PBS FRONTLINE: HOUSE OF SAUD PART 3 OF 6
"House of Saud" also tells the story of the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the arrival in the kingdom of American troops to fight the war against Saddam.
"As the American forces started coming in, there were voices that spoke of an invasion by these people," says Khaled Al Maeena, editor-in-chief of Arab News. "[They said] they're defiling the country…they will make us change our religion, or…make us doubt our way of life."
When Iraq was driven from Kuwait, U.S. troops remained in Saudi Arabia. The presence of U.S. troops became the chief rallying cry for the most famous of all Saudis, Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden's anti-American and anti-royal fatwas struck a note with many Saudis. And after 9/11, American attitudes changed as well.
"When it became clear that fifteen of the nineteen [terrorists] were Saudis, that was a disaster," says Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign affairs advisor to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. "Bin Laden, at that moment, had made in the minds of Americans Saudi Arabia into an enemy."
Offering context and perspective for understanding the country of Saudi Arabia in 2005, this report also illuminates the challenges this nation faces in the future.
