Mission Statement

ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER

The horrific suicide terror attacks of September 11, 2001 on New York and Virginia revealed the importance of Saudi politics.  Saudi domestic political opposition, after all, had found a way to spill over into deadly attacks on U.S. territory.

Depression, indignation, and repulsion characterized early American reaction.  Since then, the nation has been coming to terms with the new realities of international relations.  Over-reaction and hyper-alertness are the call of the day.

All is not well.  Sadly and dangerously, important sectors of the American polity have unleashed a hostile campaign against Saudi Arabia, expanding on what had hitherto been reserved generally for Arabs and Muslims.  The open editorial pages of The Washington Post, for instance, historically replete with arrogant tirades against the Palestinians, and eminently callous about the suffering of the Iraqi people, have now found license to devastate yet another Arab country--Saudi Arabia.

In short, all Arabs and Muslims without exception have now become fair game.

While indignation and repulsion at the September 11 attacks are fully understandable, a campaign that smacks of racism is not--and is indeed very dangerous.  It could lead, could it not, to wholesale murder in the event Iraq is invaded.

Saudi Arabia is fortunate in that some of the American political elite will forgive and forget, as this elite holds a strategic and commercial world view.  It therefore understands the role Saudi Arabia plays in the welfare of the West, as a stabilizer of oil prices.  Furthermore, some of this elite is commercially integrated to Saudi Arabia, and could not therefore entertain a hostile course towards that country.

But it is a different set of elite which is generating the hostile and war-mongering campaign against Saudi Arabia and Arabs; this elite is found in the media, the populist Christian right, and the right-of-center of the Israel lobby.

OUR COMMITMENT

SPC will endeavor to contribute reason to the debate about Saudi politics.  SPC will investigate relevant aspects of the Saudi polity, and will supply commentary about it.  Though SPC is aware that information about local Saudi affairs is not readily available, the analytical nature of this newsletter will allow it to draw analogies and reach (hopefully) enlightening conclusions.

In short, SPC will try and demystify Saudi politics and give the reader the ability to read it, so to speak, as she is able to read American politics.

SPC will use brief to-the-point analysis and commentary, similar to those found in some financial newsletters.

CONTRIBUTIONS

SPC welcomes contributions.

SPC will gladly translate to English contributions in Arabic.

SPC reserves the right to edit all contributions, summarize them, or turn them down.

SPC will respect the contributor's wish to use a pen name.