With Friends Like These

Driving through a posh Jidda neighborhood the other day, a Saudi businessman saw something that took his breath away. On a wall facing the street, someone had spray-painted, “Long live bin Laden! Death to America!”

Though Jidda is the hometown of Osama bin Laden, graffiti in his honor is unusual in Saudi Arabia, whose 17 million subjects have experienced economic prosperity and close U.S. relations since the kingdom was founded in 1932. The slogan might seem to be a disquieting echo of the 1979 revolution that swept Ayatullah Khomeini to power in neighboring Iran. But the way feelings are running these days, such radical sentiments could just as likely reflect the attitudes of the countrys privileged class.

While Washington and Riyadh emphasize publicly that all is well, the truth is that Saudi-American relations have rarely been worse. American officials have been privately griping about lack of Saudi cooperation, whether in investigating as many as 15 Saudis who allegedly took part in the Sept. 11 attacks or in backing the antiterrorism campaign. Saudi officials deny this and express shock at what they see as a U.S. media campaign blaming the kingdom for breeding fanaticism, financing terrorism, crushing dissent and tolerating corruption. Nothing better illustrates the deepening rift than a letter from Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud to President Bush. Sent before Sept. 11 but leaked by Saudis last week, the letter states that because of disagreement over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “it is time for the United States and Saudi Arabia to look at their separate interests.”

The tension is worrying: America relies on Saudi oil, as well as Saudi support in the war on terror, while Saudi Arabia depends on the U.S. for security. America arms the Saudis and continues to base some 6,000 troops in the kingdom in part as a defense against Iraqs Saddam Hussein. The last thing America needs is an explosion of anti-U.S. and pro-bin Laden feeling in a country that holds 25% of the worlds oil reserves and Islams most important shrines, in Mecca and Medina.

Especially troubling is that anti-American sentiment is prevalent not just among militants but among Western-educated Saudis as well. Jiddas so-called merchant princes, dozens of whom proudly display autographed photos of themselves with George Bush Sr. from friendlier Gulf War days, were annoyed by what they felt was a racist instinct to blame Muslims automatically for Sept. 11 and for the subsequent anthrax outbreaks. Some still doubt the U.S. has solid evidence against bin Laden, hence their uneasiness about reprisal attacks on Afghanistan. Nearly every Saudi seems to have a story of a relative living in or visiting America who has been humiliated or harassed since Sept. 11. Thousands hastily abandoned studies and holidays to return home. Well-to-do Saudis who take annual vacations in the U.S. are talking about skipping the trip this year.

The Saudi business community is also irritated by the U.S. campaign to target rich Arabs suspected of financing terrorism. Last month, Jidda real-estate tycoon Yasin al-Qadi found himself besieged by journalists after his name appeared on a U.S. Treasury Department list of people accused of funneling millions to bin Laden. Al-Qadi acknowledged knowing bin Laden but strongly denied funding terrorism. “Everybody is upset at these accusations being made without proof,” says a Jidda Chamber of Commerce and Industry official.

Among Saudis, though, there is little soul-searching about the kingdoms role in creating these misunderstandings. True, the country has launched an urgent review of how its rigidly religious education system may be fomenting Islamic extremism. Yet while the government officially supports the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan, no Saudi leader has addressed the nation to explain why. Instead, powerful princes publicly voice their doubts. So its not surprising that many Saudis are buying into rumors that it was the Israelis or the Serbs who attacked America. The mixed signals do nothing to ease the anxieties of the 35,000 Americans who live in the kingdom and are alarmed not only by a lack of sympathy from Saudi friends but also by the sudden appearance of bin Laden screensavers on office computers.

Despite the private rifts, the Bush Administration has publicly stressed that the Saudis are cooperative. Bush himself has declared his support for Palestinian statehood. Many Saudis are coming to realize, though, that they have to be clearer — to the world and to themselves — about whether the Kingdom is a true friend of the West or a fair-weather ally that hedges its bets. Americans can only hope they choose, before the handwriting is truly on the wall.