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Arabia
Saudi FM slams Western initiatives, says Arabs capable of self-reform
2004-03-21
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal Sunday criticized the American and Western initiatives directed to the Arab countries. Al-Faisal asserted that his country is following local reform plans, noting that the Arab world has suffered from colonization, which created economic, political, and social obstacles.
Ummm... That was 50 years ago. And they were colonized because they were primitive and incapable of governing themselves...
He highlighted the Arabs' need for foreign help on two main issues, the Palestinian cause and the participation of rich countries in opening new markets and increasing investments. He added that "we are not calling for help for free ... we are calling for a real partnership," asserting that "Arabs are open and they know their interest, duties, and rights."
Yes. We've seen that from Soddy Arabia's dealings with Western companies within its borders...
Al-Faisal met Sunday the Yemeni President Ali Saleh and handed him a letter from the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, said the Yemeni News Agency. The agency said that the letter touched on the relations between both countries and the fields of cooperation, in addition to the developments in the region, especially in Palestine and Iraq. Al-Faisal and Saleh also discussed the preparations for the upcoming Arab Summit in Tunisia, in addition to the Arab view on reform in the area. Al-Faisal also held talks with his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr Al-Qerbi on methods to improve bilateral relations and cooperation in fighting terrorism. Al-Qerbi asserted the Arab countries are at a critical stage that requires them to reconsider their relations with their neighbors. He said that many Arab countries started reforms in the political, social, or educational field. He said that both countries believe that they face one enemy when they fight terrorism and create a real partnership, adding that "Yemen and Saudi Arabia are the largest partners at the Arabian Peninsula level". Al-Faisal and the Yemeni Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajammal discussed the relationships between both countries, especially in the field of investment, trade, and economic integration. Bajammal noted the changes in the Arab countries that serve its interests, noting the importance that this change comes from inside the Arab countries, not from outside.
Posted by:Fred

#7  
the Arab world has suffered from colonization

Saudi Arabia was never colonized.
.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester   2004-3-21 11:21:01 PM  

#6  Piss. Moan. Whine. Seeth.
Repeat.
Posted by: tu3031   2004-3-21 11:05:33 PM  

#5  Palestine? Where is this entity called Palestine?
Posted by: Shipman   2004-3-21 8:30:01 PM  

#4  Why is it that the US, Canada, and Australia never get to bitch about being colonies?
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2004-3-21 7:28:08 PM  

#3  noting that the Arab world has suffered from colonization, which created economic, political, and social obstacles
I'm shocked! When are you going to demand compensation from the Turks? Oh & don't forget the Persians, the Buyid occupation of Iraq's still creating major 'obstacles' even today! The Mongols should cough up too...
Posted by: Dave   2004-3-21 7:11:03 PM  

#2  "...the Arab world has suffered from colonization, which created economic, political, and social obstacles."

Ah, the old "colonialism" excuse.

Don't let that get in your way, Faisal baby; as Christopher Lowell would say on the Discovery Channel, "You can do it!"
Posted by: Dave D.   2004-3-21 6:59:00 PM  

#1  "Arabs are open and they know their interest, duties, and rights."

They certainly know their interests - they never vary from that line in the slightest: undermine Western economies and diplomatic policies in a low-grade war to punish supporters of Israel. It hasn't changed since 1973.

Duties? That notion is a joke as they abrogate their obligations whenever it suits them.

Rights? The Arab world is ruled by monarchies and dictatorships. The rights of individuals don't exist except as bribes and pivot points of coercion. Where their citizens reside in Western nations, of course, the art of turning "rights" into weapons to undermine Western society from within are, indeed, an Arab specialty. Writ large, at the level of nations, they apply the same techniques, bribery and coercion, within the framework of Western-created collectives (UN, World Bank, IMF, WTO, etc.) to subvert and undermine the purpose and spirit of those collectives.

The initial claim of being "open" is true only in that their actions are transparent to those who have discarded the gullible romantic notions that dealing with the Arab states is anything other than dealing with an enemy during "open" hostilities.

The OPEC policies of the last year are clearly intended to escalate the punishment of the West for our actions in Iraq. A "bonus" is the added revenue from the outrageous oil prices - which will be quickly redirected to the private Swiss & Carribean accounts of the greedy Rulers whose positions have been made potentially precarious by the introduction of a fledgling democracy in Iraq.

We are at war in every sense of the word. Since open opposition and enmity is surely fatal, they have adapted the Chinese torture technique of one thousand cuts - no single cut fatal, maximizing pain, and prolonging the process... to punish and bleed us slowly while they bend our technologies and institutions against us to their own ends.

When will we turn South?
Posted by: .com   2004-3-21 6:56:17 PM  

00:01