In recent speeches, President Bush has emphasized his goal of spreading democracy around the world, specifically mentioning the need for change in Saudi Arabia. Prince Saud Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister for the past 30 years, sat down last week in London for an interview with Newsweek-Washington Post's Lally Weymouth about the U.S.-Saudi relationship and the volatile situation in the Middle East. Saud's own relationship with the United States goes back to the early 1960s, when he graduated from Princeton with an economics degree. He said during the lengthy interview that the kingdom is moving toward reform, especially with regard to women, but that any effort must be "gradual." He described the Saudi-U.S. relationship as almost back to where it was before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Excerpts:
Getting the message: A poster promoting an international conference on terrorism earlier this month in Riyadh.
(Zainal Abd Halim -- Reuters)
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Do you agree that women should take a more active part in your society?
I agree wholeheartedly. As a matter of fact, I want to contribute.
Things must happen in a gradual way. But I am proud that the foreign ministry is doing its part in having women play the role they should play. For the first time, we are going to have women in the Foreign Ministry this year.
Should women be able to vote in the next [round of] municipal elections [over the next few months]?
Even the Commissioner of Elections has said that he is going to propose that they do vote. So I am assuming that they will vote in the next election and that is going to be good for the election because I think women are more sensible voters than men.
How will the recent death of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri [killed in a Feb. 14 bomb attack] affect the region?
In the Arab world, people are sick and tired of tragedies like this happening. And they are expressing their ire and anger. I think that the Syrians and the Lebanese would be wise to finish their investigation. And I heard that they told the Secretary General of the Arab League that they would accept an investigator from the United Nations. That would be a good first step; it may not be enough because everybody is looking for a quick response and a transparent search for the guilty one.
Doesn't it look like the Syrians had Hariri killed?
The implication is that the prime minister was killed, that there are Syrian troops in Lebanon and there is a certain responsibility not only for the Lebanese government but for the Syrians to explain how this happened . . . . The people there are boiling -- they are unwilling to accept anything but the truth.
Do the Lebanese people want the Syrian troops out of their country?
Well, the Syrians said they want to get out according to the Taif Agreement [negotiated in 1989]. If that is so, this is exactly what [Lebanon's] opposition wants.
What would you like to see them do?
