SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi officials and editorial-writers responded yesterday to a report of a briefing to a top Pentagon advisory board describing the kingdom as an enemy of the US and a font of terrorism.
Foreign policy adviser Mr Adel al-Jubeir said the analyst's views were "pure fiction. They fly in the face of reality and the face of history. Our two countries have been friends and allies for over 60 years and the relationship has gone from strength to strength."
After speaking by phone to the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Saudi al-Faisal, said relations were "excellent" in all fields. "It is unfortunate that there are people in some quarters who are trying to cast doubts and undermine the solid and historic ties between our two countries."
However, the Riyadh daily Okaz observed in a front-page editorial: "A current has been growing recently in Washington to undermine the historical relations between the kingdom and the United States, at the instigation of certain quarters who are enemies to Saudi Arabia. The danger posed by this group lies in its thoroughgoing penetration of the institutions that decide US foreign policy."
The newspaper said that after September 11th, such antagonists had influenced Washington decision-makers, opening "the way for this fierce attack on the kingdom".
