Saudis getting restive with U.S.

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA, SEPT. 11. At a time when the rest of the Arab League insists on embarrassing itself by issuing meaningless statements on the Israel Palestinian confrontation, Saudi Arabia is trying to bring its considerable prestige to bear.

Of late, the Saudis have become ever more harshly critical of the U.S. administration for distancing itself from the issue and, according to reports, have registered their resentment by cancelling meetings with the U.S. Saudi intervention might not be enough to prod the U.S. into action but at least the Kingdom is showing itself more capable of asserting itself.

The Kingdom's Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al Faisal, has recently visited the capitals of the four Arab states that border Israel in an effort to develop a co-ordinated position on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. During his visit to Amman, Prince Saud used uncharacteristically harsh language to criticise the U.S. administration for its decision to keep aloof from the conflict till Israel and the Palestinian Authority are able to bring down the levels of violence. ``Enough is enough'' Prince Saud said in reference to what he described as the U.S. administration's failure to shoulder its responsibilities as the sole mediator of the conflict.

According to reports from Riyadh, the Kingdom has not contended itself with issuing harsh statements. Saudi Arabia was said to have indefinitely postponed the yearly talks between their military and that of the U.S. which were scheduled to take place on August 29 and 30. The Saudis were said to have decided not to hold the talks at this time though the Chief of Staff, Gen. Salah al Muhaya, was in the U.S. on holiday in the days immediately prior to the date for which the talks were scheduled. The Saudis are known to have issued another such snub on at least one occasion earlier when Crown Prince, Abdullah al Saud, declined an invitation to visit Washington.

Saudi newspapers, which are closely monitored even when not controlled by the Government, have also stepped up their criticism of the U.S. administration. The Saudi media has stopped just short of wholeheartedly accusing the U.S. of supporting the Israelis in their aggression against the Palestinians.

Though the papers have also alluded to the Arab world's weakness that prevents them from applying any sort of meaningful pressure on the U.S. there have been veiled references to the kind of threats that could emanate in and from the region if the U.S. continues with its current policy of blandly supporting whatever Israel does. One paper, Al Riyadh, has warned that ``latent Arab forces that are observing the situation'' might react if Arab officialdom failed to act decisively.

The warning could have been a reference to the religio-political forces that all the moderate Arab governments have been able to contain only with difficulty. Or it could have been a reference to states like Iraq which incidentally has been the only one to have provided any meaningful assistance to the Palestinians. It was probable that the warning was not an allusion to the possibility that the Saudis could make common cause with these political forces or states. But it is certainly a warning to the U.S. that its silence in regard to Israel is strengthening those very forces that could undermine U.S. allies and interests in the region.

There does not appear to be much in the way of concrete action that the Saudis can take to force the U.S. to activate itself in the Israel-Palestinian dispute. An oil embargo card will not work in a situation where the Kingdom is constantly engaged in an exercise to stabilise world oil markets.

Neither can the Saudis go so far as to break military ties with the West. But there are many other areas at sub- critical levels - the campaign to curb the spread of

fundamentalist terrorism being one of them - where Saudi involvement is crucial. The Saudis, unlike the rest of the Arab world, are at least adopting the tone and measured escalation of rhetoric that could possibly catch the attention of the U.S. administration.

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Section  : International
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