zimv20
Oct 14, 2004, 04:29 PM
link (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/international/middleeast/14saudi.html?oref=login&oref=login)
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13 - Seventeen months into a shadowy terror campaign that has killed more than 100 people, numerous Saudis express less anger at the insurgents than at the United States for its invasion of Iraq, the signal event that they say touched off the attacks inside the kingdom.
In interviews over the last week, the Saudis condemned the terror attacks, aimed primarily at foreigners, but called them a small inconvenience that has not forced them to make significant changes in their daily lives. By contrast, they expressed unremitting disdain for the United States.
Many Saudis appear to have reached a form of intellectual accommodation with those carrying out the violence. When asked about the attackers' goals, they assigned varied motives but often one that is consistent with their personal, social or political concerns.
The interviews were with nearly two dozen Saudis, from a bejeweled prince of the royal court, sipping coffee at a cafe, to a truck driver wearing a frayed caftan, clutching a bag of onions at a local supermarket.
"The attackers want the government to give more money to the people," said the truck driver, Jaber al-Malky, 24. But Prince Mubarak al-Shafi said, "This certain sect of people is unhappy about alien ideas, particularly about the democracy that the United States wants from nations all over the world, especially Saudi Arabia."
Behind all this lies an ever more complex Saudi-American relationship. Its foundation, of course, is the shared need to buy and sell oil. But the fact that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi has become an issue in the presidential campaign, as has the accusation that the Bushes are too close to the royal family.
No one here seems to care about any of that. Instead Saudis unceasingly complain about American support for Israel and the war in Iraq, which they call unjustified, though Saudi Arabia allowed American troops to operate here during the war. Government officials also say they deplore the Bush administration's call for more democracy here. "It's none of their business," one of them said with scorn.
Saudi Arabia's leaders offer conflicting opinions on the local terrorists' motives. Within hours of each other on Sunday, the Saudi interior minister and a half brother of King Fahd offered polar analyses.
"Unemployment creates one of the cornerstones of terrorism, and the poor who cannot get food on their table resort to other means," the king's half brother, Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, said at a conference in Amman, Jordan. In Kuwait, Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, the interior minister, told reporters he doubted that unemployment was the reason for the attacks here, according to an account in the Arab News daily. The prince, Arab News added, noted that many arrested suspects were well-paid employees.
The Saudis interviewed were in complete agreement in their views of the United States and the role the Iraq war played in spawning the insurgency.
The first attacks in May 2003 came just as the major combat was ending in Iraq, "and that is when it really hit home here, with all the images of collateral damage," said Khaled al-Maeena, editor in chief of Arab News. "How could America be so oblivious to our feelings?"
Saudis certainly had no love for Saddam Hussein, but "why couldn't they topple Saddam and install a new government without destroying the country?" Prince Mubarak asked.
The Saudis said they see the attacks here as revenge against foreigners and against the Saudi government for failing to stop the Iraq war.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 13 - Seventeen months into a shadowy terror campaign that has killed more than 100 people, numerous Saudis express less anger at the insurgents than at the United States for its invasion of Iraq, the signal event that they say touched off the attacks inside the kingdom.
In interviews over the last week, the Saudis condemned the terror attacks, aimed primarily at foreigners, but called them a small inconvenience that has not forced them to make significant changes in their daily lives. By contrast, they expressed unremitting disdain for the United States.
Many Saudis appear to have reached a form of intellectual accommodation with those carrying out the violence. When asked about the attackers' goals, they assigned varied motives but often one that is consistent with their personal, social or political concerns.
The interviews were with nearly two dozen Saudis, from a bejeweled prince of the royal court, sipping coffee at a cafe, to a truck driver wearing a frayed caftan, clutching a bag of onions at a local supermarket.
"The attackers want the government to give more money to the people," said the truck driver, Jaber al-Malky, 24. But Prince Mubarak al-Shafi said, "This certain sect of people is unhappy about alien ideas, particularly about the democracy that the United States wants from nations all over the world, especially Saudi Arabia."
Behind all this lies an ever more complex Saudi-American relationship. Its foundation, of course, is the shared need to buy and sell oil. But the fact that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudi has become an issue in the presidential campaign, as has the accusation that the Bushes are too close to the royal family.
No one here seems to care about any of that. Instead Saudis unceasingly complain about American support for Israel and the war in Iraq, which they call unjustified, though Saudi Arabia allowed American troops to operate here during the war. Government officials also say they deplore the Bush administration's call for more democracy here. "It's none of their business," one of them said with scorn.
Saudi Arabia's leaders offer conflicting opinions on the local terrorists' motives. Within hours of each other on Sunday, the Saudi interior minister and a half brother of King Fahd offered polar analyses.
"Unemployment creates one of the cornerstones of terrorism, and the poor who cannot get food on their table resort to other means," the king's half brother, Prince Talal bin Abdul Aziz, said at a conference in Amman, Jordan. In Kuwait, Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, the interior minister, told reporters he doubted that unemployment was the reason for the attacks here, according to an account in the Arab News daily. The prince, Arab News added, noted that many arrested suspects were well-paid employees.
The Saudis interviewed were in complete agreement in their views of the United States and the role the Iraq war played in spawning the insurgency.
The first attacks in May 2003 came just as the major combat was ending in Iraq, "and that is when it really hit home here, with all the images of collateral damage," said Khaled al-Maeena, editor in chief of Arab News. "How could America be so oblivious to our feelings?"
Saudis certainly had no love for Saddam Hussein, but "why couldn't they topple Saddam and install a new government without destroying the country?" Prince Mubarak asked.
The Saudis said they see the attacks here as revenge against foreigners and against the Saudi government for failing to stop the Iraq war.
