Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09JEDDAH367
2009-10-01 11:14:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jeddah
Cable title:  

THE NEW FACE OF SAUDI ARABIA? SAUDI MINISTER,S

Tags:  ECON EDU KPAO LE PGOV PHUM PREL SA SCUL 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8953
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJI #0367/01 2741114
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 011114Z OCT 09
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1541
INFO RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 0210
RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 8527
RUEHDH/AMCONSUL DHAHRAN 0128
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WASHDC
RUCNDTA/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0102
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000367 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO (JFELTMAN),NEA/ARP
(JHARRIS,JBERNDT),NEA/PPD (JDICKMEYER, PAGNEW, DBENZE); R
(JMCHALE, WDOUGLAS),ECA/A/E (RSWENSON),ECA/A/E/NEA
(DIVES); DRL; OES/SCT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: ECON EDU KPAO LE PGOV PHUM PREL SA SCUL
SUBJECT: THE NEW FACE OF SAUDI ARABIA? SAUDI MINISTER,S
TOUR D,HORIZON, FROM FACEBOOK TO KINGDOM,S NEW "PRAGMATIC
HOUSE OF WISDOM"

REF: A. RIYADH 793

B. RIYADH 1154

C. RIYADH 1278

D. JEDDAH 0349

E. JEDDAH 0365

JEDDAH 00000367 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000367

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/FO (JFELTMAN),NEA/ARP
(JHARRIS,JBERNDT),NEA/PPD (JDICKMEYER, PAGNEW, DBENZE); R
(JMCHALE, WDOUGLAS),ECA/A/E (RSWENSON),ECA/A/E/NEA
(DIVES); DRL; OES/SCT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2029
TAGS: ECON EDU KPAO LE PGOV PHUM PREL SA SCUL
SUBJECT: THE NEW FACE OF SAUDI ARABIA? SAUDI MINISTER,S
TOUR D,HORIZON, FROM FACEBOOK TO KINGDOM,S NEW "PRAGMATIC
HOUSE OF WISDOM"

REF: A. RIYADH 793

B. RIYADH 1154

C. RIYADH 1278

D. JEDDAH 0349

E. JEDDAH 0365

JEDDAH 00000367 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Consul General Martin R. Quinn for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: In September 23 meeting with Ambassador
Smith and Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public
Affairs Judith McHale, Saudi Minister of Culture and
Information Abdul Aziz Khoja held forth on issues ranging
from new media and the significance of the Kingdom,s
brand-new flagship graduate university to political
flashpoints in the Middle East. As in other recent meetings
with Mission officers (refs A and B),Khoja was frank and
forthcoming in discussing his views of Saudi society,
government, education, and relations with the U.S. On the
occasion of the official inauguration of the King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology (KAUST),Khoja described
the university as a pragmatic reincarnation of the Islamic
House of Wisdom (Bait al-Hikma). Khoja indicated that King
Abdullah's vision for KAUST is consistent with his desire to
open the kingdom to new ideas and cultures. On regional
politics, Khoja averred that the U.S. role in resolving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key to restoring the
image of the United States in the region. Asked about the
political turmoil in Lebanon, Khoja cited "external
influence" as the root cause but paradoxically added that
Lebanon cannot solve its problems without help from the
United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Syria. END SUMMARY.


"FACEBOOK" MINISTER: OUTREACH TO YOUTH "ESSENTIAL"
-------------- --------------


2. (C) When U/S McHale asked Khoja about his Facebook (FB)

page, the minister responded that he had 5,000 friends from
all walks of life and many nations, and that his FB page
dealt with "everything from...politics to poetry." Khoja
emphasized that it is "essential to know what youth are
thinking and why," adding that "everyone" in Saudi Arabia has
internet access and thus the whole world via laptop computer
at home.


"NEW BEGINNING" AND THE "SPECIAL" U.S.-KSA RELATIONSHIP
-------------- --------------


3. (C) Citing President Obama's June 4 Cairo speech and the
"new beginning" for U.S. relations with the Muslim world, U/S
McHale asked Khoja for his views on the U.S. and Arab
perceptions of American policies. Stressing the Kingdom's
"special" relationship with the U.S. and Saudis' growing
understanding of American culture and society, Khoja
responded: "We have a lot to do together, and we can do so
much together. Saudi Arabia represents the Islamic world to
the whole world. We are not isolated, and we want to live
with the whole world."


KAUST AS THE MODERN "HOUSE OF WISDOM" AND HARBINGER OF
-------------- --------------
EDUCATIONAL AND SOCIAL PROGRESS IN KSA
--------------


4. (C) Turning to education and the historic opening of KAUST
on Saudi National Day (ref C),Khoja described the new
university as a "pragmatic" reincarnation of the Abbasid-era
House of Wisdom (Bait al-Hikma). Asked by Ambassador Smith
whether KAUST indicates Saudi Arabia's willingness to
reconcile with its pre-Islamic history, Khoja reiterated King
Abdullah's vision for KAUST to use science and technology as
a bridge between the past and the present, adding that
partnering with the United States, the United Kingdom, China,
and Japan is necessary to ensure the success of KAUST.

JEDDAH 00000367 002.2 OF 003




5. (C) Khoja explained that KAUST is consistent with the
King's desire to open the Kingdom to new ideas and cultures,
promote mixed gender education, and prepare the country to
deal with the challenges of the future. With widespread
access to new media and social networking tools in Saudi
Arabia, the minister acknowledged that it is virtually
impossible to control access to information. Instead, the
government is now focusing on preparing Saudis for the new
world. Khoja opined that the Saudi press has more freedom
than any other Gulf country, and that "anyone can write what
he wishes." (See ref D for real-world limitations to this
claim.)


U.S. MUST SHOW "FLAGS OF DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE" IN REGION
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Returning to U/S McHale's request for his views on the
U.S. in the region, Khoja emphasized the importance of the
U.S. role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as
the key to restoring the image of United States in the
region. Citing Arab anger over perceived U.S. bias toward
Israel and attendant double standards in dealing with the
Arabs, Khoja said Arabs want to like the U.S. but that the
United States must, in turn, be "fair." He described the
U.S. as the bearer of "the flags of democracy and justice"
and added that Arabs want the United States to apply those
principles not just within its borders but everywhere in the
world.


LEBANON IS THE "WHOLE WORLD"
--------------


7. (C) Ambassador Smith and U/S McHale asked Khoja, the
Kingdom's ambassador to Lebanon before being appointed
minister, to share his views on that country and the
post-election turmoil. Khoja described the situation in
Lebanon as "very complicated" and quipped, "Lebanon is the
whole world." The influence of Iran, Syria, and "other
countries" is the root of Lebanon's problems. The nation's
ongoing political plight and "crazy" factional strife
underscored the need for the U.S., Iran, Saudi Arabia, and
Syria to work together to find a solution. Khoja said that
while Saudi Arabia would like to assist in stabilizing
Lebanon, it does not want to be viewed as interfering in
Lebanese politics. He described the contradictory nature of
the Lebanese: well educated, cultured, and entrepreneurial,
but prone to "acts of savagery" in the blink of an eye. The
minister confessed his inability to understand the psychology
of the Lebanese, whom he sees as always wanting others to
tell them what to do and how to do it. Referring warmly to
his relationship with Ambassador Feltman, Khoja recalled: "We
were together (in Lebanon) for four years, and we saw a lot
of improvements."

BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP IS KEY TO REGIONAL PROGRESS
-------------- --------------


8. (C) As the meeting concluded, Khoja re-emphasized the
importance of U.S.-Saudi relations not just for bilateral
interests but for meeting key, shared regional objectives:
stability in Lebanon, a secure and free Iraq, and resumption
of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Khoja concluded: "Saudi
Arabia can influence the region; the U.S. can influence the
world."



9. (C) COMMENT: Living up to his reputation as a senior
Saudi official open to different ideas, Dr. Khoja had on his
coffee table the latest editions of "Rose al-Youssef," an
Egyptian magazine often harshly critical of Arab regimes, and
"Sayidati," the Kingdom's leading women's magazine. His
large library, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, housed a
copy of John Mearsheimer/Stephen Walt's "The Israel Lobby and
U.S. Foreign Policy" and the complete Great Books series,

JEDDAH 00000367 003.2 OF 003


along with his university organic chemistry texts. END
COMMENT.


10. (U) U/S McHale has approved this message.
QUINN