VZCZCXRO1040
RR RUEHBC RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHRH #0651/01 0910855
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 010855Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4906
INFO RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 8547
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 000651 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARP (WALKER, SHUKAN, JACHIM), INL, DRL, PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2027 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM KISL SA
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FAREWELL CALL ON RIYADH PROVINCIAL 
GOVERNOR PRINCE SALMAN 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James C. Oberwetter for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
------ 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (C) Ambassador made a farewell call on Riyadh Provincial 
Governor HRH Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz on March 25.  The 
Prince emphasized personal ties to the U.S, as well as the 
strong bilateral relationship in the context of the SAG's 
reform agenda and efforts to resolve the Palestinian 
conflict.  The Prince emphasized the importance for the U.S. 
to leave Iraq with dignity, worried about Iranian influence 
in the region, and discussed the causes and effect of 
terrorism.  He also asked for improvements in the U.S. visa 
system.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador made a farewell call on Riyadh Provincial 
Governor HRH Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz on March 25.  Pince 
Salman was accompanied by his private secretary, Ra'fat 
al-Sabbagh, who interpreted during the meeting.  The Prince 
emphasized the importance of his personal ties with 
Ambassador, discussing the important role that former U.S. 
ambassadors to the KSA play in explaining Saudi Arabia to 
Americans.  He said it is important that these ambassadors 
maintain their ties with the Kingdom, adding that the U.S. 
and Saudi Arabia have many common interests. 
 
¶3. (C) Prince Salman said the U.S. and the KSA have had and 
continue to have three common strategies for the Middle East: 
 saving Afghanistan from Communism, protecting Pakistan, and 
denying Russia access to the Arabian Gulf.  He emphasized 
that Pakistan is an important friend of the KSA.  He noted 
that even though Russia was the first country to recognize 
the KSA and that it never tried to export Communism or 
revolution to the KSA, the U.S. and the KSA have agreed on 
the importance of keeping Communism out of the Middle East 
and stopping Russia from realizing its dream of warm water 
port(s) on the Arabian Gulf. 
 
¶4. (C) Prince Salman said the pace and extent of reforms 
depend on social and cultural factors.  He claimed that for 
social reasons -- not religions reasons -- reforms cannot be 
imposed by the SAG or there will be negative reactions. 
Instead, he said, changes have to be introduced in a 
sensitive and timely manner.  He pointed out that the U.S. 
did not address racism against blacks and religious 
discrimination against Jews until the mid-1960s because of 
social and political circumstances, saying these constraints 
also apply to Saudi Arabia.  He emphasized that the rights of 
women are better under Islam, but that social and cultural 
circumstances prevented women from being educated until 
relatively recently.  He claimed that Islam had democracy 
before other cultures because the Qur'an states that rulers 
must consult others before making decisions.  He stressed 
that this consultation process is democracy in action.  He 
pointed out that democracy should not be imposed, citing the 
U.S. Civil War as a relevant analogy.  He said that the KSA 
is composed of tribes and regions and if democracy were 
imposed, each tribe and region would have its political party. 
 
¶5. (C) Prince Salman said that he hopes for an end to the 
Palestinian conflict and that the March 24 meeting in Aswan 
would succeed.  He said also that he hopes the U.S. and 
Israel understand the necessity of resolving this problem, 
stressing that Israel has a chance to do so.  He added that 
it is in the interest of the U.S. and Israel to solve this 
problem in accordance with United Nations Security Council 
resolutions, emphasizing that King Abdullah's peace proposal 
contains "all guarantees."  He said that if the U.S. wants 
stability in the region, it must solve the Palestinian 
conflict.  Ostensibly alluding to Israel, he said it is 
impossible to want everything but give nothing.  He noted 
that the U.S. supports Israel, but argued that the Europeans 
are increasingly distancing themselves from it.  He said that 
Israel is a burden on the U.S., but that the KSA is not a 
burden on anyone. 
 
¶6. (C) Stressing that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is the 
core problem in the Middle East, the Prince said that but for 
this conflict, the region would have better ties with the 
West.  He pointed out that since 1948, various countries  -- 
namely Syria, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Egypt -- have used the 
pretext of liberating the Palestinian territories as 
justification for military coups, military interventions, 
imposition of socialism and other economic policies, 
 
RIYADH 00000651  002 OF 002 
 
 
promotion of Arab nationalism, and restriction of civil 
society and civil liberties, including freedom of speech and 
elections.  He noted that Egypt's Nasser imported weapons 
from the Eastern Bloc and intervened in Yemen using the 
pretext of liberating the Palestinian territories.  He 
pointed out that Saddam Hussein used the pretext of 
liberating the Palestinian territories to invade Kuwait.  He 
said that today, Iran is using the pretext of liberating the 
Palestinian territories to build nuclear weapons.  He said 
that Hizbollah's Nasrallah uses the pretext of liberating the 
Palestinian territories for his actions, but stated that he 
lies.  He said that if there had been no Palestinian 
conflict, the Middle East would be more economically, 
culturally, and politically advanced today.  He pointed out 
that military regimes had undermined the strong economies of 
Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and Sudan. 
 
¶7. (C) Prince Salman said that he hopes for an end to the 
Iraqi crisis.  He emphasized that the U.S. should not leave 
Iraq defeated, but with pride.  He said he thinks it is good 
for the U.S. Congress to say that U.S. troops should be 
withdrawn from Iraq by 2008, so long as the U.S. maintains 
its dignity.  He also noted that it is the U.S. Congress' 
duty to authorize funding for Iraq, pointing out that Iraq is 
unlike other states in that it is multiethnic and 
multisectarian.  He stressed that historically, Iraq has been 
ruled with force. 
 
¶8. (C) Prince Salman said the KSA had excellent relations 
with Iran when the Shah was in power.  He also pointed out 
that Iran was more developed and had a stronger economy 
before the 1979 revolution.  He claimed that the KSA has 
never had problems with its neighbors, even Iran, like the 
problems the U.S. has had with its Latin American neighbors. 
However, he pointed out that since the 1979 revolution, Iran 
has created new problems and divisions by trying to export 
its ideology.  He claimed that the KSA does not have problems 
with other creeds or sects. 
 
¶9. (C) Prince Salman said that terrorism and fanaticism have 
done more harm to Islam than anything else.  He claimed that 
the KSA suffered from terrorism before 9/11.  He emphasized 
that there are fanatics in all religions.  He said that 
extremism feeds extremism and that Jewish and Christian 
extremism has fed Islamic extremism.  He stressed that the 
Qur'an recognizes all prophets and religions and that a 
Muslim must believe in Jesus and Moses or he cannot be a 
complete Muslim.  (COMMENT:  Prince Salman implied that 
Christians and Jews do not show the same respect for the 
Prophet Mohammad and Islam.  END COMMENT). 
 
¶10. (C) Prince Salman asked if the U.S. Embassy could 
institute special procedures for "well-known" individuals who 
need visas to travel to the U.S., saying that his wife had 
difficulty getting a visa to see her doctor in the U.S., so 
the doctor had traveled to Spain to see her.  He also said 
that his son, Prince Mohammed, refused to go to the U.S. 
Embassy to be fingerprinted "like some criminal," even though 
his other son, Prince Faisal, and his daughter, Hessa, voiced 
no objections to doing so.  He warned that Saudis are 
traveling to countries other than the U.S., notably Germany, 
for medical treatment because of problems and delays in 
obtaining U.S. visas. 
GFOELLER