Political Science

Chapter 1 Introduction
The image of a nation (or a country) is crucial in the conduct of international relations and a favorable image serves to play a critical role in asserting influence. The strategic communication tools like public relations and media can play a vital role in enhancing the image of a country, while the same tools can also undermine the image to the extent that the real image is abolished. The presence of fifteen Saudis among the hijackers of 911 changed the image of Saudi Arabia in the eyes of the world as well as in the eyes of the Americans who were the target of September 11, 2001 attacks on World trade center. The shift in the image of the Kingdom in the United States can be summed up as Saudi bashing. Before September 11, 2001 the Kingdom had never been the focus of the researchers and the authors, but the attacks of the 911 led to the advent of surplus research and writings about the country that served to build the image of the Kingdom as perceived from the eyes of individual authors and researchers who interposed their own sentiments and prejudices in their writings. Satellite and the internet, says Gresh, have made the Saudi subjects more open to debate.

1.0 Background
The tragic event of 911, 2001 is significant in the history of global politics as it changed the picture of the world. There have been radical changes in almost every part of the world, as various countries confronted the payback attitude of the United States, whereas, some countries had no option but to support the super power in fighting the war on terror. A war of accusations and disgrace was waged against the Muslim countries by the media. Media war aimed to target various countries, especially the Muslim countries while identifying their links with the terroristic actors. Saudi Arabia was on the hit list of media as the sole responsible of 911-Osama Bin Laden belonged to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had to confront criticisms from the media, specifically the American press that played a leading role in damaging the image of Saudi Arabia internationally. For this purpose, the proposed research aims to put efforts for analyzing the image of Saudi Arabia in the American press, especially after September 11 attacks.

1.1 Research Objective
The objective of this research is to analyze the image of Saudi Arabia in the American press. It also aims to identify alterations in such image after September 11 attacks. It tries to trace the history of relationship between the two countries with the significant alterations with the passage of time. The researcher attempts to move with an analysis and comparison of pre-911 and post 911 situation of the global politics and the U.S.-Saudi relations.

1.2 Research Questions
How the U.S media, press, plays a pivotal role in forming and reshaping the image of Saudi Arabia
How the image of Saudi Arabia alters after 911 attacks
How the U.S.-Saudi relations have changed from the strategic relationship of pre 911 to an agitating one on the part of the U.S after 911 attacks

1.3 Research Methodology
This research takes a qualitative approach in order to examine the image of Saudi Arabia as is presented in the media, with a particular emphasis on the U.S media after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The paper utilizes secondary sources for achieving the objective of the research and for drawing comprehensive conclusion. The secondary sources include books, journal articles, and editorials etc. which are used in this research.

Chapter 2   Literature Review
Abdus Mecca and Main Street analyzes various issues that emerged after the attacks of September 11 in the United States, as well as in different parts of the Muslim world. The book consists of different studies involving works of various journalists that identified a war of cultural and religious identity of Muslims in the USA.  After the 911 attacks, the American press has continued to criticize the  Muslim community in the U.S and other countries while attempting to portray the Muslim countries, especially Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc as the fundamental platforms for terrorists and terrorism. These countries are presented as a threat to the stability of the U.S. In this regard, this book will be very efficient in understanding the image of Saudi Arabia in the American press.
Role of the press in the post 911 situation can not be subsided as it is responsible for influencing the thought processes of the Americans in the United States. In specific, another author has indicated the role of American press in portraying Saudi Arabia as a threat to the American society. One of the major reasons behind the presentation of a controversial image of Saudi Arabia in the American press is the assumption that Saudi Arabia is having a dual role in the global politics, the first as the holiest city of Islam, while the second is of a provider of a platform supporting terrorists of 911 attacks. This book consists of the criticism of American press that related Osama bin laden with the Saudi Arabia, a major factor that enabled American press in deteriorating its image.

Further analysis of the books related to the issue of the image of Saudi Arabia in the American press has indicated that the role of American press resulted in the crisis of Muslim identity in the U.S. In such analysis, one of the authors emphasized primarily on the effect of Saudi Arabian women after the 911 attacks, and the role of American press in damaging such image and existence of these women in the United States, as well as in other parts of the world. On the other hand, the author in the same book identifies the constructive role of the American press as well in creating a bridge between American native women, and the Muslim women from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries around the world.

Furthermore, some authors observe that after the 911 attacks, the Muslim world observed a radical alteration in its religious, as well as political landscape due to the beginning of military actions. In addition, huge waves of disparagement and condemnation by the American press multiplied the effects of military actions in the Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. On the other hand, besides the contradictory role of American press, some of the experts have endeavored to identify the efforts of Saudi Arabia in getting back its sacred image in front of the whole globe that will be very effective in fulfilling the identified research statement.

Despite the efforts, American press has been successful in illustrating the image of Saudi Arabia as a terrorist country, and there have been several attempts of linking it with the terrorism, which is the part of almost every book related to the 911 attacks and the Muslim world. A different perspective of such analysis includes in another book identified during the literature review that has put efforts to analyze the role of both American press, as well as the Arabian television in deteriorating each others role in front of the globe that will be very beneficial in acquiring an unbiased understanding of the identified research statement.

Another remarkable piece of work identified is the work of Kristina Borjesson who has been very critical and efficient in scrutinizing the role of American journalists during the war on terror. The book is consisted of interviews of people who belong to the American press. In addition, the author has been successful in acquiring personal stories of American journalists that they experienced in different Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, etc. Moreover, one of the significant attributes of this book is its emphasis on the historical contexts to relate the interviews with the American policies, etc that will be very crucial in providing a critical perspective to the proposed study.

Chapter 3 Research Analysis
This research analyzes the image of Saudi Arabia as it is presented by various authors and journalists and as it is presented in the media, with a particular emphasis on the American press. It also analyzes and compares the pre-911 and post 911 condition of the world politics and the nature of the U.S.-Saudi relations before September 11 attacks and alterations in their relationship after 911. The incident of 911 triggered the research about Saudi Arabia. The result of the ample research on the Kingdom was the negative image of Saudi Arabia. Many journalists looked at the country as a theocratic land where the citizens were deprived of the fundamental rights while some held the view to precipitate military operation against the Kingdom which, they perceived, was responsible for the terroristic activities and the financial support of the terrorists. A professor of literary theory at King Saud University in Riyadh, Abdel Hammed al-Ghathami, discovers the utter ignorance of the Americans regarding the very existence of the Kingdom and reveals that they thought that the country was just a desert and some Bedouins but after 911 they saw us as quintessence of the evil. The dilemma that the Kingdom is facing is that the whole Saudi society is identified with terrorism and it is viewed by many Saudi scholars as a U. S threat not against terrorism but against the Arab society.
The attacks of September 11, 2001 have caused many to nod over the seriousness of the issue as how little is known about the people of other religions and cultures. Lack of knowledge about one another, says David Schoem, is evident from the fact that although our lives are intertwined socially, economically and politically yet still mange to be ignorant of one another and what we do learn along the way is to place heavy reliance stereotypes, gossip, rumor, and fear to shape our lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge serves to create a negative and illusory image of any state, religion or a culture.

Zuckerman sees the image of Saudi Arabia as being the supporter of terrorists as he traces the history of the involvement of Saudi Arabia in the militant funding that, he maintains, led to precipitate the events of 911 as well. By exporting Islamic extremism outside their desert kingdom, claims Zuckerman, wealthy Saudis run the risk of becoming casualties in the global war on terror.

Zuckerman traces the root of terrorism from November 20, 1979 when the Mosque of Mecca was seized by the fundamentalists and that event led to the rise of Wahhabism in the kingdom, a force that the leaders of Saudi Arabia found difficult to suppress. As a result the Saudi leaders granted the supporters of Wahhabism more control in almost all spheres of life in Saudi Arabia. Moreover the Ministry of Islamic Affairs funded the force in the entire Muslim world which resulted, advocates Zuckerman, the rise of militant form of Islam that pervades much of the Muslim world. It is the Saudi deflection of Wahhabism on to the world outside, examines Zuckerman that nourished Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups hostile to the West. Zuckerman goes on to make claims without significant evidence that Saudi money supports Al-Qaeda, Hamas and other organizations that are functioning to pose a perilous threat to the very existence of the Western community and Bin Laden aims to devastate the western community because he holds the view that the U. S led forces that were in Saudi Arabia after the Gulf war a decade ago are detrimental for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Zuckerman accuses the wife of a Saudi ambassador to Washington, Princess Haifa, for funding the supporters of the terrorists. Zuckerman ends the article with a warning to Saudi Arabia as he says that they will truly regret if they get into the cross hairs of America. Saudi Arabia provided significant help to the Taliban once the Soviets left Afghanistan in 1989. Saudi Arabia is accused for helping the terrorists also because it was one of the few countries to grant diplomatic recognition to the Taliban in 1997 and it has been providing them financial aid for the consolidation of their rule in Afghanistan. The reasons for supporting the Taliban, notes Bahgat, are multiple. The first reason might be for the purpose of funding for the restoration of stability in their country, while the second being the similarity lied between the ideologies working under Wahabbi Saudi Arabia and the Talibans regime. The third reason for supporting the Talibans regime was the perception of creating a Sunni state next to the neighboring Shiite states of Iraq and Iran. The relation between the Taliban and Saudi Arabia faced a blow in 1998 after the refusal of Mohammad Omer to surrender Laden to the Saudi government.   

The wave of Saudi-bashing in the United States is nothing new for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The attack on the Khobar Towers housing complex in 1995 in Dhahran, resulting in the demise of many U.S officials, was also answered by the U.S media and people from various fields by strict criticism on the Saudi government for their insufficient support regarding the sad tragedy. Moreover the sheer ignorance of the Saudi government over the seriousness of issue was reprimanded by the Americans as the Saudi officials declared the conviction of Saudi and Lebanese men in the attack as a sole matter of Saudi government. But the Saudi-bashing regarding the 911 attacks is far more severe than the previous ones. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came into the light of media after 911 not only in the United States but the British media also opened severe criticism against the Kingdom. The Sunday tabloids employed Laden as a figurehead to sex up their narratives in order to demonize Saudi Arabia and to criticize Islam in the eyes of the people. Badar discusses the role of British media in building the image of Saudi Arabia with a specific focus on British Sunday newspapers, The Observer, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Mirror and The News of the World in his article Friend or Foe Saudia Arabia in the British Press post 911 and examines their role in presenting a created picture of Saudia Arabia before the world that is utterly different from the real picture. The Observer, explores Badar, has emphasized the dominant role of religion in the stimulation and precipitation of 911 attacks and also question the status of human rights in the Kingdom. While The Sunday Timeshas taken a sensational approach to assail the image of Saudia Arabia by utilizing bin Laden as a vehicle to portray the problems inherent in Saudia Arabiaand further anticipating that a revolution instigated by  Bin Laden could trigger the fall of the Kingdom. The print media mainly published rehearsed stories with little new information or direction.

It is no accident, says Yamani, that until 911 Saudia Arabia was least reported country in the Western press. The Gulf war put Saudia Arabia on map for the world through the international media, the war on terrorism put it in the international spotlight once again. Zhang and Benoit in their Image Restoration Discourse suggest Saudi Arabia to rely on the method of denouncing and bolstering against the charge of supporting terrorists in order to repair their deteriorating image. 

In Saudi Arabia, sympathy for Laden, writes Yamini, is mostly based on a rejection of the U.Ss domineering presence in the region and its support for Israel. Some of the journalists resent the celeberations by the Saudi people instantly after the September attacks. But the government was quick to assure the U.S of their support against al Qaeda and Taliban.

An interesting fact that raises various questions among the intelligentsia is that the young people of Saudi Arabia who went to fight the Russian Communism in Afghanistan in 1980s were supported and funded by the United States of America while the same people were accused of terrorism for working against the United States in Iraq. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was formed in order to reform Islam as a result of the pact signed between Mohammad Bin Saud and Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab. The aim was to run the kingdom according to the word of God even it was to be established by means of arms. The Islamization in Saudi Arabia in 1980s, according to some of the researchers, was a drastic decision that was expected to come back to haunt the monarchy. Some of the journalists trace the root of the rise of militant Islamists from 1990 when the government of Saudi Arabia asked for help from the United States. The subsequent opposition of the Islamists was answered with a hard hand by the Saudi government and it was in the prisons and torture that the Islamist activist became more radicalized and went on to violent rebellion. Many of the analysts see unemployment in Saudi Arabia as the cause behind the participation of the youngsters of the Kingdom in the Jihadist activities. Bahgat, for example, is of the view that as Saudi Arabia earns most of its money from the oil revenues it has failed to generate jobs for the young people who do not have adequate channel for political expressions and thus they have found an appropriate vehicle to express their rage political Islam for which they left their country.

The attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the entire history of the Arab world especially Saudi Arabia. The relations of Saudi Arabia with the United States were changed. Before 911 the relationship between the U.S and Saudi Arabia has been strategic in nature as Saudi Arabia has long been viewed as a country of significant strategic importance to the United States to which the U.S would support and protect. The kingdom was to be seen from a different eye after 911. The government of Saudi Arabia itself realized the peril that was at their door step. The government of Saudi Arabia was demanded of instant action after the attacks of 1995-96, but it remained passive. The government, said Mohammad Mahfouz, must have engaged in the national dialogue at that time which they did ten years later. The religious organizations previously funded by the United States of America and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia were mobilized against their previous allies. This change in the relations was not without reason, rather various factors led to the danger that the Kingdom was facing and had to face for an unknown period. Various actions against the Kingdom by Al Qaeda, including the attacks in Riyadh in May 2003, aroused serious debates over the issue of the image of Saudi Arabia that was undermined due to the Islamist militants. The issue of Jihad was re-examined by the Muslim scholars and the government stressed to redefine the concept of Jihad in the way different from the Mujahidin of al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations. The Muslims have been the focus of the accusations for the doings of the militants in the press all over the world and on the internet. 

A look at the pre 911 relation between the two countries reveals the very nature of their relationship that was strategic. The alliance between the leaders of the two countries, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abdul Aziz al-Saud, in 1945 precipitated the strategic relationship between the two countries. As the kingdom had been the largest oil producer and exporter while the U.S is the largest oil importer and consumer, the leaders of the two countries found the relationship in each others favors. The high point, enumerate Bzostek and Robinson, for U.S.-Saudi relations came in 1986, with a Goldstein score of 6.50, while the low was recorded in 1996, with a score of -4.35 and the median score for all years was 1.01.

Before the horrendous events of September, Saudi and U.S officials used to refer to their bilateral ties as a strategic partnership that had yielded positive results for both sides for over six decades. After 1973 the partenership between the two countries meant to ensure the availability of oil in the international markets with fairly stable prices. Before 911, in the days of strategic partnership between the two countries, Saudia Arabia has been providing support to the interests of the U.S in Afghanistan against Soviet Union in 1980s. In return the U.S provided protection to the royal family and the  Kingdom against the threatening neighbors. During the straining relationship with Iran from 1987 to 1988 and incessant threats by Saddam Hussain in 1990s, Saudia Arabia looked to the U.S for help. Even in the days of their alliance, the Lukewarm Saudis were sluggish to respond the calls of the U.S but Crown Prince Abdullah, according to the analysts, is certain to be less slavishly pro-American than some of his predecessors.

Both countries, says Subhan, paid a certain price to sustain this relationshipIn spite of the fact that Saudia Arabia is regarded as the custudian of Islams two holy mosques it looked for its security and stability to a country which had been a strong supporter and ally of Israel. The Muslims have frequently expressed their concern for the callousness of the United States towards the interests of the Muslims and the Arab region. On the other hand the U.S had to approve the Saudi propagation of fundamental doctrines and their giving a demeaning position to women and regularly trampling on human rights of different sections of its society. Despite the incessant criticism of the relationship between the two countries, the relationship continued successfully as it was for the interest of their countries. The events of September 11, says Subhan conclusively, tore asunder the links that had bound these unlikely allies together and the critics of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia were given the opportunity to stigmatise the image of Saudia Arabia and ensure that the ties would not be re-sewn in a hurry. The neo-conservatives, who were a part of the Bush administeration, the media and the intelligentsia of the United States, were fortunate to have the chance to play their role in deteriorating and then rebuilding the image of Saudia Arabia which was to fit in the frame of their political agendas. The neo-conservatives include I.Lewis Libby (Vice Preident Cheneys Chief of Staff), Paul Wolfowitz(Deputy Secretary of Defence), Doughlas Feith (under Secretary of Defence for policy), John Bolton (under Secretary of State for Arms Control) and Stephen Hadley(Deputy National Security Advisor). These opportunist neo-conservatives grabbed the chance to mold the tragic situation of the changing picture of the world in their favor. It can be said the present image of Saudia Arabia available to the world is created by the neo-conservatives who enjoy substantial positions in different spheres of the American society. The U.S foreign policy encompasses influences of multifarious inputs which include bureaucratic organizations, lobbyists, the media, strategic allies, strategic adversaries, economic conditions and public opinion. With so many actors involved in determining the relationship with the other countries the emergence of conflicting and aggressive opinions against a particular country is inevitable. It was the consequence of the impact of the opinions of the neo-conservatives that, only a year after the September attacks, in September 2002, Bush Doctrine, U.S National Security Strategy, was released that emphasized the reversal of the previous policies and advocated the unilateral policy based on global military supermacy and pre-emptive military strikes. The doctrine further emphasized the formation of relationship with the Middle East only for the sake of combating terroristic actors and to demolish them. The neo-conservative world view and political agenda for the West Asia , maintains Subhan, coincided with the interests and concerns of the right wing Israeli leadership because many of the neo-conservatives, as Richard Perle(Head of the influential Policy Board) and Wolfowitz, belonged to the Jewish community. The role of Israel in the precipitation of 911 attacks was entirely ignored although there had been a genuine concern in Israel that sections of U.S opinion would blame Israel for the American calamity seeing Israeli actions against Palestenians as trigger for the September attacks but Sharon shuddered over the issue and renounced any responsibility for the tragedy. There have already been some voices, said Sharon, raised in America to that extent that, if it were not for its relationship with Israel, none of this would have hit New York or Washington but the real battle, according to Sharon, is with extremism emanated from Islam. The U.S media commenced a fierce assault on Saudia Arabia within a few days of 911, so that the Kingdom and not Israel became the focus of attention in the traumatized U.S. Not only the Kingdom but the whole society of the country came under the criticism of journalists in the U.S and other Western countries. Saudia Arabia was accused of propagating terrorism and violence against the non-Muslims through education taught in the Madrasas and other public schools. Saudia Arabia has been a part and parcel of the peace process, said Saud Al Faysal in a meeting at Washington D.C, between Secretary Christopher and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faysal in 1995. The meeting reinforced the vow of the two countries to work in alliance for stability and peace of Middle East.

News papers slammed Saudi Arabia as the editorial of Business Week (U.S. Saudi Relations Changes are Overdue), announces openly and aggressively that The U.S. and the Al Saud family go back a long way. If this relationship is to continue to the benefit of both nations, a great deal has to change. The editor also presents a radical proposal to the U.S government that the U.S should throw its weight behind the efforts of 77-year- old Crown Prince Abdullah to root out widespread Royal family corruption. The representatives of media opined that the ample amount of money that should have been invested in the economic growth is wasted by Saudi Arabia. The journalists accused Saudi Arabia publicly for backing the terroristic actors responsible for the September attacks as they had supported the forces of Laden in Afghanistan in 1980s. The media of the U.S also demanded the U.S to take initiative regarding the reformation of Saudi society and conservative education system that was responsible mainly for stemming terrorism.

Chapter 4 Conclusion
In this research the researcher compares the situation in the global politics befor and after the September attacks and analyzes the U.S.-Saudi relations before 911 and after 911. The image of Saudi Arabia as presented in the media especially the U.S press is also analyzed. The secondary sources, books, journal articles and editorials are utilized to meet the research objective, that is to analyze the image of Saudi Arabia in the American press and identify alterations in the relation between the two countries as well as in the image of Saudi Arabia after 911 attacks. The image created by the American press is found negative as the media served to deteriorate the image of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia. Unlike the previous researches, this paper does not criticize the U.S press for damaging the image of the country nor does it focuses on the impact of the image on the identity of the Saudis (particularly women), however it stands with the researches which aim to analyze how the U.S press views Saudi Arabia and how it has presented the Kingdom as a terrorist country. It is found that before 911 the relationship between the U.S and Saudi Arabia was strategic in its very nature. There was a radical change in the relationship as the Kingdom was accused by the media for being responsible for supporting the terroristic actors.