SAUDI ACADEMIC WARNS THAT LEBANON FOMENTS EXTREMISM

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 006343

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SA
SUBJECT: SAUDI ACADEMIC WARNS THAT LEBANON FOMENTS EXTREMISM

REF: RIYADH 6342

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Michael Gfoeller for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY AND COMMENT: On August 6 a politically
mainstream Saudi academic and journalist, Dr. Ali Sa'ad
al-Musa, published an open letter to President Bush in the
widely-read al-Watan newspaper, warning that he and millions
of other moderates in the Middle East are becoming extremists
as a direct result of President Bush's reaction to the
Lebanon crisis (reftel). Throughout the letter, al-Musa told
of his dismay with President Bush's global policies on
terrorism and worries that the missteps taken by the Bush
administration will breed a generation of freedom-fighting
terrorists, not freedom-loving academics. Dr. Sa'ad almost
certainly meant his statement as an emotional warning of the
decline of the U.S. reputation in the eyes of the Middle
Eastern public, and not as a literal threat. That said, as a
prominent, generally liberal Saudi scholar, who has been an
avid U.S. supporter in the past, his emotional public
response to the crisis in Lebanon is indicative of the
increasingly negative Saudi public mood towards the United
States. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT.


2. (U) Dr. Ali Sa'ad al-Musa wrote an open letter to
President Bush in the al-Watan newspaper, where he has been
working as a regular columnist for over four years. The
August 6 letter began with a self-introduction, which spoke
of his liberal political tendencies and traditional support
for the United States. He immediately commented that his
support for the U.S., which has been criticized by many of
his peers, has waned and has been replaced with the fear that
he and his children will have no feasible reaction to the
U.S. except to become extremists. He told President Bush
that "every time Al-Qaeda succeeds in recruiting a new
extremist, George Bush surpasses it by (effectively
recruiting) four extremists." He described the current
struggle with terrorism as a "race in breeding (extremists)."


3. (U) Al-Musa addressed President Bush directly and stated
that the speech delivered in Miami on the Lebanon crisis was
the last straw. He talked of British television airing the
speech with a split screen showing the death and destruction
from Qana on one side, and President Bush on the other. He
states, "Mr. President, at that moment I remembered the army
of extremists, which the United States pushes towards hell.
Your Excellency, the world is not too stupid or too naive to
understand where terrorism is and where freedom is. Had a
dumb animal seen that television screen with its two halves--
you on one side and the children of Qana on the other side--
it would have understood where terrorism resides and where
freedom is being abused."


4. (U) He expressed sorrow for the September 11th attacks,
the Madrid train bombings and the London Underground attacks.
But with this sorrow came more sorrow at the change in
attitudes of the moderate people in the Middle East. He
commented, "let me tell you truthfully, we do not fear the
al-Qaeda factory of extremism as much as we fear the millions
of moderates who are pushed by the Bush industry toward
following the line of terrorism. Let me tell you truthfully
that your policy today is more dangerous than all the world's
terrorist organizations. Let me tell you truthfully that I
am afraid my children might cross this line, not under the
influence of the dwindling al-Qaeda, but in reaction to the
fire and brimstone pouring from your throats, bombs, aircraft
and smart missiles." He ended this passage with his feelings
of shame for being accused of following the U.S. bandwagon in
the current circumstances.


5. (U) Al-Musa highlighted the plight of the Palestinian
people in the context of discussing the root cause of the
current war in Lebanon. He talked about the hypocrisy of the
U.S. in 'blessing' Israel's actions in crossing the Green
Line thousands of times to capture 10,000 prisoners, while
condemning the recent capture of three Israeli soldiers.
Using the analogy of a dog, he stated, "While your pampered
dog, and its canine ancestors, travel everywhere in the world
with an identification card and a health certificate, these
Palestinian people still have a long way to go before
achieving such a status."


6. (U) In closing, al-Musa warned that this letter might be
his last because, "a new address by you on television will
turn me into yet another extremist bomb. You are the biggest
base (used the Arabic word 'Qaeda') against moderation,
tolerance, and truth."

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Background on Al-Musa
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7. (C) Al-Musa's writings include broad topics ranging from
school curricula and women's rights to government corruption
and the Lebanon crisis. In general, he takes a very liberal
viewpoint regarding the need to open Saudi society and
promote greater rights for the people. His emotional
criticism of the U.S. over the Lebanon crisis is at variance
with his typically positive view toward America. On August
7, he published an article criticizing the Saudi people's
reaction to Lebanon as weak in comparison to Afghanistan. He
called into question why the Saudi people are not praying for
the Lebanese people as hard as they prayed for Afghani people
and asked why no one has called for a Jihad.


8. (C) BIO NOTE: Dr. Ali Sa'ad al-Musa has been a daily
writer for al-Watan newspaper, an Arabic-language newspaper
published in Abha, Saudi Arabia, for five years. Al-Watan,
which has a liberal reputation, is owned by the al-Faisal
family. Prior to that, he was a translator for al-Watan and
is also a consultant to the newspaper. He is a professor at
King Khalid University in Abha and focuses his writing on
political and social issues. According to a March 2005 media
interview, al-Musa is a liberal U.S.-educated scholar,
self-described as "swimming against the current of Saudi
society" because he believes that its culture is partially
responsible for terrorism. END BIO NOTE.
OBERWETTER