RIYADH - An "inept" United States cannot fix Afghanistan's problems and should simply focus on "chasing the terrorists" there, former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal said on Saturday.
| For a pissant country that quails in fear of the Medes and Persians, they do a lot of scolding ... |
| This would be the intelligence chief that didn't realize homegrown terrorists were about to shoot up a compound full of foreign experts and their families a few years ago, without whom his country's economy would stop dead? The princeling might want to develop a bit of eptness of his own before engaging in conduct unbecoming to a high government official. |
In a speech to a Riyadh audience which included numerous diplomats, Turki said the US-led NATO troop presence in Afghanistan has irrevocably alienated the Afghan people and has no hope of rebuilding the country.
"What Afghanistan needs now is a shift from nation-building to effectively countering terrorists," Turki said at the Arab News one-day media conference. US President Barack Obama "should not be misdirected into believing that he can fix Afghanistan's ills by military means."
"Hunt down the terrorists on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border, arrest them or kill them, and get out, and let the Afghan people deal with their problems. As long as GI boots remain on Afghan soil, they remain targets of resistance for the Afghan people and ideological mercenaries."
| Wasn't it your government, O noble sir, that demanded the presence of those self-same American troops on your soil as janissaries to protect you against Saddam Hussein's Iraq? But that was Al Qaeda's primary complaint -- the presence of infidels on the holy soil of Arabia -- so perhaps you think you've learnt something from the experience. |
| I don't recall them ever saying 'thank you' for that, but perhaps that's because there's no such phrase in Arabic ... |
Turki, who has long served a central role in Saudi-Afghan relations, scolded Washington's handling of relations with Kabul. "The inept way in which this administration has dealt with President (Hamid) Karzai beggars disbelief and amazement."
| He's got a point there ... |
"Both sides are now filled with resentment and a sour taste in their mouths," he said. "How can they both get out of that situation? I don't know."
The chairman of the King Faisal Center For Research and Islamic Studies, Turki has no official position but is believed to often reflect high level thinking in the Saudi government. He is the brother of Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, and analysts speculate he could become foreign minister when Saud retires.
Turki said Arab states have given Washington four months to show progress in US-guided Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. "The Arab world has given (US President Barack) Obama until September to get things done," said Turki.
| Well done, President Obama. You've definitely changed our relationships with America's allies and enemies. How pleased you must be with yourself right now! |
| The suckers who voted for him never did understand the fine definition of 'change' ... |
"It is not enough to talk the talk. He has to walk the walk," he said. "If he does not succeed... then I ask President Obama to do the morally decent gesture and recognise the Palestinian state that he so ardently wishes to exist.
| Yes. Yes, he does. He learnt that wish from his dear friends in Chicago, Professor Khalidi and Reverend Wright. |
"He can then pack up and leave us in peace and let the Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese negotiate directly with the Israelis. No more platitudes and good wishes and visions, please."
| We can imagine those negotiations, and how the Saoodis would beg us to come back when the 'negotiations' ended with the Joooz occupying Damascus ... |
Prince Turki also faulted the US and European approach in trying to halt Iran's alleged efforts to build a nuclear weapon,
and he blasted Clinton for undermining efforts to create a Middle East nuclear-free zone.
"The discussions on Iran's nuclear ambitions started off on the wrong foot. The carrot and stick approach does not work," he said.
| I agree. More stick, please ... |
For one, he said, the US and Europe have had double-standards in dealing with Iran on the one hand, and other nuclear countries on the other.
"You cannot ask Iran to play on one level while you allow Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea to play on other levels."
| We'd be happy to defang the Norks ... |
Turki said a successful strategy toward Iran requires even-handedness, a "universal nuclear security umbrella" for the countries in the area,
| He scolds us and then wants us to protect him ... |
and "a good military option" against any regional country which does not cooperate in removing the threat of nuclear weapons in the region.
| That's aimed at Israel ... |
He said Clinton had undermined efforts to move toward a regional nuclear free zone, after the UN Security Council's five permanent members recently expressed support for the idea.
"Alas, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton then voided the issue of its value by stating that the conditions do not yet exist for establishing the zone," he said. "Why, then, did she join the other members of the P5 in issuing their statement?"
Turki said he hoped Obama "will find the way to correct his secretary of state's nullification of making our area free of weapons of mass destruction."
| Except for the Muslim-owned ones ... |
| They never publicly said such things about Condoleeza Rice, when she was Secretary of State. |
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