A few days after the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit by Umar Farouq 'Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian student and Al-Qaeda member, the U.S. administration announced that it would be carrying out more stringent security checks on passengers arriving in the U.S. from 14 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
Osama Naqli, director of the media department at the Saudi Foreign Ministry, said in response that his country would not tolerate any violation of the dignity of its citizens, their freedom of movement, or their privacy for any reason whatsoever, and that the Saudi embassy in Washington has demanded explanations from the U.S. in this matter.[1]
In the Arab press, there were mixed reactions to the U.S. decision. The Saudi daily Al-Riyadh published an editorial justifying the U.S.'s security move. In contrast, Tallal Salman, columnist for the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal, attacked the decision, and Al-Riyadh columnist Fares bin Hazzam called for a response in kind.
The following are excerpts from the three articles:
Al-Riyadh Editor: Help the U.S. in Its Fight against Terror
Turki Al-Sudairi, editor of the Saudi government daily Al-Riyadh, wrote an editorial titled "Who Should Be Chastised – The Muslim or the American?" expressing his support for the U.S.'s increased airport security measures:
"The U.S. [has decided] to carry out strict [security] checks [on travelers] passing through its airports or stopping in one of its cities. Has it decided to do so in order to hobble Muslims in general, or Arab Muslims in particular, and to discriminate between people?
"What happened a few days prior to this move? And what happened nine years before it? What acts of terror took place during this time? If an American had volunteered to blow up an airplane from a Muslim or Arab country, and to murder innocent people who have nothing to do with diplomacy – would this be considered heroism? And what happened to the Lockerbie plane?
"I do not rebuke those who approved [the U.S.'s move]... because for Saudi citizens on all levels – students, businessmen, and tourists – America is the preferred [destination]. Before we demand that America moderate [this decision], we must demand [Arab and Muslim] support for the efforts of the [Arab] governments, and particularly those of the Saudi government, to minimize extremism – the real mother of terrorism.
"The Saudi security apparatuses have managed to expel terror [from their country], thus earning everyone's respect – and today, the terrorism has relocated to Yemen and to the caves of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Nevertheless, there is [still] much to be done [in this area, even] in this country [Saudi Arabia], and it is society that is responsible for correcting [extremist] ideologies.
"In America, is there any preacher calling weekly in church to wage jihad against Islam and the Islamic countries? How are [the Americans supposed to] perceive what is happening in our Muslim and Arab world?
"The Arab and Muslim problem is not that there is such a thing as a terrorist – that peculiar human creature that is willing to pay with its own life in order to kill others, something that nobody has ever done before, except the Hashashin state, which, centuries ago, tried to promote Islam using the same kind of murderous [strategies].[2] The number of terrorists or Al-Qaeda members cannot be reduced by expulsion and punishment alone, as long as they continue [to be supported by] extremist religious groups that are hostile to anything new and modern. America is in their sights because it is the pioneer of everything new and modern."[3]
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Lebanese Columnist: Stricter Security Checks – Greater Arab Hostility
Tallal Salman, columnist for the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal, rejected the increased U.S. security measures: "Recently, we read that U.S. President Barack Obama spoke openly, revealing his dissatisfaction with his security apparatuses in light of their shameful helplessness and their inability to protect the U.S. from the terrorist dangers before they materialized.
"Following this reprimand, the [American] security apparatuses arbitrarily instituted oppressive and loathsome measures [for checking] travelers arriving in U.S. airports from 14 countries, among them Lebanon.
"[The decision to do this] followed the thwarting of an attempted bombing of a plane that was meant to land at a U.S. airport. The 'hero' [of this operation] was a young Nigerian man who was a member of Al-Qaeda.
"We do not dispute the right of any country to protect its citizens. But we wonder whether it is clear to Washington that such actions only increase the third world peoples' hostility towards them. [Everything the U.S. has done] – from the first Iraq war to what is happening [today] in Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan and Afghanistan – [has caused] the hatred of the peoples towards the U.S. to increase in intensity several times over...
"Why has the U.S. reached the point of punishing an entire people only because one man decided to blow up a plane? Hundreds of thousands of young people dream of going to the U.S. and living there – but each of them is [now] considered a terrorist there. And then you [Americans] wonder, 'Why do they [the Arabs] hate us?'
"I do not hate you. It would be more accurate to say that you want us to hate you just as you hate us."[4]
Saudi Columnist: Measure for Measure – Institute Similar Security Checks for U.S. Travelers
Fares bin Hazzam, columnist for Al-Riyadh, called on his country, Saudi Arabia, to respond in kind by instituting tougher security checks for American citizens. He said that U.S. President Barack Obama's policy on terror was identical to that of his predecessor Bush: "Since the citizens of Saudi Arabia were placed on the same list as the citizens of other [countries] whose lands know security tremors, there is nothing to prevent [us from] placing U.S. citizens on a similar list – a special list for travelers from countries notorious for [having problems with] drugs, or for other dangers.
"Acting according to the principle of measure for measure is preferable to clarifications or protests. Many Arab countries use this method for matters such as visas. Some do not abolish the visa requirement until an agreement is reached with the other country. The reason for this is clear – a measure for a measure.
"This is not incitement against the citizens of the U.S.; it is the only political language understood in our world. [The principle of] measure for measure motivates anyone who carries out undesirable moves to reconsider his policy and his decisions.
"All of a sudden, the U.S. decided to place Saudi Arabia on this unbalanced list. Strategic relations between the two countries cannot tolerate such actions. More important, the U.S. security apparatuses know all too well what Saudi Arabia is doing in order to fight terror and that it is a leader in this field – while the U.S., [until a few years ago], was at the height of its complacency towards terror, and completely ignored the Saudi warning calls, including those [prior to] 9/11.
"What is certain now is that U.S. President Barack Obama is looking like his predecessor, George Bush. He opposed many of the decisions and positions on the issue of terrorism, and presented himself to the world as correcting the failures of the previous policy. But today, his response is no different [from that of Bush]...
"The message is the same message, the phrases are the same, and there is no difference [between the two presidents] except in name and in skin color."[5]
U.S. airport security officer to Arab traveler: 'You've got to take off your shoes..."
Habeeb Haddad, Al-Hayat, London, January 10, 2010.
Endnotest:
[1] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), January 6, 2010.
[2] The Hashashin, also known as Nizaris, were a medieval Muslim sect that split off from Isma'ili Shi'a. In the 11th – 13th centuries they settled in mountain strongholds in Syria and Persia, from which they set out on missions of murder and destruction.
[3] Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), January 12, 2010.
[4] Al-Mustaqbal (Lebanon), January 9, 2010.
[5] Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), January 10, 2010.
