Insolently Al-Faisal Tells Obama: Saudi Backed Syria Gunmen, Led War on Yemen

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Insolently Al-Faisal Tells Obama: Saudi Backed Syria Gunmen, Led War on Yemen

A senior Saudi Arabian prince on Monday condemned comments attributed to U.S. President Barack Obama, saying the American leader had “thrown us a curve ball” in criticizing Riyadh’s regional role.

Al-Faisal insolently acknowledged the Saudi role in supporting the US schemes against the regional countries, including Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Obama, in comments to The Atlantic last week, described Saudi Arabia as a “free rider” on American foreign policy, and criticized what he saw as Riyadh’s funding of religious intolerance and refusal to come to an accommodation with Iran.

“No, Mr Obama. We are not ‘free riders’,” Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former Saudi intelligence chief and ex-ambassador to Washington and London, wrote in an open letter carried by the local Arab News English-language daily.

Al-Faisal listed Riyadh’s support for Syrian gunmen, its humanitarian aid for refugees in the region and its creation of an “Islamic anti-terrorism coalition.”

Ties between old allies the United States and Saudi Arabia, the top oil exporter, have been bumpy since the 2011 Arab uprisings.

In the interview, Obama said he did not believe the U.S. could have effected a meaningful result in Syria without a big commitment of ground forces.

Although al-Faisal does not presently hold any official position in the Saudi leadership, his views are described by insiders as often reflecting those of the kingdom’s top princes and as influential in Riyadh foreign policy circles.

In his letter, Turki asked whether Obama had “pivoted to Iran so much you equate the kingdom’s 80 years of constant friendship with America to an Iranian leadership that continues to describe America as the biggest enemy, that continues to arm, fund and support sectarian militias in the Arab and Muslim world”.