Adel Al-Jubeir Saudi Diplomat Seeks to Define U.S.-Saudi Relationship, Post 9/11 by John Shaw For a man who lives halfway across the world, Adel Al-Jubeir sure spends a lot of time in Washington and on American television. A resident of Riyadh, the smooth, polished diplomat from Saudi Arabia is working overtime to explain his nation to American audiences and to try to ease mounting concerns about Saudi Arabia within the United States. In the last year, Al-Jubeir has been pressed to address the most fundamental questions about the nature of the U.S.-Saudi relationship in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. Additionally, Al-Jubeir helps craft and articulate the Saudi response to a raft of fresh controversies and problems. These include a massive lawsuit against Saudi Arabia by some of the families of the victims of Sept. 11, allegations that the Saudi government has not insisted on the return of kidnapped American children to their American mothers, and a startling charge in a new book that Saudi Arabiaís ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, intentionally misled the FBI in its probe o f the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing. Calm, precise and relentlessly on message, Al-Jubeir insists that his nation and the United States will emerge from this difficult time as good friends and loyal allies. ìAt core, our relationship is rock solid,î Al-Jubeir said in an interview at the Metropolitan Club during a recent whirlwind visit to Washington. ìWeíve been allies for 60 years. We have strong economic ties, strong military ties, strong political ties. Our values are very similar,î he added. With Prince Bandar largely focused on quiet, behind-the-scenes diplomacy in the United States, Al-Jubeir is the public face and soothing voice behind Saudi Arabiaís newly aggressive strategy to explain itself to the United States. The Saudi government is now spending millions of dollars on high-powered lobbyists and prestigious public relations firms to project a new image in Washington. Al-Jubeir is superbly qualified to make Saudi Arabiaís case in the United States. Now 40, he attended schools in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. He received a bachelorís degree in political science and economics from the University of North Texas in 1982 and then earned a masterís degree in international relations from Georgetown University in 1984. Al-Jubeir entered Saudi Arabiaís foreign service in 1986 and was posted to Washington as special assistant to the ambassador for more than a dozen years. He was selected to direct the Saudi Information Office in Washington in 1999 and then a year later was appointed to the crown princeís court. He now serves as a senior foreign policy adviser to Crown Prince Abdullah, who in recent years has assumed greater leadership responsibilities in Saudi Arabia. King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995 and is no longer involved in government activities. Al-Jubeir oversees a number of regional analysts and offices and also travels extensively to represent his nation. ìThe crown prince sends me around the world to do things,î he noted. Al-Jubeir has been very active and visible in responding to the crescendo of criticisms of Saudi Arabia that arose in the United States after Sept 11. His basic message is that his nation was also a target and victim of the attacks. ìSept. 11 was a triple shock for Saudi Arabia,î he said. ìFirst, the sheer magnitude of the crimeóthe murder of several thousand peopleówas shocking. Second, we were shocked that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens. The third shock was the reaction it created in the United States, the doubts it created about Saudi Arabia, about Saudi Arabiaís commitment to peace and security,î he said. Al-Jubeir sharply disputes the view that the heavy participation of Saudis in the terrorist attacks reflects growing anti-American feelings in his nation. ìThe fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis was clearly designed by Osama bin Laden to drive a wedge between our two countries. We are as much a target as America is. He could have chosen any nationality to be on these planesóincluding Americans. He intentionally chose Saudis to generate doubts. And he almost succeeded,î Al-Jubeir said. ìThis was an operation conceived in Afghanistan, planned in Hamburg, executed in America. This is a global issue. Itís not about Saudi Arabia or America. Itís about both of us,î he said. Al-Jubeir noted that the United States and Saudi Arabia have a long and solid relationship that began almost as soon as modern Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932. A series of informal agreements and statements by successive American administrations and military deployments have demonstrated a strong U.S. security commitment to Saudi Arabia, which, among other things, sits on about a quarter of the worldís proven oil reserves. Saudi Arabia was a key member of the allied coalition that expelled Iraq from Kuwait in 1991, and about 5,000 American troops remain in the country. Saudi Arabia continues to host U.S. aircraft enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. However, it has not offered the use of its land for major air strikes against Iraq in response to Iraqi obstruction of U.N. weapons inspections. Bush administration officials have praised Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, citing its cooperation in intelligence sharing, law enforcement and tracking terrorist financing. But some lawmakers and foreign policy analysts are asking a host of basic and searching questions: Do the United States and Saudi Arabia share basic values or only interests? Why has there been limited political reform in Saudi Arabia? What is the long-term outlook for Saudi political stability? What are the strategic benefits of Saudi Arabiaís military facilities? What are the motives of Crown Prince Abdullahís peace initiative? Do large numbers of Saudis support terrorism against the West? Would Saudi Arabia assist a U.S. invasion of Iraq? And is there a basis to the U.S.-Saudi relationship beyond oil and security? Lingering tensions in the U.S.-Saudi relationship exploded in the public eye this summer when it was revealed that the July 10 meeting of the Pentagonís Defense Policy Board included a briefing that was sharply critical of Saudi Arabia. A report written and presented by a RAND Corp. consultant, Laurent Murawiec, described Saudi Arabia as ìthe kernel of evil, the prime mover, the most dangerous opponentî in the Middle East. It urged the United States to offer Saudi Arabia a clear choice: Stop backing terrorism or face seizure of its oilfields and financial assets in America. Al-Jubeir bristles at the mere mention of this report, saying it was superficial, riddled with errors, and should never have been presented to a serious policy group in the American government. ìIt had no research underpinning it. None. It expressed a view that is extremeóoff the charts. But how did this get presented to such a prestigious group? Whom allowed it to happen? And why did they allow it to happen,î he asked of the briefing. Al-Jubeir said the report and other controversies should not distract the two nations from their larger goals. ìWe are committed to the war on terrorism. We have done everything we could possibly do. We have been a steadfast ally in the war against terrorism,î he said. ìWe will win this war, but not if we blame each other. If the goal is to destroy this organization, we can do it. We are doing it. We just need to keep on doing it,î he added. Al-Jubeir acknowledges that Saudi Arabia views the threat posed by Saddam Hussein differently than Washington does. ìSaddam Hussein is a threat. He made agreements with the U.N. and has not been in compliance. He needs to be brought into compliance. This is largely an arms control issue,î he noted. ìSaudi Arabia and Kuwait are the countries most threatened by Saddam Hussein. What we are saying is that there is a process to get this doneóa diplomatic process that is moving forward. Letís see if we get inspectors back in with unfettered access.î Al-Jubeir said that as the United States and other nations ponder possible military action against Iraq, it is crucial to consider a warís monetary cost, its effect on the regionís economy and political stability, the number of causalities it would cause, and the future difficulty of rebuilding Iraq and the region in the aftermath of such a war. ìThere are a lot of people i n the U.S. talking about Iraq who have an agenda for going to war and who have not thought it through,î Al-Jubeir said. ìWe already have two wars going onóin Afghanistan and between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Do you want a third war?î Initially, Saudi officials said they would not let the United States use Saudi air bases for an attack on Iraq, but they have recently softened that position and said the bases could be used if the military effort is sanctioned by the United Nations. In carefully circumspect diplomatic language, Al-Jubeir argued that the United States should spend less of its energy on Iraq and invest more effort in bringing about a peace in the Middle East, particularly between the Israelis and Palestinians. The crown prince offered a peace plan in February, won its approval by the Arab League, and discussed it with President George W. Bush this spring at the presidentís ranch in Crawford, Texas. ìThis peace initiative is historic. For the first time in the history of this conflict it would say to Israel: We will recognize you. We will sign treaties with you. We will live in peace with you in exchange for your withdrawal from the occupied territories. Everything the Israelis have dreamed of is in it. Itís on the table. But we havenít had an Israeli response. The ball is in Israelís court,î Al-Jubeir said. ìIts strength is in its simplicity. If Israel withdraws from the occupied territories, it will get normal relations with the Arab world,î he added. Despite the grueling travel and the public grilling he sometimes receives, Al-Jubeir relishes the thrill and challenge of his work. ìDiplomacy requires you to be very pragmatic and practical. You have to bring principles and idealism. You need proportion and a sense of balance,î he said. ìYou donít think of the exhaustion. The rewards are personal, intellectual. Itís a public service. Itís energizing.î When he has a free afternoon or evening, Al-Jubeir likes to read or walk or just do nothing. ìDo-nothing time is very important and very underrated,î he said with a smile. But he is determined to use his waking hours to tell Saudi Arabiaís story to the United States and across the world. ìIf 10 percent of the charges made against Saudi Arabia were true, I would not want to be a Saudi,î he said. ìYou have a small group of people who are trying to portray Saudi Arabia in an unfavorable light. But what we are going through is a storm that will pass. We have nothing to fear of America judging us by what we are.î John Shaw is a contributing writer to The Washington Diplomat.