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Item of Interest
October 11, 2003
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Strengthening
Arab-US Relations: What is
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Amr
Khashoggi
Talks
About
Regional
Political
Dynamics
12th
Annual
Arab-U.S.
Policymakers
Conference
Washington,
DC
September
7-8,
2003
Distinguished
ladies
and
gentlemen:
I
greet
you in
the name
of
peace,
equality
and
human
co-existence.
I
offer my
thanks
to Dr.
John
Duke
Anthony
and the
National
Council
on
U.S.-Arab
Relations
for
inviting
me to be
part of
this
most
distinguished
panel
that is
led by
Dr. Ziad
Asali. I
thank
the
sponsors,
who made
this
great
conference
possible.
I
am also
grateful
to you
all for
joining
us here
today.
I hope
that at
the end
of this
conference
we will
have
succeeded
in
sharing
thoughts
and
ideas
and we
take
home
stronger
relations
between
Arabs
and Americans:
people,
government
and
media.
Three
days
from
now
will
be
September
11th,
bringing
with
it
a
strong
reminder
of
the
extent
to
which
a
bunch
of
misfits
are
prepared
to
go
to
succeed
in
their
murderous
and
frightening
plans.
I
am
very
sad
for
the
families
of
the
victims
of
those
atrocities
as
I
am
equally
sad
for
the
families
of
innocent
victims
of
atrocities
committed
against
mankind
everywhere
else
in
the
world,
especially
in
our
part
of
the
world.
I
am
also
extremely
angry
that
those
misfits
have
hijacked
my
religion,
tarnished
the
reputation
of
my
country,
and
might
just
succeed
in
driving
a
wedge
between
our
countries
unless
we
act
quickly
and
decisively
in
preventing
them
from
carrying
out
their
hateful
objectives.
Terrorists
have no
nationality,
and
terrorism
knows no
borders.
We
must
pull
together
all our
resources
and
fight,
shoulder
to
shoulder,
against
this
global
disease.
I
am
almost
51-years-old,
and I
have
lived
through all
the
kings of
Saudi
Arabia.
Ever
since I
remember,
Saudi
leaders
have
been
ardent
advocates
of
Palestinian
rights.
In
fact,
our King
Abdulaziz
Ibn Saud,
founder
of
modern
Saudi
Arabia,
spoke at
length
about
Palestine
with
President
Roosevelt
on the
U.S.S.
Quincy
on
February
14,
1945.
Our
King
Faisal,
who
ruled
Saudi
Arabia
from
1965 to
1975,
never
tired of
emphasizing
to Saudi
Arabians,
Arabs,
Moslems,
Westerners,
including
Americans,
and many
others
the need
to
achieve
a just,
durable
and
comprehensive
settlement
of the
Palestine
problem.
In
the
1980s,
the
kingdom
offered
the Fahd
Peace
Proposal,
which
was
unanimously
endorsed
by all
the
League
of Arab
States
and
became
the Arab
peace
plan,
which
acknowledged
the
right of
all
states
in the
region
to live
in peace
and
security.
This
was a
major
milestone.
Crown
Prince
Abdullah's
peace
initiative
is
anchored
in, and
an
extension
of, the
same
strategic
objective
of his
father
and
brothers.
On
March
28,
2002, a
summit
of the
22-member
League
of Arab
States
in
Beirut
unanimously
endorsed
an
Arab-Israeli
peace
initiative
submitted
by Crown
Prince
Abdullah.
The
proposal
requires
that
Israel
withdraws
from all
Arab
territories
it has
occupied
since
June 4,
1967,
that it
recognizes
an
independent
state of
Palestine
with its
capital
in east
Jerusalem,
and that
it
agrees
to a
just
resolution
of the
Palestinian
refugee
problem
through
repatriation,
compensation
or a
combination
of the
two.
In
exchange,
the
proposal
includes
everything
Israel
has
sought
for many
years.
Included
are
peace
and
normalization
of
diplomatic
and
commercial
ties
with the
Jewish
state,
pan-Arab
recognition
of
Israel's
right to
exist
and to
security,
and a
guarantee
of
regional
defense
in which
there
would be
no
attacks
against
Israel,
or by
Israel
against
an Arab
country,
of any
kind.
This
initiative
is the
most
momentous
and
far-reaching
one ever
offered
Israel.
In
the
words
of
the
U.S.
Department
of
State,
the
end
result
sought
in
the
roadmap
to
peace
is
a
settlement,
negotiated
between
the
parties,
that
will
result
in
the
emergence
of
an
independent,
democratic,
and
viable
Palestinian
state
living
side
by
side
in
peace
and
security
with
Israel
and
its
other
neighbors.
The
settlement
will
resolve
the
Israel-Palestinian
conflict,
and
end
the
occupation
that
began
in
1967,
based
on
the
foundation
of
the
Madrid
conference,
the
principle
of
land
for
peace,
UN
Resolutions
242,
338,
and
1397,
agreements
previously
reached
by
the
parties,
and
the
initiative
of
Saudi
Crown
Prince
Abdullah
-
endorsed
by
the
Beirut
Arab
League
Summit
-
calling
for
acceptance
of
Israel
as
a
neighbor
living
in
peace
and
security,
in
the
context
of
a
comprehensive
settlement.
I
am
still
quoting
the
U.S.
State
Department.
This
initiative
is
a
vital
element
of
international
efforts
to
promote
a
comprehensive
peace
on
all
tracks,
including
the
Syrian-Israeli
and
Lebanese-Israeli
tracks.
Saudi
Arabia
has
a
deep
understanding
of
the
conflict
and
its
implications
from
the
outset
for
the
region's
legitimate
quest
for
stability
and
prosperity.
This
stems
from
our
intricate
and
compassionate
identification
with
the
conflict's
international
and
domestic
repercussions.
The
conflict
has
generated
half
a
dozen
wars.
It
is
the
oldest,
largest
and
most
pervasive
factor
explaining
why
regional
peace
is
likely
to
remain
elusive
for
sometime
yet
to
come.
Ladies
and
gentlemen:
the
suffering
of the
Palestinians
must
stop
immediately.
The
humiliation
of the
occupation
must
end.
The
settlements
must be
removed.
Take
Hebron,
for
example.
You
cannot
suffocate
130,000
Palestinians
cramped
in a
small
squalid
area and
imprisoned
in what
is left
of their
homes,
for the
sake of
450
intransigent
settlers.
One
road for
the
occupier,
one road
for the
occupied.
Apartheid
policy
by
Israel
in the
West
Bank and
Gaza
must
come to
an end.
As
you all
know, if
perceptions
are
repeated
enough
and long
enough,
they
become
realities
upon
which
people
will
act.
Today,
America
is the
new and
undisputed
ruler of
the
world.
This
leadership
comes
with the
heavy
responsibility
to
extend
the
American
sense of
justice
and
equality
beyond
the
borders
of the
United
States.
America
must be
perceived
and must
act as
an
honest
broker,
in order
to
succeed
in
furthering
the road
map to
peace in
the
middle
east.
At
issue
here,
is
the
degree
to
which
Arabs
and
Israelis
have
been
led
to
believe
President
Bush's
often
stated
vision
of
a
two-state
solution
to
the
Arab-Israeli
conflict,
whereby
a
state
of
Palestine,
with
east
Jerusalem
as
its
capital,
will
be
brought
into
being
by
2005,
and
enabled
to
exist
side
by
side
with
Israel,
with
each
having
secure
and
recognized
boundaries.
The
world
cannot
afford
more
costly
mistakes
resulting
from the
world's
repeated
inability
-- or
rather
its
leaders'
unwillingness
and
timidity,
in face
of the
challenge
of doing
whatever
is
necessary
-- to
settle
the
conflict.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Mr.
Amr
Khashoggi
is
CEO
of
the
Amkest
Group,
a
holding
company
with
interests
in
building
materials
manufacturing
and
services,
food
packaging,
hygienic
and
medical
products,
and
land
transportation.
He
also
serves
as
Vice-Chairman
of
Modern
Computers
&
Communication,
a
provider
of
e-business
services,
consulting,
and
training,
and
is
President
of
the
Khashoggi
Foundation,
a
family-based
philanthropic
organization.
Mr. Khashoggi is a former CEO of DITevents and a former CEO of Tanmiah Commercial Group, both of which provide event management of major conferences. He is also a former Managing Director of Triad Holding Corporation.
Mr.
Khashoggi
is
a
member
of
the
Saudi
Committee
for
the
Development
of
International
Trade
(CIT)
in
the
Saudi
Chambers
of
Commerce
and
Industry.
He
is
a
former
Chief
Advisor
to
the
CIT
and
Chief
Coordinator
of
its
Outreach
Program.
In
addition,
he
is
a
Board
Member
of
the
Jeddah
Marketing
Board,
a
Member
of
the
Committee
of
International
Relations,
and
a
Member
of
the
Information
Technology
Committee
of
the
Jeddah
Chamber
of
Commerce
and
Industry.
Mr.
Khashoggi
holds
a
B.Sc.
from
Menlo
College
and
an
M.B.A.
from
Yale
University
School
of
Management.
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