We would have to be crazy to do that.
But didn't it all start when Saudi Arabia and the U.S. backed the mujaheddin in Afghanistan in the fight against the Soviets?
Well, these people went to Afghanistan but not on our urging alone -- the U.S. urged them to go. Our mistake was not to have taken care of them when they came back from Afghanistan.
Getting the message: A poster promoting an international conference on terrorism earlier this month in Riyadh.
(Zainal Abd Halim -- Reuters)
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Is Saudi Arabia government winning the battle against al Qaeda in the kingdom?
I think we are winning the battle for the safety of our people. But the battle is not in Saudi Arabia alone. It is like a virus which spreads and unless it is faced globally, it will continue to threaten us.
Do you share the concern of the Bush administration about a nuclear Iran?
Iran is always mentioned but no one mentions Israel, which has [nuclear] weapons already. We wish the international community would enforce the movement to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone.
Do you see the Iranian weapon as a counterweight to the Israeli weapon?
You can't say you want everyone to have human rights and allow what is happening in Palestine to happen. In the same breath, you can't say that Iran can't produce weapons of mass destruction and [ignore] what is happening in Israel.
What would Saudi Arabia's stance be if Iran gets a nuclear weapon?
We would be against it, and we have warned the Iranians that this is a dangerous road they are following.
If Iran goes nuclear, would Saudi Arabia build its own nuclear weapons?
No, we will not. We do not believe that it gives any country security to build nuclear weapons.
