Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 — The Saudi government has spent millions of dollars on well-connected lobbyists and national television advertisements since Sept. 11 in a drive to improve its image among Americans and is poised to spend more as the anniversary of the events approaches. Saudi officials said the publicity was intended to counter intensified anger or skepticism among Americans toward their country, which was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers and which has clashed publicly with the Bush administration over a possible attack against Iraq. A striking sign of the Saudis' eagerness to reach out to the United States...

   This item is available online at http://www.meforum.org/article/37/The Wacky World of French Intellectuals by Laurent MurawiecMiddle East QuarterlySpring 2000 Whence comes the phenomenon known as fundamentalist Islam or Islamism? Some French analysts from a range of disciplines (international affairs, Orientalism, security studies, journalism) have come to an agreement: it comes from. . . the United States. Despite the inherent implausibility of viewing a movement engaged in a sustained attack on Americans as a diabolical U.S. plot, this argument has considerable persuasive power. It presents Islamism as an American attempt to retard progress in Muslim countries and divide them from their natural...

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- HRH Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today emphasized the strength of U.S.-Saudi relations, and reiterated that the two countries have been friends and allies for over 60 years. Prince Saud described the bilateral relationship as "excellent in all fields." Prince Saud described as "pure fiction" the contents of a briefing given by Laurent Murawiec of the Rand Corporation to the U.S. Defense Policy Board on July 10, 2002, in which he described the Kingdom as an enemy of the United States. Prince Saud indicated that he received a telephone call from...

At a classified briefing last month , a top Pentagon advisory panel was told Saudi Arabia is an enemy to the United States and a backer of terrorism. "The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader," stated the briefing prepared by Laurent Murawiec, a Rand Corporation analyst. The briefing was presented on July 10 to the Defense Policy Board, a group of prominent intellectuals and former senior officials that advises the Pentagon on defense policy, the report said, adding that it appeared to be linked...