Saudi Ambassador Criticizes U.S. Policies in Middle East

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2006 — -- Saudi Arabia's U.S. ambassador said the United States must rethink its approach to the Middle East, accusing American policy of distancing itself from countries in the region.

"Your policy toward the Arab world must change and be reformed in order to overcome the slump in America's standing in my country and in every other Arab and Muslim country," Ambassador Prince Turki al-Faisal told an audience at a Washington think tank.

Saudi Arabia is one of the United States' closest allies in the hostile region, where U.S. approval ratings are notoriously low.

"Why not productively engage us instead of engaging in rhetoric that seems designed to drive us apart?" al-Faisal asked during a speech titled "Saudi-U.S. Relations and the Way Ahead" at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Al-Faisal's comments come as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tours the Middle East after President Bush asked her to engage moderate leaders in the region.

The ambassador urged the United States to increase its contacts with Arab countries, saying, "If you want to improve the state of our relations, it would behoove us to improve every level of our communications."

State Department spokesman Tom Casey defended American engagement in the Middle East, telling reporters, "We are actively engaged in the region. We're actively engaged in discussing a wide variety of issues of importance to the individual countries ... as well as to the region as a whole."

Al-Faisal specifically suggested that the United States establish contacts with Iran, a country with which the United States has not had diplomatic relations since the hostage crisis a quarter century ago, saying that failing to do so was a "mistake." He cited Saudi Arabia's own improved relationship after it re-established ties with Iran.

The ambassador's comments suggested renewed relations could help U.S. efforts to deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear enrichment program. "We think that negotiation and talking to people is more important than shutting the doors on them," he said.