• Saudis, Expats Call on Bush to Heed to Reason Over Iraq
• Saudi Views With Blair Ways to Avert War
• War Against Iraq Will Adversely Affect Region: Al-Qusaibi
• Chirac, Saudi Foreign Minister Meet
• Families of U.S. Diplomats Advised to Return Home
• EP Residents Irked by US Warnings
• AlWaleed Gives $10M to Cairo Varsity
• Saudi Arabia Frets as Wells Run Dry
• Fewer U.S. Muslims Arriving for Haj
• American Varsity for Jeddah by 2005
• Arab Leaders Lose Hope on Efforts to Avert Iraq War
• Saudis Take Small Step Toward Political Reform - Conservative Monarchy Opens Ears to Criticism
• Reformists in Free, Frank Talks With Abdullah
• Saudi Arabia to Extend Saudization to Private Companies in Kingdom
• U.S. Seeks to Boost Flagging Trade Ties
• Balancing Tradition and the Modern World
• Saudi Bashing: Who's Behind It and Why?
• The Arch Inspires a Saudi Prince

DAMMAM, 29 January 2003 - Saudis and expatriates have called upon the Bush administration to listen to reason and desist from any attack on Iraq.

Opposition to an attack was high when the Bush administration adopted a hostile pose last year, but it increased after Monday's report to the United Nations by the UN weapons inspectors.

"President Bush should respect the United Nations' verdict, public opinion in his country and around the world," said Saleh Al-Humaidan, managing director of Al-Youm Publishing Group.

"Any attack on Iraq would be a disaster for the whole region and the economic fallout would be devastating for the world," he said.

"It has been shown that Iraq has no nuclear capability for building weapons of mass destruction. The UN weapons inspectors said this in clear terms and IAEA also verified it. If this is so, what is the logic of attacking Iraq?" Al-Humaidan asked.

Saud Al-Rais, special correspondent of Al-Hayat, said that by attacking Iraq, the US government would be making a mockery of the United Nations and its own people. He said that the United States had no right to determine who rules Iraq.

"If the United States attacks Iraq, it will be setting a very bad precedent and sending a bad signal to the world. By attacking Iraq, the United States itself will be defying the United Nations," he said.

Abdullah Al-Qahtani, a former official of the Eastern Province Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that any attack on Iraq would ruin the region's economy. "It took the region almost 10 years to recover from the Gulf War of 1990-91 and now that most countries are on the course of economic stabilization, an attack on Iraq would be a total disaster for them," he said.

Richard Wasner, an American working as a consultant in a petrochemical company, said that if President George Bush decided to go it alone and attack Iraq, then he would be defying his own people and causing the complete alienation of the United States from the international community.

"His war-mongering is nothing but sheer arrogance," Wasner said.

"I can understand the war against terrorism, but singling out Iraq, especially after the UN inspectors' report, is beyond my comprehension."

Wasner said that any such attack would not only be against regional interests but also against US interests. He said Bush had alienated the Middle East which was once a staunch American ally.

Abdullah Rizvi, marketing manager of a water-proofing company, said the United States had now shown its true colors and its blatant double standards. "On the one hand he is all set to attack Iraq, despite UN inspectors finding no weapons of mass destruction and on the other hand, he continues to be a strong ally of Israel which has proven nuclear capabilities."

Rizvi feels that an attack on Iraq will be a disaster for the world peace. "Only the people of the United States can stop Bush from such an adventure," he said.

Media heap scorn on war plans

Saudi media heaped scorn on US plans to attack Iraq, and at least one daily described the potential onslaught as a neo-colonialism.

"In the name of fighting terrorism, colonialism, mandates and trusteeships are returning to international politics by the world's superpower, just as was the case after World War One," Al-Watan wrote in an editorial.

"It appears that some major powers are working to pull time backward to the ages of hateful hegemony," the Okaz daily added.

Al-Madinah said Washington appeared to be ready to accept giving inspectors more time, but only to beef up the military buildup in the region for a swift attack on Iraq.

"War and peace is not Washington's decision alone, but the international community as a whole," which should be based on full awareness of the dangers of arms of mass destruction and misery of wars, it said.

Source:  Arab News

[Reprinted with permission of Arab News]

SAUD VIEWS WITH BLAIR WAYS TO AVERT WAR

Visiting Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the foreign minister, held talks here Wednesday with British Premier Tony Blair, Foreign Minister Jack Straw and Baronet Simons separately. At 10 Downing Street in downtown London, Prince Saud discussed the developments relating to the Iraqi issue with Blair earlier Wednesday. Following the meeting, Prince Saud told reporters that "in fact, we are all seeking to find solutions to the Iraqi issue to evade military action. On one part, this requires cooperation from the Iraqi side with the Security Council and, on the other, specific responsibilities on what it (the Security Council) should do so that it would not lead to negative impacts on Iraq's integrity or regional sovereignty." The meeting was attended by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador-designate to the United Kingdom and Ireland and a number of British officials.

Later Wednesday night, Prince Saud met with Straw at the foreign office headquarters. Following the meeting, the Saudi foreign minister said his talks with Straw were a continuation to the talks he held with Blair earlier, particularly with regard to the Iraqi issue. He said he conveyed a message from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to the British premier. On his part, Blair requested that a message from him be conveyed to the King and the Crown Prince, Prince Saud told reporters. The meeting was attended by a number of officials. Later, Prince Saud conferred with Baronet Simons, secretary of state for international trade affairs. They discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and matters of mutual concern.

Source:  Riyadh Daily, January 30, 2003

[Reprinted with permission of Riyadh Daily]

WAR AGAINST IRAQ WILL ADVERSELY AFFECT REGION: AL-QUSAIBI

Minister of Planning Khalid Al-Qusaibi has said that war against Iraq will have an adverse impact on the development process in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as in the countries of the region, reported Abha-based Al-Watan Arabic newspaper. "The expected war against Iraq will be entailed by serious repercussions in a region where the population is steadily increasing," Al-Qusaibi said at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. He pointed out that all countries of the region have been exerting intensive efforts to avoid the war. "Avoiding the war will serve the interest of all countries including Japan," he said and added, "if it is possible to avoid the war, then no country will feel anxious about the oil supplies."

Al-Qusaibi said Saudi oil supplies to Japan were increasing and trade exchange between the two countries was steadily growing. He urged the Japanese businessmen to invest in the Kingdom. "Selling Japanese commodities to the Kingdom is not enough and so the Kingdom hopes that the Japanese companies will cooperate with it in maintenance of the commodities because most of them are of high and sophisticated technology," he elaborated. "The Japanese investors should never be worried about the current situation in the region," he said and added, "it would be better for the Japanese side to realize the fact that the Kingdom has been taking the required measures to ensure continuation of oil supplies to Japan."

Source:  Riyadh Daily, January 30, 2003

[Reprinted with permission of Riyadh Daily]

CHIRAC, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER MEET

PARIS -- The international community must explore all alternatives to war, while Iraq must be more cooperative with weapons inspectors, France's president and the Saudi foreign minister said Tuesday. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said after the talks that he hoped "a disaster and a crisis of immense proportion" could be avoided for Iraq and its neighbors. Asked if he believed war was still avoidable, the Saudi prince responded by crossing his fingers...  [Expired Link]

FAMILIES OF US DIPLOMATS ADVISED TO RETURN HOME
By Michel Cousins & Molouk Y. Ba-Isa

JEDDAH/ALKHOBAR, 1 February 2003 - The US State Department has issued a travel warning on Saudi Arabia authorizing the dependents of American diplomatic staff in the Kingdom to return to the US if they wish to do so.

It has also recommended US private citizens in the country to look "rigorously" at their own security situations and consider leaving, "especially given reduced flight availability at a time of high demand related to school holidays and the Haj".

It further cautions US citizens planning to travel to the Kingdom to look at what it refers to as the "increased risks" of doing so in the light of terrorist threats and attacks against US citizens in the region.

The same warnings have been given to US citizens and diplomatic staff in Kuwait. In its statement on Kuwait, the State Department noted that a US government contractor was killed in an ambush on a car near Cam