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Sixty
years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt and the
founding ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz ibn
Saud, huddled over richly patterned carpets spread
across the deck of the cruiser USS Quincy. This
meeting in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez Canal
marked the beginning of a unique relationship: The
U.S. promised security and technology in exchange
for Saudi guarantees of reliable supplies of
reasonably priced oil.
Despite
inevitable moments of tension and crisis, this deal
worked well for both sides: We generally managed to
provide the security and technology, and the Saudis
generally managed to provide the oil. In Operation
Desert Storm, the Saudis provided more than oil, and
joined us in combat against Saddam Hussein. In our
efforts to liberate Afghanistan and Iraq, the Saudis
provided coalition forces the critical use of a
state-of-the-art air command center, air clearances
for military flights, and other support that saved
American lives when other allies, such as Turkey,
backed away from our requests.
 Yet
this week, as President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah met in Crawford, Texas, we mark the 60th
anniversary of this relationship with a sense of
unease. In the wake of the September 11, 2001,
attacks by Saudi terrorists, the loss of American
lives to terrorist attacks in Riyadh and elsewhere,
the funding of madrassas and charities preaching
hatred in the name of Islam, and recent reports of
books and pamphlets promoting anti-Western venom in
American mosques, many wonder if this relationship
is worth preserving.
And
in the midst of increasing media criticism and
frustrations ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict to Iraq to our visa and travel
restrictions, it is not surprising many Saudis
wonder the same thing. So after 60 years, how do we
assess and improve such a tangled and contradictory
relationship?
For
years, our relations have been conducted by
government and business elites. The two countries'
citizens know little about each other, except for
the 30,000 Saudi students who formerly studied here
each year or the thousands of Americans who lived
and raised their families in Aramco or defense
contractor compounds.
Our
two countries have learned more about each other
since September 11, 2001, but with mixed results.
Immediately after the attacks, we struggled to
communicate on intelligence and counterterrorism.
But we persisted and matters have improved.
The
recent convocation of an International
Counterterrorism Conference in Riyadh, attended by
representatives of 50 nations, heard Crown Prince
Abdullah call for setting up an international
counterterrorism center, to share methods and
information. Despite significant issues regarding
such broad intelligence sharing, there is much
common ground to explore.
We
are seeing a democratic process in Saudi Arabia
develop with the recent elections for half the seats
on the kingdom's municipal councils. While male-only
voter registration and turnout pale when compared
with the courageous spectacle we saw in Iraq, or
with the elections held in Afghanistan and the
Palestinian territories, it is at least a beginning.
Saudis
campaign with brochures, billboards and lamb roasts.
Running for municipal council may seem
inconsequential. But the people are learning the
building blocks of a democratic society that
ultimately will include elected regional and
national councils with more than superficial power.
Schools will teach the meaning of popular
participation.
This
may be democracy on training wheels. But a tribal
society that lived in mud huts 50 years ago has to
start somewhere. President Bush's vision of freedom
in the region is not merely a fantasy, even though
it will not happen overnight.
Like
the meeting on the USS Quincy, the topic of
discussions in Crawford focused on oil and security.
The discussions -- and the relationship between the
two countries for the next 60 years -- should move
beyond oil and arms. It should be based upon other
principles as well. That process has begun, but it
has a long way to go.
We
now have candid conversations about human rights,
religious freedom and women's rights. Work on Saudi
accession to the World Trade Organization has
produced laws improving transparency and regularity
of commercial dealings. A Saudi stock market is
booming.
However,
despite our successes countering terrorist attacks,
we have less success countering the ideology that
fuels terrorism. Saudi religious leaders' recent
condemnations of intolerance, extremism and violence
are welcome. But hatred lingers in mosque sermons
and cassette recordings.
What
the Saudis teach in their schools and preach in
their mosques can no longer be viewed as a purely
internal matter. It is a matter of our national
security as well.
But
our own society evolved from now-forgotten days of
witch hunts, slavery, civil war, women's suffrage
and violent civil-rights struggles. A society that
has only recently seen the rise of skyscrapers and
paving of superhighways can also evolve in its own
way to an Islamic state prepared to lead the Muslim
world in the 21st century. Neither they nor we have
another 60 years to wait for that day.
Reprinted
with permission.
[This
op-ed appeared in the Washington Times on
April 29, 2005.]
 Robert
Jordan was selected by President George W. Bush
to serve as the United States Ambassador to Saudi
Arabia at the most critical point in the history of
the relationship between our two countries. After
Senate confirmation, he served as ambassador from
October 2001 through October 2003.
More
info on Ambassador Jordan [Click here]
More
on SUSRIS:
September
26, 2004
Item of Interest - "Robert Jordan's
Crucible," by Jim Landers
September
7, 2004
Interview
Series - Crises and Opportunities in US-Saudi
Relations:
An Interview With Robert Jordan
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