Saudi Warns U.S. to Respect Arafat Elaine Sciolino New York Times Service Monday, January 28, 2002
Downfall Would Cause Serious Repercussions, Intelligence Chief Says
RIYADH In a blunt criticism of President George W. Bush, Saudi Arabia's senior intelligence official called Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, "a man of peace" and warned that any action by the United States to weaken him would destroy prospects for a peace settlement and have serious repercussions for the kingdom.
In a wide-ranging interview Saturday, Prince Nawaf ibn Abdulaziz, director of the kingdom's intelligence service, also acknowledged that the vast majority of Saudi young adults felt sympathy for the cause of the Saudi-born Osama bin Laden after Sept. 11, even though they rejected the attacks in New York and Washington.
A classified U.S. report taken from a Saudi intelligence survey of educated Saudis between the ages of 25 and 41 in mid-October concluded that 95 percent of them supported Mr. bin Laden's cause, according to an administration official with access to such reports.
Prince Nawaf confirmed the existence of the survey but not the findings. He attributed the support to what he called people's feelings against the United States, largely, he said, because of its unflinching support of Israel.
Although he insisted that Saudi Arabia had no intention of asking the United States to remove its military presence, which Mr. bin Laden has long demanded, the prince said that the kingdom would not support a campaign against Iraq or any Arab or Muslim country.
Mr. Bush suggested Friday that Mr. Arafat had been "enhancing terrorism" in relation to a boatload of weapons from Iran that was seized earlier this month by Israeli commandos.
[And Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that the escalating violence in the Middle East, much of it prompted by Palestinian suicide bombers, "raises serious questions whether Mr. Arafat is in fact really interested in moving forward with the peace process," The Associated Press reported in Washington.
[Mr. Arafat must "do everything he could, make a 100 percent good-faith effort to put an end to terrorism," Mr. Cheney said. "So far he hasn't done that."]
Prince Nawaf challenged the criticism of Mr. Arafat and warned the United States not to punish him.
"All the governments, the people of the region, believe that America is supporting Israel whether it is right or wrong, and now if something happens to Yasser Arafat, the feeling against American policy will be stronger," the prince said. "Anybody will be able to use it to damage American interests in the area."
The prince, who is in his 70s, is a half brother of both the ailing King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz, the de facto ruler. He spoke in English during the 45-minute interview at his headquarters and en route to a reception at the crown prince's residence.
At the reception, held in connection with an annual Saudi festival, Prince Abdullah was less pointed in his criticism of U.S. foreign policy. Asked what message he would send to Mr. Bush about the war on terrorism, he replied: "My advice to President Bush is to pursue the interests of the United States. This will solve everything."
The crown prince repeatedly has called on the administration to become more engaged in resolving the Palestinian crisis and has criticized Washington harshly for what he sees as its refusal to put pressure on Israel.
For his part, Prince Nawaf said that, if Mr. Arafat left the scene, no other Palestinian would make peace.
"If the United States is going to make it worse by cutting ties with Arafat, who will come to make a peace settlement?" he asked.
"I'm telling the Americans: You can accuse Arafat of anything except that he is not a man of peace," he said.
The interview underscored the gap in the perceptions and expectations that Saudi Arabia and the United States have of each other following Sept. 11.
On the U.S. side, there is an official line that relations are strong and that the Saudis are cooperating with the investigation and the efforts to freeze the assets of Saudi entities that may be supporting terrorism.
But there is deep unease, especially among the uniformed military, that the Saudis are constraining the U.S. mission in the Gulf and that there are discussions among U.S. commanders about shrinking the military force in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi officials said in interviews that they expected support from the United States and instead felt that they had been isolated and branded as terrorists.
Vice President Cheney suggested Sunday that Mr. Arafat and his aides are working with Iran and the terrorist group Hezbollah to get weapons for his Palestinian Authority, The Associated Press report said.
Although Mr. Cheney said he was not sure whether Mr. Arafat approached Iran first or vice versa, the vice president asserted, "I know where he acquired the weapons. He did acquire the weapons from Iran."
"The really disturbing part of this, of course, is that there are a lot of places he could go in the Arab world if he were looking for support and sustenance or for help in moving the peace process forward," Mr. Cheney told Fox News.
"Clearly, he hasn't done that. What he's done is gone to a terrorist organization, Hezbollah, and a state that supports and promotes terrorism, that's dedicated to ending the peace process, Iran, and done business with them," he said.
Mr. Cheney also raised questions about Mr. Arafat's knowledge of the boatload of weapons from Iran.
Mr. Arafat has not acknowledged responsibility for the smuggled arms, but "based on the intelligence we've seen, the people that were involved were so close to him it's hard to believe that he wasn't" involved, Mr. Cheney said.