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PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJI #0367/01 2741114
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 011114Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1541
INFO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0210
RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8527
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0128
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WASHDC
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0102
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000367 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO (JFELTMAN), NEA/ARP 
(JHARRIS,JBERNDT), NEA/PPD (JDICKMEYER, PAGNEW, DBENZE); R 
(JMCHALE, WDOUGLAS), ECA/A/E (RSWENSON), ECA/A/E/NEA 
(DIVES); DRL; OES/SCT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029 
TAGS: ECON EDU KPAO LE PGOV PHUM PREL SA SCUL
SUBJECT: THE NEW FACE OF SAUDI ARABIA?  SAUDI MINISTER,S 
TOUR D,HORIZON, FROM FACEBOOK TO KINGDOM,S NEW "PRAGMATIC 
HOUSE OF WISDOM" 
 
REF: A. RIYADH 793 
     ¶B. RIYADH 1154 
     ¶C. RIYADH 1278 
     ¶D. JEDDAH 0349 
     ¶E. JEDDAH 0365 
 
JEDDAH 00000367  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( 
d) 
 
¶1. (C) SUMMARY:  In September 23 meeting with Ambassador 
Smith and Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public 
Affairs Judith McHale, Saudi Minister of Culture and 
Information Abdul Aziz Khoja held forth on issues ranging 
from new media and the significance of the Kingdom,s 
brand-new flagship graduate university to political 
flashpoints in the Middle East.  As in other recent meetings 
with Mission officers (refs A and B), Khoja was frank and 
forthcoming in discussing his views of Saudi society, 
government, education, and relations with the U.S.  On the 
occasion of the official inauguration of the King Abdullah 
University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Khoja described 
the university as a pragmatic reincarnation of the Islamic 
House of Wisdom (Bait al-Hikma).  Khoja indicated that King 
Abdullah's vision for KAUST is consistent with his desire to 
open the kingdom to new ideas and cultures.  On regional 
politics, Khoja averred that the U.S. role in resolving the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key to restoring the 
image of the United States in the region.  Asked about the 
political turmoil in Lebanon, Khoja cited "external 
influence" as the root cause but paradoxically added that 
Lebanon cannot solve its problems without help from the 
United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
"FACEBOOK" MINISTER:  OUTREACH TO YOUTH "ESSENTIAL" 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2.  (C) When U/S McHale asked Khoja about his Facebook (FB) 
page, the minister responded that he had 5,000 friends from 
all walks of life and many nations, and that his FB page 
dealt with "everything from...politics to poetry."  Khoja 
emphasized that it is "essential to know what youth are 
thinking and why," adding that "everyone" in Saudi Arabia has 
internet access and thus the whole world via laptop computer 
at home. 
 
 
"NEW BEGINNING" AND THE "SPECIAL" U.S.-KSA RELATIONSHIP 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Citing President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech and the 
"new beginning" for U.S. relations with the Muslim world, U/S 
McHale asked Khoja for his views on the U.S. and Arab 
perceptions of American policies.  Stressing the Kingdom's 
"special" relationship with the U.S. and Saudis' growing 
understanding of American culture and society, Khoja 
responded: "We have a lot to do together, and we can do so 
much together.  Saudi Arabia represents the Islamic world to 
the whole world.  We are not isolated, and we want to live 
with the whole world." 
 
 
KAUST AS THE MODERN "HOUSE OF WISDOM" AND HARBINGER OF 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS IN KSA 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Turning to education and the historic opening of KAUST 
on Saudi National Day (ref C), Khoja described the new 
university as a "pragmatic" reincarnation of the Abbasid-era 
House of Wisdom (Bait al-Hikma). Asked by Ambassador Smith 
whether KAUST indicates Saudi Arabia's willingness to 
reconcile with its pre-Islamic history, Khoja reiterated King 
Abdullah's vision for KAUST to use science and technology as 
a bridge between the past and the present, adding that 
partnering with the United States, the United Kingdom, China, 
and Japan is necessary to ensure the success of KAUST. 
 
JEDDAH 00000367  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶5. (C) Khoja explained that KAUST is consistent with the 
King's desire to open the Kingdom to new ideas and cultures, 
promote mixed gender education, and prepare the country to 
deal with the challenges of the future.  With widespread 
access to new media and social networking tools in Saudi 
Arabia, the minister acknowledged that it is virtually 
impossible to control access to information.  Instead, the 
government is now focusing on preparing Saudis for the new 
world.  Khoja opined that the Saudi press has more freedom 
than any other Gulf country, and that "anyone can write what 
he wishes."  (See ref D for real-world limitations to this 
claim.) 
 
 
U.S. MUST SHOW "FLAGS OF DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE" IN REGION 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Returning to U/S McHale's request for his views on the 
U.S. in the region, Khoja emphasized the importance of the 
U.S. role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as 
the key to restoring the image of United States in the 
region.  Citing Arab anger over perceived U.S. bias toward 
Israel and attendant double standards in dealing with the 
Arabs, Khoja said Arabs want to like the U.S. but that the 
United States must, in turn, be "fair."  He described the 
U.S. as the bearer of "the flags of democracy and justice" 
and added that Arabs want the United States to apply those 
principles not just within its borders but everywhere in the 
world. 
 
 
LEBANON IS THE "WHOLE WORLD" 
---------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Ambassador Smith and U/S McHale asked Khoja, the 
Kingdom's ambassador to Lebanon before being appointed 
minister, to share his views on that country and the 
post-election turmoil.  Khoja described the situation in 
Lebanon as "very complicated" and quipped, "Lebanon is the 
whole world." The influence of Iran, Syria, and "other 
countries" is the root of Lebanon's problems. The nation's 
ongoing political plight and "crazy" factional strife 
underscored the need for the U.S., Iran, Saudi Arabia, and 
Syria to work together to find a solution.  Khoja said that 
while Saudi Arabia would like to assist in stabilizing 
Lebanon, it does not want to be viewed as interfering in 
Lebanese politics.  He described the contradictory nature of 
the Lebanese:  well educated, cultured, and entrepreneurial, 
but prone to "acts of savagery" in the blink of an eye.  The 
minister confessed his inability to understand the psychology 
of the Lebanese, whom he sees as always wanting others to 
tell them what to do and how to do it. Referring warmly to 
his relationship with Ambassador Feltman, Khoja recalled: "We 
were together (in Lebanon) for four years, and we saw a lot 
of improvements." 
 
BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP IS KEY TO REGIONAL PROGRESS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶8. (C) As the meeting concluded, Khoja re-emphasized the 
importance of U.S.-Saudi relations not just for bilateral 
interests but for meeting key, shared regional objectives: 
stability in Lebanon, a secure and free Iraq, and resumption 
of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.  Khoja concluded:  "Saudi 
Arabia can influence the region; the U.S. can influence the 
world." 
 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT:  Living up to his reputation as a senior 
Saudi official open to different ideas, Dr. Khoja had on his 
coffee table the latest editions of "Rose al-Youssef," an 
Egyptian magazine often harshly critical of Arab regimes, and 
"Sayidati," the Kingdom's leading women's magazine.  His 
large library, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, housed a 
copy of John Mearsheimer/Stephen Walt's "The Israel Lobby and 
U.S. Foreign Policy" and the complete Great Books series, 
 
JEDDAH 00000367  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
along with his university organic chemistry texts.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
¶10. (U) U/S McHale has approved this message. 
QUINN