Posted on 07/01/2002 6:05:07 AM PDT by SJackson
RIYADH, 1 July — Saudi businessmen and traders have expressed their anguish and shock over the new measures proposed by the US Justice Department targeting Saudis and warned that they would harm Saudi-American relations.
They were commenting on a new immigration law announced by the US Justice Department which requires of foreign visitors to register their names with the government if they intended to stay 30 days or more.
The new law also allows US authorities to take fingerprints of foreigners, who do not possess permanent resident permits, soon after their arrival in the country.
Abdullah Zainal Alireza, chairman of the Saudi Committee for Promoting International Trade at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, disclosed that business delegations would be sent to the US to explain Saudi Arabia’s viewpoints on Washington’s new move.
Alireza told Arab News that the proposed measures had sent shockwaves among Saudi businessmen and traders despite the clarification given by the US attorney general that the steps would be implemented only on countries that supported terrorism.
Alireza objected to taking selective measures against Saudis visiting the United States. “This will only increase the isolation between peoples of the two countries and harm the interests of the two sides.
“It is the right of the United States to protect the security of the country and its citizens by taking the necessary steps... But the proposed measures will harm Saudi visitors to the US and we would like to know the opinion of US businessmen on this measure,” he added.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Bunyan, executive director of the Saudi-American Business Council, highlighted the danger posed by the measures to business relations between the two countries.
However, he pointed out that it was better not to make any speculation before the US government took a decision on implementing the measures.
“It’s the right of every country to take necessary measures to protect its interests and the security of its citizens. But it is not acceptable to target Saudi Arabia by adopting such measures,” he added.
He deplored the anti-Saudi media campaign by certain quarters in the US and said the business council was concerned about the issue.
Dr. Farhat Farhat, an expert on World Trade Organization, said the new measures were likely to affect Saudi businessmen.
“US businessmen know the importance of the Saudi market for their exports and I am sure they will say their word if the bill was passed for execution.”
Dr. Abdul Aziz Daghestani, director general of the Economic Studies House in Riyadh, said the new steps would amount to the US government joining hands with its media in targeting Saudi citizens through selective measures.
“This is not at all acceptable and Saudi Arabia should retaliate by taking similar measures,” he added.
Protecting their "culture" I guess.
Do us a favor and STAY HOME!!!!
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The Saudis supported Osama bin Laden.
The Saudis are afraid that the communist-supported fascist-Islamic revolution which over-threw the Shah of Iran, has grown enough in Arabia to over-throw the House of Saud.
The Saudis figured to appease Saddam Hussein, whenafter the last throw of cruise missiles by Bill Clinton's attempt to diffuse the concentration of the American public upon his Impeachment Trial in the U.S. Senate ... Saddam appeared, at the minimum, to win ... and so the Saudis upped the price of oil as tribute to Saddam.
In a similar vein, the Saudis are attempting to appease the fascists among their neighbors, among their subjects, and among themselves --- by attacking western culture and the United States of America.
The Saudis believe in using terrorism as an economic means; they will support terrorism, which is actually a sub-class of piracy, wherever it will effectively obstruct the competition.
The Saudis are undeniably members of the Axis of Terrorism against which the United States is at war.
Save the people of Saudi Arabia who would rather fight for their peace and liberty, and a judicial system which is not a direct, as well as absolute, branch of Islam ...
Saudi Arabia is a relatively benign dictatorship, for now, having arrived their by not facing down the fascism within that has been coiling up to strike the whole of it.
At the same time, the fascists, there are, are loose upon the planet and wish not to be challenged on their missions of forcing subjigation.
Frustrated at losing control over their kingdom, the Saudis are taking it out on everybody else.
Too many among them wish to posture before the world well enough to cover their designs to gain the very weapons of mass destruction which we are all supposed to abhor in the hands of Saddam.
In the hands of the Saudis, we are going to be suffering the lot of think tanks in the Beltway who have suddenly been the beneficiaries of Saudi largesse --- and they will say that we can trust the Saudis.
The problem is not really that Saddam Hussein might develop nuclear weapons; the problem is that the Saudis have come close enough to buying them outright.
Israel is fast becoming the young child lashed to the front of a North Korean battle tank.
Failure of the United States to directly affect military power upon the enemies among the mid-Easteners who have attacked us, has left such peoples feeling quite heady about their purposes.
Nuclear weapons are no safer in the hands of the Saudis, than they are in the hands of the Saddamis.
The Beltway theorists who fancy that open trade with "the people" will elevate them to sufficient economic well-being that they will in turn affect truth, justice, and the way of democratic-republics that is that truth and justice will be enforced by these same people instead of their former dictators ... is a nice theory; but it has yet to be proven to work when the dictators are still in charge, in Red China, and in Saudi Arabia, who are the two most prominent foreign powers mucking about in support of terrorism in order that their energy axis "wins."
The dependency of the people upon their rulers, in those two countries, can be relied upon to be queued at the necessary time, to affect the level of revolution against real justice and liberty and the self-determination of such people.
We had thought that the Saudis wished us no ill-will, but having seen the destruction, here, to the contrary, what might be the most outstanding differences between the dictatorship their and in Red China?
After a review of the totalinarism of both, there is but the Red Chinese veneer that they "come in peace" and the Saudi appearance to believe in God but certainly not a loving God.
If the Saudis were our friends, they could have themselves captured Osama bin Laden and most of his cohorts, very early on; nope, instead, the Saudis have found terrorism useful and are continuing to aid it; much as the Red Chinese are aiding the "Islamic" revolutionaries of the Southwest Pacific Rim.
Both the Saudis and the Red Chinese know that the weak gut of business, will trade as a first priority over all such considerations which would otherwise give pause.
They can't do that. There are no casinos at home.
And, the events of 9/11 and Saudi support of terrorists do what? I am getting a little tired of these people.
I suspect that the Saudis don't want us to interfere with the terrorists they are sending here.
How 'bout nuking Mecca, think maybe that would warm up US-Sowdee relations a little bit?
This businessman thinks it is a great idea. Thanks, Alireza, for your concern about my feelings.
The Saudis can't figure out why they can't have everything both ways. Their Muslim "religion" requires them to look at everything is a schizophrenic manner and have a mentality of denial and fantasy.
See: Are too many Muslims in denial about September 11?, The Telegraph (U.K.), by Barbara Amiel, Mar. 4, 2002 (posted by Pokey78).
See: A Ray of Arab Candor: A U. N. report by Middle-Eastern intellectuals blames Arab culture, City Journal, July 4, 2002, by Victor Davis Hanson (posted by aculeus).
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