Posted on 11/08/2005 3:22:44 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON - Saudi Arabia's ambassador prodded the Bush administration Tuesday to step up its Mideast diplomacy, saying the Arab-Israeli conflict was an "open wound" and the biggest cause for the hatred that leads to terrorism.
In his first speech since being named to the post last summer, Turki bin al-Faisal praised President Bush for calling for a Palestinian state but also indirectly criticized the administration by deploring the "uneven handling" of the Arab-Israeli dispute.
The Arab-Israeli conflict "is the cause more than all others" that has given rise to hatred, he said.
Saudi Arabia has proposed a settlement in which Israel would be recognized by all Arab countries in exchange for relinquishing occupied territory.
The ambassador said Israel should move on from its withdrawal from Gaza to implement the Saudi proposal and "the United States is the only country that can play a pivotal role."
On terrorism, the former intelligence chief said the Saudi government was "trying to root out this evil." He said the Arab kingdom was as much a target of terror as other countries and had killed more than 100 suspects and detained more than 800 others.
School books are being reviewed to remove any signs of intolerance and messages from mosques are being monitored "to make sure they reflect the true spirit of Islam," he said.
The fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists in the 9-11 attacks in New York and Washington were Saudis is a "scar" forever, he said. "These deviants do not represent the Saudis or the Islamic faith," he said in his speech at the annual conference of the Middle East Institute, a private research group.
On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, a U.S. Treasury Department official testified that while Saudi Arabia was trying to make sure Saudi funds do not go to al-Qaida, "they must also work equally diligently to thwart the funding of Palestinian terrorist groups that undermine peace and stability in the Middle East."
Daniel L. Glaser, deputy assistant secretary in the office of terrorist financing, described as troubling a television program aired in Saudi Arabia in August soliciting funds for the Saudi Committee for the Support of the al-Quds intifada.
Contributors were told to place their offerings in Joint Account 98, which Glaser called "a regular issue of concern that we have raised with the Saudis at all levels."
"The United States shares Saudi Arabia's concern for meeting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people, but it is vitally important for Saudi Arabia to act resolutely against all terrorist organizations and to cut off support for groups like Hamas," Glaser said.
Close the Madrasses and you kill off most of the hatred.
Now that they asked, we should start our Diplomacy push right there is Saudi Arabia, getting them to suppress this murderous sect they let lose on the world.
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How can you tell an arab is lying?
His lips are moving.
This is like OJ urging a girl in Japan to stop killing Nicole.
*Wonders if the Saudis are going to urge the French to be more diplomatic to the rioters*
If we had the military that existed when Reagan left office we could seize ALL the arab oil fields and tell them to shove it
"Americans Urge Less Saudi Support of Terror"
Right Mohammed...
AC-130 Gunship diplomacy works for me.
ENVISION WORLD PEACE:
NUKE MECCA NOW.
MORE Mideast diplomacy???? What the heck have we been giving them for the past ##################### years. It's probably to early in the holiday season for a "Ba-hum-bug", but oh well......BA-HUM-BUG!
Inifdels leave messages for saudi scum here:
http://www.saudiembassy.net/Contact.asp
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