Interview with US Congressman Darrell Issa During a Trip to Saudi Arabia, Discussing his Meetings and Reforms in Saudi Arabia

Federal News Service April 13, 2004 Tuesday

HEADLINE: INTERVIEW WITH US CONGRESSMAN DARRELL ISSA DURING A TRIP TO SAUDIA ARABIA, DISCUSSING HIS MEETINGS AND REFORMS IN SAUDI ARABIA

ABU DHABI TV, 12:00 (GMT + 2)

APRIL 13, 2004

BODY:

(Note: the following was translated from Arabic)

QUESTION: Saudia Arabia has been pursuing reforms for quite some time.

Do you believe the kingdom is taking the right initiative?

DARRELL ISSA: Certainly Crown Prince Abdullah-deputy premier and commander of the National Guard-has been active in pursuing reforms and in liberalizing the government.

Now the Shoura Council originates legislation. It no longer has to originate from the king. These reforms are very helpful in a participatory form of government.

QUESTION: Some people claim that very little is being done when it comes to the Kingdom's political reforms?

DARRELL ISSA: The British have a queen. The Saudis have a king.

That is not American democracy. But it is a system that the Saudis are comfortable with on which they build a system of representation to pass laws. Ultimately, that is a reform that we promote. They represent what is right for their people.

QUESTION: What matters did you raise during your meeting with Prince Sultan, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of defense and aviation?

DARRELL ISSA: I discussed both regional and local security issues.

I believe this is a stable government with affectionate people. But there are active members of al Qaeda here and they would seek to have Saudi Arabia as a prize, if they could.

At the same time, there is also a passage for people in and out of Saudi Arabia. Particularly, we talked about the difficulty in sealing the Yemen border, which is long and porous. But together we can cooperate in exchanging information, to maximize security for the Kingdom and the surrounding countries.

QUESTION: Congressman, could you comment on the US media campaign against the Kingdom?

DARRELL ISSA: If the people believe the media-which is often mistaken-it can hurt public perception.

In my meeting with Prince Sultan I expressed my understanding that although many of the terrorist criminals were Saudi by birth, they were German by recent history and radicalization. In Germany, too, they have the same problem and they have to make the same effort to prevent radical ideas from tainting the good name of Islam.

QUESTION: Did you raise the issue of funds with the Minister of Islamic Affairs Saleh Al-Asheikh?

DARRELL ISSA: The minister is not being led or guided by us at all. Of his own initiative he has taken on a significant review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the correct use of funds - both foreign and domestic.

The charity that helps to develop mosques around the world is recognized as somewhat abused. The minister's goal is to do a better job of understanding how the money is spent so that these generous gifts are used to promote the good work that comes through Islam.

QUESTION: You will be shortly traveling to Palestine and holding meetings with the Palestinian leadership.

What issues will you be raising with them?

DARRELL ISSA: The only path for the Palestinians is to offer passive resistance in the face of Israeli violence.

The Palestinians are the occupied people. If their goal is to be reached, they must learn to endure without engaging in violence. They can resist passively. They can refuse to work in many ways. But they have to end violent resistance if we have to restart the peace process.

Look at India's great leader Gandhi who forced the British out through nonviolence.

QUESTION: How do you view the work of the 9/11 Commission so far?

DARRELL ISSA: It's concerned mostly with the mistakes that the whole world made prior to 9/11. The US government understands some of the domestic issues that we did not understand before 9/11.

For years I have gone to Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, among other countries. They now talk about how difficult it is to fight the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups that have become radicalized, because they did not get cooperation from the US and even US banks.

Now we see it through a different eye-opening our bank accounts to the rest of the world. In many ways the US is joining the Arab world in the fight against terrorism.

QUESTION: What is needed to release Saudi prisoners in Guantanamo Bay?

DARRELL ISSA: When we determine that they are no longer a threat or have no further information to give, they will be released.

QUESTION: Don't you think that there is an excessive use of force by the US forces in Iraq, especially in dealing with the situation in Fallujah?

DARRELL ISSA: The insurgents are trying to destabilize Iraq and prevent democracy. So force has to be met with force. The guidance that I have received in Washington and the guidance that I
shall take back with me in Riyadh is that there should be reliance on other means instead of the use of force.