November 18, 2003
BOMBED TO THEIR SENSES:
Saudi Arabia Needs to Confront Its Role in Sept. 11, Prince Says: Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the king and an advocate for change, asserts the country also must accelerate social and political reforms. (Richard Verrier, November 18, 2003, LA Times)
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, an influential nephew of the king and one of the world's richest men, says his country must accelerate social, political and economic reforms and better confront the causes of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks."You have to ask the simple question. Why 15 Saudis? You can't just say it happened by coincidence," Alwaleed said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, referring to the 15 Saudis among the 19 hijackers in the attacks on New York and Washington. "Clearly, there's something wrong with the way of thinking here, with the way people are raised." [...]
Known as the Warren Buffett of Arabia, Alwaleed's holdings have been valued at $20 billion and include significant shares in Citigroup, Euro Disney, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Saks Fifth Avenue, among many others.
The Saudi government has taken some modest steps toward reform, such as authorizing limited elections at the municipal level and abandoning school teachings that promote hatred of Christians and Jews.
The Saudi royals have promised reforms before, most recently after the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Some Saudis are skeptical that the latest proposals will bring meaningful change, citing a recent police arrest of 150 activists involved in a peaceful protest in Riyadh.
Alwaleed, however, insists that the royal family is committed to genuine reforms. "We have reached the point of no return," he said.
"We are very slow by nature and that's unfortunate. The members of the royal family who count and who are in government are, without any doubt, backing the reforms."
Alwaleed said he hopes the municipal polling will pave the way for elections for the majlis al shura, a national council appointed to advise the king.
Like other royals, Alwaleed favors granting women voting and other rights. Women are barred from voting, driving and traveling on their own.
"No verse in the Koran says women can't drive," Alwaleed said.
Economic changes also are needed, he said, to open the kingdom to foreign investment. The prince recently criticized the Oil Ministry's handling of several natural gas deals with foreign oil giants that fizzled in a dispute over terms.
Al Qaeda may yet prove to be the greatest force for reform in the history of Islam, though the reform will be the opposite of what they intended. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 18, 2003 8:56 PM
I came to the same conclusion. Saudi support for extremists -- but only as an export commodity -- has always been bad news. Al Qaeda has now made the Saudi straddle an untenable one. The royals have lost the luxury of playing both sides, and it is in their survival interest to work pretty hard to implement a move away from their support of the fundamentalists. They have a couple of big problems to contend with (not counting their general unwillingness to cede any control over the country to popular vote):
- The main one of course is that Wahhabism is such a fundamental part of Saudi history and is institutionalized pretty thoroughly. They have to find a way to excise the terror supporters from the mosques while seeming to uphold religious tradition.
- Terror-for-export serves as a needed safety valve for an economy that can't generate enough employment for the population. It's hard to imagine that the royals can open the economy far enough, and fast enough, to create the kind of opportunities that will reduce the anger and frustration about limited future prospects, that up until now they have been able to redirect outward.