduating with college degrees and are completely unqualified
for most jobs in a modern economy. Unemployment
in Saudi Arabia is said to be upwards of 30%. Complaints
by Saudi nationals are reportedly leading the government to review and to
reform the curriculum.
The third reason we should proceed cautiously on the domestic front is that
the Crown Prince himself recognizes the need for change. Statements
such as the one he made at the summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council
last December showed he is well aware of the need for reforms. He
shows every indication that he is trying to move his country forward and win
back power from the more radical elements of the religious establishment. We
should support him in his efforts. Our direct intervention would undermine a
true force for change in Saudi Arabia. In
the domestic realm, our goal should be to support and encourage change, but
there is no need to proceed with a heavy hand.
In the international area, we have more latitude and we should do
everything possible to make clear that Saudi money should not end up in
schools and mosques that preach hate, intolerance and anti-Americanism. We
must insist on continuing and expanding Saudi cooperation in monitoring where
the money of its donors to charitable foundations ends up. This
is not a question of challenging the precept of Islam to be charitable. It
is a political issue. Money
funneled to al-Qaeda is as antithetical to the Saudi government and to Islam,
as it is to the American government.
On the other hand, Washington should take care not to appear to be trying
to stop the spread of Wahhabi practices. The
Saudi conviction that this is the best practice of Islam is not one for the
non-Muslim to challenge.
We can do something about the quality of the religious schools, or madrassas,
funded by Saudi Arabia in poor countries such as Afghanistan and in regions
such as the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. In
those areas the national Ministries of Education have few official schools and
little funding to improve the education offered. Today
these madrassas offer the only education to local children and that
consists of rote memorization of the Koran and the traditions handed down from
the first century of Islam. Teachers
that are exiled from Egypt and Jordan because they are too radical often turn
up at schools in East Africa, Central Asia, Pakistan and elsewhere. Foreign
aid should be directed toward the whole spectrum of education, from
strengthening education ministries to teacher training to curriculum
development. Foreign assistance
to those Ministries would be welcome and help provide over the longer term a
more rounded education. Decision-makers
should consider the full range of bilateral and multilateral avenues to make
this happen.
To those who say that the day of the House of Saud is past I say don't be
so sure. So far it has maintained
the loyalty of its people. If it
cannot maintain that loyalty, the Royal Family will not last. In
any case, it is not evident that a different leadership would better serve
our interests or those of the Saudi citizenry.
Any sensible observer should first consider who would be the likely
replacements for the Royal Family. Today,
they would probably come from the ranks of the religious extremists.
As we try to shape the future of the U.S.-Saudi relationship we should not
forget the fact that the Saudi leadership and its relationship with the United
States was also a target, and perhaps the real target, of Usama bin Laden's
followers on 9/ 11. They want us
off the Peninsula. They assume
that the House of Saud would soon thereafter collapse because they believe it
survives only thanks to American support. It
would be ironic, to say the least, for us to help them reach their goal
through any misjudgment of our own.
Source: U.S.
House Committee on International Relations
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