The Anti-American and Antisemitic Writings of Saudi Prince Amr Muhammad Al-Faysal

Prince Amr Muhammad Al-Faysal, who has served ceremonial roles for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, [1]such as attending official functions and escorting high-ranking foreign visitors, is the general agent of the Saudi government's Islamic Insurance Company, [2]and is a frequent contributor to Saudi newspapers such as Arab News. [3]Most recently, on July 27, 2003, he encouraged enemies of the U.S. to study the strategies employed by America's opponents during the Vietnam war and stated that the U.S. army is so weak that Americans should fear an invasion by the Mexican military. The following are excerpts from a number of Prince Amr Muhammad Al-Faysal's writings:

Anti-American Articles

'Lessons from the Killing of Uday and Qusay'

In an article published in Arab Newson July 27, 2003 titled "Lessons from the Killing of Uday and Qusay,"Al-Faysal wrote:

"…U.S. forces, based on a tip-off from a friend of the Hussein family (in return for a $30 million reward), surrounded a house in Mosul in which Uday, Qusay, his 14-year-old son Mustafa, and one of their supporters had hidden. Some 200 U.S. soldiers backed by helicopter gunships, missiles, and mortar shells, attacked the house. After a battle, which lasted six hours, the three men and [the] boy were dead."

"I was appalled. I have said it before (not in this publication) and I say it again: Western, and especially U.S. , military doctrine is incapable of achieving victory. It took a 50:1 ratio (I am ignoring the helicopters, etc.) of crack (at least that's what the Americans call them) troops five hours to kill the three men and a boy who were hiding, not in a heavily fortified bunker, but in a simple villa. What a disgrace!"

"In addition, they were not even trying to capture them alive. If they had been, maybe it would have taken them a week. Had these been Saudi troops I would have urged that they be court-martialed for sheer colossal incompetence and cowardice. We must learn from this that U.S. military strategy, doctrine, tactics, and whatever else you can think of, have reached a point of total bankruptcy. They are simply incapable of fighting real battles against real people who do not roll over and play dead on cue."

"Therefore it is incumbent on us to avoid being influenced by their bankrupt military thinking and to start using our own common sense and to learn from people who have a proven track record of success in modern warfare. I would like to suggest learning military arts from such people as the Vietnamese, who proved beyond a shadow of doubt their military superiority over the U.S. despite the latter's almighty bluster and fancy hardware (how the Americans love their toys)."

"The Chinese also have a thing or two to teach us. Do not forget that they fought the U.S. and its allies (another coalition of the willing) to a standstill in Korea at a time when the U.S. was at its mightiest militarily and economically. China at the time was a Third World country which had just come through a massive civil war. The East, brothers and sisters, is where we should look. Forget about the West, for they are finished."

"As for you, the American people, you must start to worry that the performance of your military does not start to give ideas to your southern neighbors. If they continue to perform like they are doing in Iraq , then I for one believe the Mexican Army is a serious threat to your national integrity." [4]

'Of Pots, Kettles and Other Shams'

In the June 29 edition of Arab News, Al-Faysal wrote:

"I listened a few days ago to Paul Bremer, U.S. civil administrator in Iraq , as he protested vigorously about Iran 's alleged involvement in anti-occupation activities in Iraq . He warned Iran 'not to interfere in Iraq 's internal affairs.' This, coming from a man whose country, the United States , has just overrun and conquered Iraq and has more than 100,000 troops stationed there. Truly that is the pot calling the kettle black. The brazenness of the man is breathtaking. But it has become a normal state of affairs for U.S. officials to behave with such arrogance and to call things by different names in order to make the unacceptable acceptable and the contemptible noble."

"The Americans, and their lapdogs of assorted nationalities, are merely experiencing the normal resistance of a conquered people to the power occupying their country in order to regain their freedom… Bremer is reflecting the growing awareness by U.S. colonization forces that the clock cannot be turned back and the 18th and 19th centuries are gone for good. The world no longer tolerates overt imperialism and rejects outright colonization. The awesome white man is no longer held in awe. His technological superiority is no longer that great and his alleged moral superiority has been exposed through long and bitter experience as a sham."

"Take for example the poor suckers, oops! the U.S. soldiers whose task it is to conquer and pacify Iraq and whoever else the powers that be in Washington think should feel the force of 'Freedom and Liberty .' These men and women fight and die in obedience to a government that refuses to exempt them from paying income tax while engaged in battle overseas, but that passes tax reduction laws which further increase the already engorged bank accounts of rich Americans; rich Americans who refuse to serve in the army, by the way."

"So as you see the charred bodies of U.S. soldiers being pulled from burning APCs in Iraq, remember that, thanks to Bush, Warren Buffet[t] pays less taxes proportionately than his own secretary and certainly less than any U.S. serviceman or woman…" [5]

'When Are We Going to Take a Stand'

In an article which appeared in Arab News on March 30, 2003 , Al-Faysal wrote:

"I read a report last week on the Presidency of Civil Aviation's plan to sign a $1.5 billion agreement with the American company Bechtel for the expansion of King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah. We should be aware of the fact that Bechtel is one of the five companies the Bush administration has selected for the reconstruction of Iraq after U.S. forces have destroyed the country."

"I don't have words to express my anguish and indignation at this news, which I hope proves to be untrue. Are our national companies incapable of building an airport? Even if we need the assistance of a foreign company, why don't we invite a French or German one?"

"In the present circumstances, we have to adopt a decisive stand on a country that has dropped its mask and shown its colonialist intent in the region. The least we can expect is that American companies are barred from winning major contracts in our country in the future…"

"The American propaganda machine exaggerated George W. Bush's limited role during the Vietnam War. The children of rich and well-to-do families in the U.S. are generally reluctant to join the armed forces, as the U.S. Army has become the refuge of the poor and minorities. This also gives us an idea of the thinking of American troops fighting in Iraq now. So I believe that the strong resistance shown by the Iraqis against the American aggression will soon weaken the morale of U.S. forces when they realize that they are dying for rich Americans who want to increase their bank balance. The blood of the poor and minorities in the U.S. is being wasted for the sake of rich Americans."

"This leads me to another article published by The New York Times on Colin Powell. The paper says Powell must be held responsible for the failure of American foreign policy. How did Powell become an easy victim of the Bush administration? It's simple. In American cowboy movies, the black characters generally die before the end of the film…" [6]

Antisemitic Articles

'Friendly Warning to Cousins'

In an article published in Arab News on July 13, 2003 , Al-Faysal addressed the Jews:

"I was recently given the book 'The Jewish Phenomenon' by Steven Silbiger. It disturbed me, and I will tell you why. I have been observing for a number of years the growth in prominence of members of the Jewish community in the U.S. This prominence has been recently magnified in a way that is eerily familiar. You see, the Americans usually pump up those they plan to chop off at the knees. Newspaper articles, magazine and television interviews, media coverage of all kinds, building up to a crescendo similar to the rising roar of the crowds in the Roman arena, just before the emperor turned his thumb down to signal the death of an unfortunate gladiator."

"President Bush and his Strangelovian colleagues of the neoconservative movement are the culmination of a long process whereby the American far right is attempting the hijack of the United States . This can only be done by subverting the democratic process and perverting the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, some members of the Jewish community have supported this attempt in the belief that the state of Israel will be better served by a U.S. firmly in the grip of the far right… This is a very grave error. I am reminded of a sailor walking down the gangplank and about to fall into shark-infested waters."

"But I believe the current administration will fail in its objectives. This prediction is not based on elaborate flow charts or reams of studies by prominent think tanks but on common sense (a virtue singularly lacking in today's White House). This will lead, inevitably, to the mother of all blowbacks. Guess who will be used to divert the wrath of the American people away from their leaders? Who will be the fall guys? So, dear cousins, if you hear a snap in two or three years, it will probably be the sound of the trap shutting on your collective necks. You have been warned." [7]

'Important Lessons from Iraq'

In another article dealing with the Jewish community in the U.S. , Al-Faysal wrote: "… I see the beginning of the failure of America 's international policy. It gives rise to the speculation that, as these signs become stronger, the ruling elite in the United States will look for a scapegoat or several scapegoats to channel the anger of the American public, who will soon arise from their deep slumber to understand the enormity of the setbacks they have suffered. The ruling elite is a group of rich capitalists, mostly of Anglo-Saxon origin, who are considered the real power in America , although there also exists a notion that the Jewish minority is the most powerful."

"In Western societies, throughout history, minorities - especially Jews - have been easy scapegoats for societies to vent their anger over the mistakes and corrupt practices of their rulers. That is what is happening in the U.S. now, as the ruling elite exploits 80 percent of the country's resources. The majority of American armed forces who sacrifice their lives in Iraq , Afghanistan , and other countries, come from the lower strata of society. At the same time, the Anglo-Saxons who have dragged them into these wars are enjoying themselves and getting richer. The biggest group of personalities and think tanks who have been projected as supporters or instigators of the war on Iraq and America 's aggressive policies in general are from the Jewish minority. This is not accidental, nor is it evidence of the power of the Zionist lobby in the U.S. It is to set up the Jewish community as a scapegoat, so that it can be made to take full responsibility for the failure of those policies. The American people will naturally show their anger toward these Jews without attacking the ruling Anglo-Saxon elite."

"I expect that the Jewish minority in the U.S. will be in a very uncomfortable situation. The American people will discover how the Jews were cheating the United States when all the files that have been put on the shelves are opened." [8]