Troubled Current Under Surface of U.S.-Saudi Ties

The government of Saudi Arabia is about to ask the United States to withdraw its troops from the kingdom. Or maybe not. The United States is looking to move its forces out of Saudi Arabia. Or maybe not.

Confused? You’re not alone.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States, U.S.-Saudi relations have been subject to greater scrutiny than perhaps at any time in nearly seven decades of cooperation. But more than four months later, although many people in both camps say they feel betrayed, their leaders--President Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah--insist that relations are just fine.

“Our relations with America and in particular with its government headed by President George W. Bush are excellent,” Abdullah, the de facto ruler of the world’s largest oil exporter, said in comments published recently in Saudi newspapers.

Riyadh and Washington both view the alliance as necessary to preserve regional stability. Despite their efforts to put the best face on the partnership, both sides have grievances that have sparked a tit-for-tat row over the future of the Prince Sultan Air Base.

Many in this conservative Islamic society are openly angry about U.S. support for Israel, while some U.S. officials have questioned the Saudis’ willingness to help in the fight against terrorism.

The bruised feelings have focused on the air base, home to about 5,000 mostly U.S. troops based there since the Iraqi invasion of neighboring Kuwait in 1990. More than 10 years later, the base appears to be anything but temporary, with a high-tech command center that served as the logistical headquarters for the air campaign in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network.

At least one Western diplomat acknowledged that the base has become a sore point in relations between the two countries. “It is a military presence the Saudis see as inimical to their interests,” said the Riyadh-based diplomat, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified.

The conflict has heated up in recent days: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the United States pull its troops out of Saudi Arabia. Quick on the heels of Levin’s remarks, an anonymous Saudi official told the Washington Post that the U.S. would be asked to leave because it has “overstayed its welcome.”

Then, even as leaders on both sides insisted that there was no substance to the latest controversy, the U.S. military lifted a mandate that female personnel at the base obey the Saudi law requiring women to be cloaked in a black gown and to wear a head covering in public.

The decision followed a lawsuit by a high-ranking female fighter pilot who opposed adhering to the many restrictions placed on women here. But many people in Saudi Arabia said they doubt that its timing was a coincidence.

Officially, Saudi Arabia’s Presidency of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice--a government-funded office--warned that the dress code “also applies to foreign women.”

The issue of the base has caused tremendous anxiety for both governments, in part because removing U.S. troops from Saudi soil has been one of Bin Laden’s key demands.

Bin Laden, stripped of his Saudi citizenship in 1994 for opposing the leadership, has been accused by the U.S. of masterminding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Neither the U.S. nor the Saudis want to appear to be kowtowing to extremists and are very cautious when addressing the issue publicly.

“The U.S.A. troops came during the liberation of Kuwait by a decision of the political leaders, and it was approved with the support of the ulama [religious council],” Salah al Sheik, the Saudi minister of Islamic affairs, said in a recent interview. “There is no harm to having them here in the future as well, because they come according to our wishes and it is approved by our leaders.”

There is widespread hostility to the troops at all levels of Saudi society, although not necessarily on religious grounds. Some said in interviews that they are angry that their government has spent so much money on its own military, yet it still needs U.S. protection. Others argued that the U.S. is using Saudi Arabia to promote its imperial interests in the region, and giving Saudi Arabia nothing but grief in return.

“What do we get from this?” asked a prominent businessman in the port city of Jidda who, like many people in the kingdom, spoke on the condition that he not be identified for fear of angering authorities. “It is all about America’s interests.”

But these are not issues that the leadership chooses to focus on--not now, anyway. In August, Abdullah--who assumed day-to-day operations after King Fahd suffered a stroke in 1996--wrote to Bush saying that the kingdom may have to rethink its relationship with the U.S. because of Washington’s support for Israel.

In recent remarks made while visiting Kuwait, the crown prince said, “Our relations with the American people are excellent, contrary to what is carried by the hired media, and we say the caravan will move forward.”

The news reports didn’t elaborate on what he meant by “hired media,” but other news reports in the kingdom have referred to the “Zionist”-controlled media in the United States. There is an effort to promote the theory that U.S. news reports about strained relations are part of a conspiracy by a Jewish-controlled media to limit Saudi Arabia’s ability to help the Palestinians.

“U.S.-Saudi relations are strong enough not to be affected by this media campaign that is attacking Saudi Arabia,” said Miassar Shammari, the Riyadh-based political editor of the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat. “If we want to look and see who is benefiting from this media campaign, we realize that the party to most benefit from it is the Zionist entity, and this is because of the role of Saudi Arabia in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle.”

This idea of a Jewish media conspiracy appears to be widely held. “In some circles, especially those with strong ties to Israel, they have found this unique opportunity to attack Saudi Arabia because it is showing great support for the Palestinians,” said Abdulaziz bin Salamah, a former Saudi ambassador to UNESCO. “I am not speaking from passion, but from facts.”