(National Review) Nina Shea - Since 9/11, the Saudi embassy has been staging a lavish public-relations campaign directed at American audiences. (The December 12, 2005, edition of The New Republic, for example, contains seven full pages of Saudi advertising.) But if it wants to score points with the West, why isn't the House of Saud in full-throated protest against the Tehran madman? Why the insistence that Saudi condemnations be unofficial and "off the record"? The Saudis are coy for a reason. An open and unequivocal condemnation of Ahmadinejad's outbursts by the Saudis would make them look like hypocrites to home audiences. As is well known, what the Saudis say in English differs greatly from their statements in Arabic. Wiping Israel off the map is exactly what Saudi authorities have been avowing for years to Arabic-speaking audiences. Saudi publications collected from American mosques that were translated from Arabic this year by Freedom House are replete with such statements.
2005-12-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive