Saudi Arabia: A TIME Forum
	How can the U.S. and Saudi Arabia ease their mutual suspicion and forge a better partnership against terrorism? We asked some thinkers for their opinions on what might bring the countries closer together

Posted Sunday, September 7, 2003
ROBERT BAER
Former CIA operative, author of Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
We can't write off all Saudis as part of some evil conspiracy. We should look at the reformist current in the royal family. At the head of this current is Crown Prince Abdullah. Throughout the 1990s, he quietly urged the royal family to cut back on its spending and gradually trim the welfare state that has driven Saudi Arabia so deeply into financial problems. He has also pressed for putting young Saudis to work rather than letting them spend their time in the mosque or visit militant Islamic sites on the Internet. Abdullah is not alone. There are several generations of princes who would like to lead Saudi Arabia into the 21st century. The U.S. needs to engage this current crop.

MAMOUN FANDY
Author of Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent
In hindsight, full cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. on global terrorism should have started with the Khobar Towers bombing of the U.S. air base in 1996, which was the first action in a series leading up to Sept. 11. Since then, it has become very difficult to address the Saudi-American relationship in a reasonable fashion. Extremists in both countries have become more vocal. But now, since the attack on May 12 in Riyadh, ordinary Saudis have a new reason to find common ground with America. Both governments need to be absolutely candid and transparent as they work toward rebuilding their relationship.

TURKI AL-HAMAD
Saudi columnist for the London newspaper Asharq al-Awsat
The culture of Saudi Arabia belongs to a past age. It is not appropriate for the age of globalization.The first step is changing the concepts of people, changing their attitudes toward the world, toward themselves, toward other countries. In the past, their minds were stuffed with bad concepts, so we have to change the minds of people. But if you start with the top and forget the base, I think that will lead to nothing.

F. GREGORY GAUSE III
Director, Middle East studies program, University of Vermont
There is no assurance that a new regime in Riyadh would be any friendlier to the U.S., harder on extremists or more concerned with human rights. The Saudis not only sit on 25% of the world's known oil reserves but also control Mecca and Medina, the focal points of faith for the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world. Surely, having a government there that, despite its problems, responds to American pressures on oil questions and the war on terrorism is better for our interests than the leap into the dark a new regime would be.

RICHARD BULLIET
Professor of history, Columbia University
The best way to crack the foundations of jihadist terrorism is to encourage democratic liberalization in autocratic Muslim states. What horrifies Americans is that this means recognizing that Muslim political parties deserve a chance to seek popular support and, if successful, to rule. What horrifies the House of Saud is that eventually monarchical Saudi Arabia must liberalize too. Comparing horrors, however, a freely elected government with a religious tinge has a better chance of robbing the bombers and murderers of popular support than a callous dictator consumed with keeping his family in power. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. should agree on this and act accordingly.

WALID PHARES
Professor, Middle East studies, Florida Atlantic University
The Saudis must define who they are. If they fight bin Laden today but maintain Wahhabism as a state doctrine, they will be preparing for the next al-Qaeda. But if they distance themselves from Wahhabism and engage in reforms, they could transform the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy where Islam would thrive. The emirs must denounce jihad as a form of international relations. But can a branch cut its own roots? If the Saudis do so, we can trust them as allies in the war on terrorism.

SHIBLEY TELHAMI
Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland
The U.S. must work closely with the Saudis to address issues that matter most to America, knowing that the most important incentive for change is coming from within. Most of the bulging, youthful and restless population gets its news today from outside the kingdom's boundaries—from satellite TV and the Internet. These are signs of public empowerment to which the government will have to respond far more urgently than it will to America's efforts.

JEAN-FRANÇOIS SEZNEC
Adjunct professor, Middle East Institute, Columbia University
Sixty percent of the Saudi population is below the age of 25, and the unemployment rate is 15%. The government is aware of this problem and as a solution has been promoting massive industrialization. The U.S. should support this by pushing for Saudi membership in the World Trade Organization, which would foster legal transparency and the liberalization of the economy. Both the Saudis and the U.S. public need to see each other as basically honest, hardworking people.

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