A Welcome to President Bush: Be a Man of Peace, Not War!!

Are the Saudis – who feel more threatened by a resurgent Iran than almost anyone else – buying President Bush’s rhetoric about the pressing nature of the Iranian threat? According to this op-ed article from one of Saudi Arabia’s largest newspapers, the Kingdom is wary of any non-diplomatic solutions to the standoff with Iran, which is far less immediate than continued Israeli attacks on the Palestinians.

“We in the Saudi Kingdom were the first Arabs to establish relations with the United States, thus exposing ourselves to threats from the Soviet Union and its allies … we recognize the value of this relationship … But we refuse to be a tool to spark war and tension with Iran or any other country.”

By Youssef El-Kwelit

Translated By Ahmed Naoual

January 12, 2008

Saudi Arabia – Al-Riyadh – Original Article (Arabic)

Bush was greeted in Israel with great joy and jubilation because people there knew in advance that he would willingly and forcefully utter the name of the pure Jewish state. On the Palestinian side, his arrival was met with demonstrations in Gaza and shock in the West Bank. Thanks to the visit, Olmert became more popular while optimism in Abbas shriveled.

In the Gulf, tension between Iranian gunboats and American battleships are on the cusp of degenerating into armed clashes WATCH . And whether it’s Bush’s goal on his trip to make an opening in the closed wall of peace, the goal is not made easier when Israel’s conditions to achieve it depend on ending alleged terrorism in Gaza where [Hezbullah] rockets have been sent to Israel as a way of greeting the U.S. President. This position would have us believe that Israel’s Apaches [attack helicopters] and tanks, which have been striking and invading, have been sent to hand out sweets to Palestinian children, offer Christmas and Muslim New Year gifts and lift the siege on medicines, food and electricity and heating fuel.

In the other Arab countries he is touring, President Bush is visiting people who awaiting the results of his peace initiatives. Even if we assume that Bush has a different mission in mind on his visit to the Gulf – namely blockading Iran and dealing with its intentions to obtain nuclear weapons by stimulating the Gulf countries to stand in absolute solidarity with his country – the alleged danger from Iran doesn’t minimize the real and enduring danger from Israel – a country already on the world list of the 10 nuclear-armed countries.

[Editor's Note: The author is referring to the 2007 National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear program, which concluded that Iran suspended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 ].

If the President wants Arabs to stand in solidarity with his positions, he should prioritize and begin with the issue of peace before tackling a danger that was recently revealed by U.S. intelligence to be far from real, at least for the near future.

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