https://archive.is/MPxw8/image (archived today) post 1/2
http://observer.com/2004/07/house-of-bush-house-of-saudhouse-of-cusack/
Observer
House Of Bush, House Of Saud–House Of Cusack
By Rachel Donadio • 07/19/04 12:00am
Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 may have focused feverish attention on the alleged axis of evil between the Bush family and the Saudis, with inferences about their business connections drawn largely from Craig Unger’s book House of Bush, House of Saud .
But coziness with the Saudis is a bipartisan phenomenon. Once it emerged that the majority of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens, the Middle Eastern country began mounting an increasingly sophisticated charm offensive whose scope goes far beyond Crawford, Tex., and Kennebunkport, Me., landing squarely in other American power bases-including the one in Chappaqua. When it comes to forging ties with Democrats or winning over hawkish types who want the U.S. to stop depending on Saudi oil, the Saudis are more likely to offer a scintillating roundtable conference than a plum business contract. In January, for example, the Saudis funded a lavish three-country junket for Bill Clinton and an entourage of about 40 former Clinton administration officials and Lincoln Bedroom guests. And last month, the Saudi government underwrote a remarkably frank journalists’ roundtable discussion on Saudi Arabia and its discontents with editors of The New Republic , which was published as paid advertising in that magazine’s July 5 and 12 issue.
Held on June 8, the roundtable discussion was moderated by New Republic senior editor Lawrence Kaplan and featured the magazine’s editor in chief, Martin Peretz; New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright; the chief investigative correspondent of U.S. News and World Report , David E. Kaplan; and the Washington bureau chief of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram , David Montgomery, all of whom had either traveled in or reported from Saudi Arabia. Called “Inside the Kingdom: The Views and Perspectives of Journalists in Saudi Arabia,” the edited transcript was printed in the same font as the rest of the magazine, although it was labeled a special advertisement “sponsored by the people of Saudi Arabia, allies against terrorism.” Peter Beinart, the editor of The New Republic , said he had selected the panelists and agreed to the panel on the grounds that it be “intellectually honest.”
These ambitious but not overbearing P.R. moves are a sign of “a growing sophistication” in the Saudis’ understanding of how to soften relations with Americans critical of the country’s repressive regime, according to Noah Feldman, a professor at New York University Law School and a Middle East expert. Even “sponsoring stuff that’s critical on the whole might turn out to be better” for the Saudis, Mr. Feldman said. None of the critics debating the future of Saudi Arabia on the government’s dime, after all, are Saudi citizens. As the New Republic panelists pointed out, within Saudi Arabia, would-be reformers are deathly afraid to speak their minds.
“Education is the most important part of the program, to send our message to the American people directly and have them decide the facts when presented with them” was how Nail Al-Jubeir, the director of the Information Office at the Saudi embassy in Washington, summed up the Saudi P.R. offensive, which is being coordinated by the Washington firm Qorvis Communications. “Unfortunately we have too many people, so-called pundits and experts, and a majority have never set foot in Saudi Arabia and are speaking nonsense.”
There is also the care and feeding of former office holders-which, of course, sends a message to those currently in office of what awaits once they retire to the lecture circuit. Mr. Al-Jubeir said Mr. Clinton had attended the Jeddah Economic Forum two years in a row. “He was invited to come, and it was an honor,” Mr. Al-Jubeir said. “We extend our friendship to former Presidents …. Our friendship to them extends beyond when they leave office.”