I’m wading through Bob Woodward’s outstanding State of Denial. The first few chapters are almost entirely devoted to a detailed discussion of the early years of the Pentagon under Donald Rumsfeld, who must surely win some kind of prize for the boss from hell. But then (page 75) comes a fascinating vignette about Saudi Arabia’s posture on US-Israeli relations, during an episode in August 2001.
According to Woodward, Crown Prince Abdullah was so appalled by seeing an Israeli soldier first push and then step on an elderly Palestinian woman that he dispatched Bandar bin Sultan – Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US and all-purpose political fixer – to the White House with an unprecedented message:
“Mr President,” Bandar began, “this is the most difficult message I have had to convey to you that I have every conveyed between the two governments since I started working here in Washington in 1982.”
Bandar’s message continued that while US policy on Israel had in the past been balanced – as when Bush senior had suspended loan guarantees to Israel over illegal settlements – this was no longer the case. “The Crown Prince has tried to find many excuses for this administration and we couldn’t.” Ariel Sharon had been permitted to “determine everything in the Middle East”. The message wenton, “What pained the Crown Prince more is the continuance of American ignorance of Israel upholding policies as if a drop of Jewish blood is equal to thousands of Palestinian lives.”
Then came the action line. “Therefore the Crown Prince will not communicate in any form, type or shape with you, and Saudi Arabia will take all its political, economic and security decisions based on how it sees its own interest in the region without taking into account American interests anymore because it is obvious that the United States has taken a strategic decision adopting Sharon’s policy.”
Naturally, the Administration was stunned. Colin Powell is quoted as demanding of Bandar, “What the fuck are you doing? You’re putting the fear of God in everybody here. You scared the shit out of everybody.” But by August 29, Bush had sent a two page letter to Abdullah that began, “Let me make one thing clear up front: nothing should ever break the relationship between us. ” The letter went on:
“I firmly believe the Palestinian people have a right to self-determination and to live peacefully and securely in their own state, in their own homeland, just as the Israelis have the right to live peacefully and safely in their own state.”
As Woodward observes, “it was a much bigger step than President Clinton had ever taken. Even as Clinton had tried to fashion a Middle East peace agreement as his legacy, he had never directly supported a separate Palestinian state.” Crown Prince Abdullah, Woodward continues, was relieved. But he had one further ask: “…it is very essential that you declare your position publicly which was stated in your letter. Such a declaration at this level will eliminate the common impression prevailing in the region of the US bias to Israel.” And then:
Bush agreed to come out publicly for a Palestinian state. A big rollout was planned for the week of September 10, 2001.
In the event, Bush would not make his speech calling for a Palestinian state until June the following year, and it would be April 2003 before details of the ‘Road Map’ were released following the appointment of Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian Prime Minister – by which time the intifada had been fermenting for another eighteen months.
