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American Morning
Inside Saudi Arabia
Aired September 30, 2002 - 08:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, we begin a week-long series looking inside Saudi Arabia. Is it a powerful friend or a potentially dangerous enemy? As the U.S. considers war with Iraq, Andrea Koppel explores the complex relationship between two partners who rarely see eye to eye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Friend or foe? As the U.S. lobbies for support for a possible war on Iraq, it is a question leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United States have been asking a lot, each about the other, and it's shaking the very foundation of this 60-year alliance, built on basic formula: in exchange for Saudi oil, the U.S. Military will defend the Saudi kingdom.
Ever since the September 11th attacks, U.S. officials say, both sides have been forced to confront sensitive issues they had long ignored.
YOUSSEF IBRAHIM, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: The Saudi relationship with the United States has deteriorated to a point where I can describe it, if I want to be melodramatic, as one that is on the verge of a divorce.
KOPPEL: Publicly, both governments deny reports of a serious rift, on display last spring when Saudi crown Prince Abdullah refused to join President Bush at a press conference at a meeting at his Texas ranch.
Privately, Washington and Riyadh point a long list of grievances. The Saudis, outraged about a classified briefing to a Pentagon advisory group suggesting Saudi Arabia should be treated as an enemy. A recent INS decision to fingerprint Saudi men among those from other Muslim countries who are applying for U.S. visas, and a perceived bias toward Israel. which the Saudis say complicate the efforts to end two years of Palestinian Israeli violence.
For its part, the U.S. criticizes the Saudis for refusing to providing enough intelligence on 15 of 19 hijackers who were Saudi citizens, accuses the kingdom of exporting and funding radical Islam, and remains unsure whether Saudi Arabia will support a war on Iraq.
In an interview with CNN this month, the Saudi foreign minister indicated his government would cooperate, but only if that action is supported by the U.N.
PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: Every country that has signed the charter of the United Nations has to fulfill that.
KOPPEL: With several thousand U.S. troops based at Prince Sultan airbase in the Saudi desert, next door to Iraq, U.S. officials say Saudi support will be very important.
(on camera): At the end of the day, explained one State Department official, there isn't a lot of leverage we can exercise with one another. The real strength of this relationship, he said, is that we both want to make it work, despite all of the differences.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 30, 2002 - 08:51 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, we begin a week-long series looking inside Saudi Arabia. Is it a powerful friend or a potentially dangerous enemy? As the U.S. considers war with Iraq, Andrea Koppel explores the complex relationship between two partners who rarely see eye to eye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Friend or foe? As the U.S. lobbies for support for a possible war on Iraq, it is a question leaders in Saudi Arabia and the United States have been asking a lot, each about the other, and it's shaking the very foundation of this 60-year alliance, built on basic formula: in exchange for Saudi oil, the U.S. Military will defend the Saudi kingdom.
Ever since the September 11th attacks, U.S. officials say, both sides have been forced to confront sensitive issues they had long ignored.
YOUSSEF IBRAHIM, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: The Saudi relationship with the United States has deteriorated to a point where I can describe it, if I want to be melodramatic, as one that is on the verge of a divorce.
KOPPEL: Publicly, both governments deny reports of a serious rift, on display last spring when Saudi crown Prince Abdullah refused to join President Bush at a press conference at a meeting at his Texas ranch.
Privately, Washington and Riyadh point a long list of grievances. The Saudis, outraged about a classified briefing to a Pentagon advisory group suggesting Saudi Arabia should be treated as an enemy. A recent INS decision to fingerprint Saudi men among those from other Muslim countries who are applying for U.S. visas, and a perceived bias toward Israel. which the Saudis say complicate the efforts to end two years of Palestinian Israeli violence.
For its part, the U.S. criticizes the Saudis for refusing to providing enough intelligence on 15 of 19 hijackers who were Saudi citizens, accuses the kingdom of exporting and funding radical Islam, and remains unsure whether Saudi Arabia will support a war on Iraq.
In an interview with CNN this month, the Saudi foreign minister indicated his government would cooperate, but only if that action is supported by the U.N.
PRINCE SAUD AL-FAISAL, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: Every country that has signed the charter of the United Nations has to fulfill that.
KOPPEL: With several thousand U.S. troops based at Prince Sultan airbase in the Saudi desert, next door to Iraq, U.S. officials say Saudi support will be very important.
(on camera): At the end of the day, explained one State Department official, there isn't a lot of leverage we can exercise with one another. The real strength of this relationship, he said, is that we both want to make it work, despite all of the differences.
Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
