Editor's Note:
The Saudi-U.S. Relations
Information Service would like to thank the Arab
American Institute and Dr. James J. Zogby for
permission to share this essay with you. It is an
important contribution to the discussion of
Saudi-U.S. relations. The essay originally
appeared in the Washington Watch on August 11,
2003.
For
a discussion of this essay, and other important issues,
visit the Saudi-US Relations Information Service Forum
-- Click Here.
SAUDIS
REJECT BIN LADEN AND TERRORISM
By James
J. Zogby
What
are Saudi attitudes toward terrorism, bin Laden, and the
United States? These are questions that have
plagued U.S. policymakers and the American people for
the past two years.
However,
despite deep concern, to date, no comprehensive study
has been conducted into Saudi attitudes on these
critical questions. There have been some partial
efforts. A Gallup poll of Saudi opinion conducted in the
immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
pointed to strong negative feelings about the U.S. and a
state of denial regarding the attacks themselves.
A later Zogby
International (ZI) poll conducted in April 2002
noted that the root of Saudi, and general Arab,
alienation from the U.S. was their deep frustration with
American policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
| In
fact, as the ZI study found, when Saudis (and in
separate polls, Arabs from Egypt, Lebanon, the
UAE and Kuwait) were asked their attitudes
toward various manifestations of America (e.g.
"American freedom and democracy",
"American education", "American
products", "the American people"
etc.) the results were largely and, in many
cases, overwhelmingly positive. Only when
asked for their attitudes toward "American
policy toward Palestinians",
"Iraq" and "the Arab World in
general", were the responses decidedly
negative. It was, as we concluded, anger
at U.S. policy that has created the overall
negative attitudes toward America in general. |
...anger
at U.S. policy that has created the overall
negative attitudes toward America in general.
|
Absent
any deeper examination, however, questions remained.
Some polemicists, using fragmentary anecdotes, attempted
to construct a profile of broader Saudi attitudes.
Despite the absence of empirical data, a negative
portrait of Saudi attitudes emerged and, repeated often
enough, grew into accepted wisdom.
| It
came to be believed, for example, that Saudis
overwhelmingly supported bin Laden, were
consumed with anti-American attitudes and that
the country, as a whole, was a breeding ground
for anti-American terror.
Following
the May 12, 2003 bombings in Riyadh, I traveled
to Saudi Arabia to meet with the U.S. Ambassador
Robert Jordan, a group of American businessman
working in the country and a number of groups of
Saudi citizens. From that visit and the
discussions I held with both Americans and
Saudis, I became convinced of the desirability
of attempting to conduct a more detailed study
of Saudi attitudes.
|
Osama bin Laden
|
In
July 2003, working with our Lebanese partner Information
International, SAL, ZI began a nationwide study of
Saudis from four principal areas of the country (Riyadh,
Jeddah, Damman, and Abha). In all, a random
sampling of 600 Saudis was surveyed in face-to-face
interviews. The margin of error for the study is �
4.1 %.
Summary
of the Findings
While establishing that policy strains remain central
to defining Saudi attitudes toward the U.S., our
findings challenged many of the unfounded assumptions
that exist regarding Saudi views.
| Saudis
almost unanimously reject the use of terror
attacks against innocent civilians. When
asked "is the killing of innocent people
ever justified", 99% of our respondents
replied "no", only one percent
indicated "yes" as their answer. |
When
asked "is the killing of
innocent people ever justified",
99% of our respondents
replied "no"...
|
More
than nine out of 10 Saudis reject bin Laden's actions
which have killed thousands of innocent civilians.
In separate questions, they state that these actions are
not consistent with Islam and their own values as
Saudis.
94.5%,
for example, agreed with the statement that Osama bin
Laden's actions, "that have killed thousands of
innocent civilians on a number of continents" are
"not consistent with the values of Saudis."
88% agreed that those actions "are not consistent
with the values of Islam." Only 2.5% and 1.5%
respectively disagreed with each of these statements.
| At
the same time 99% of all Saudis agreed that the
May 12, 2003 terrorist bombings that struck the
expatriate compound in Riyadh "was
inconsistent with their values as Saudis and
Muslims."
More
than 9 out of 10 agreed that "innocent
civilians in the U.S. did not deserve to die in
the attacks at the World Trade Center in New
York City." More than eight out of 10
say that "Osama bin Laden does not speak
for me and my family."
|
Crown Prince
Abdullah and Prince Sultan
Tour Bomb Damaged Compound (May 13, 2003)
|
While
showing strong negative views toward U.S. policy in the
Middle East, specifically toward Palestine and Iraq, and
displaying an almost 10% decline in favorable attitudes
toward some of the manifestations of America (since the
April 2002 poll) more than nine in 10 indicated that
"the people of Saudi Arabia have no quarrel with
the American people."
When
asked to rate the importance of several issues, Saudis
ranked their concerns in the following order: personal
finances, employment opportunities, Arab-Israeli
conflict, Iraq, political reform, terrorism.
96%
said that their "personal finances" were
"very important", 85% said "employment
opportunities" were "very important",
while 51.5% said the same about the Arab-Israeli
conflict. 36.5% said Iraq was "very
important" and 35% and 27.5% respectively said that
political reform and "terrorism" were
"very important".
|
Meeting with his
National Security Council in the Cabinet Room
the morning after the attacks in New York City
and Washington, D.C., President Bush outlines
the new course of his administration.
|
Only
six percent have a favorable attitude toward the
U.S.'s Iraq policy and only one percent have a
favorable view of the U.S.'s Palestine policy...
|
Finally,
when asked to give their overall impression about U.S.
policy toward Palestinians and Iraq our respondents
displayed largely negative views. Only six percent
have a favorable attitude toward the U.S.'s Iraq policy
and only one percent have a favorable view of the U.S.'s
Palestine policy, with negative attitudes toward those
policies being 81.5% and 93.5% respectively.
FOR
A DISCUSSION OF THIS ESSAY VISIT THE SAUDI-US RELATIONS
INFORMATION SERVICE FORUM -- CLICK HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
| Dr.
James J. Zogby is founder and president of
the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington,
D.C.-based organization which serves as the
political and policy research arm of the Arab
American community. Since 1985, Dr. Zogby and
AAI have led Arab American efforts to secure
political empowerment in the U.S. Through voter
registration, education and mobilization, AAI
has moved Arab Americans into the political
mainstream. |
|
For the past three
decades, Dr. Zogby has been involved in a full range of
Arab American issues. A co-founder and chairman of the
Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the late 1970s, he
later co-founded and served as the Executive Director of
the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In
1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private
non-profit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief
organization which funds health care for Palestinian and
Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare
projects in Lebanon. In 1985, Zogby founded AAI.
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