February 22, 2005

Bush Sends Top Aide to Anti-Semitic Saudi Conference

Listed in: Other Domestic Policy, NJDC News, Press Releases

Bush Later "Compliments" Saudi Leader on "Successful" Conference

Washington, DC: President Bush earlier this month dispatched top White House official Frances Fragos Townsend to head an official U.S. delegation attending an "anti-terrorism" conference in Saudi Arabia -- a conference that aired vile anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist canards. Saudi Cleric Aed Al-Qarni noted at the conference that "The first to kill and use terrorism in the world were the Jews," according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI); the cleric went on to describe September 11th as "an American terror attack."

According to White House press secretary Scott McClellan, President Bush spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah on February 14th and "complimented the Crown Prince on last week's successful counter-terrorism conference in Saudi Arabia."

In addition to the American delegation led by Townsend, who serves as President Bush's Homeland Security Advisor with the rank of Assistant to the President, the conference included participation from nations including Iran, Syria and Sudan -- all state sponsors of terrorism, according to the Department of State. Senator Frank Lautenberg (NJ) first warned President Bush to avoid the conference in a February 4th letter to Bush.

Throughout and surrounding the conference, various Saudi clerics noted that "Jews and the Christians are Allah's enemies," and that Jihad -- including attacks by insurgents in Iraq -- is appropriate. In a poem read before Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan, it was noted that Osama bin Laden "was sent by the Jews."

"It is self-delusional that President Bush would show such poor judgment in sending a top envoy to this anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-American parley -- even after contemptible statements are read on Saudi state television during the run-up to the conference, and even after a very pointed warning from Senator Frank Lautenberg that this conference is nothing that the United States should be associated with," said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "President Bush had sufficient warnings before the conference that America should denounce it, not participate in it. But he chose instead to send a top White House official to lead an American delegation.

"Now that we have translations of statements made in Arabic before and during the conference -- statements that are clearly government-sanctioned, and made in the presence of top Saudi leaders -- the time has come for President Bush to condemn these disgraceful comments. In his direct conversations with Saudi leaders, President Bush should not be 'complimenting' them for such anti-Jewish, anti-Christian and anti-American attitudes -- as he did on February 14th. President Bush should instead be challenging them to change their culture of hate, and to clearly criticize such sentiments in Arabic," Forman added.