Prince Turki al-Faisal

His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal is the ambassador of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America. Prince Turki was educated at the Lawrenceville prep School, educated at Georgetown University Princeton and Cambridge. Prior to taking up his post in Washington, Prince Turki served as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 2003 to 2005 and as the director general of the general intelligence directorate, the kingdoms foreign intelligence service from 1977 until 2001. Prince Turki is also active in many cultural organizations as one of the founders of the King Faisal Foundation and Chairman of the King Faisal Centre for Research in Islamic Studies in Riyadh which works to encourage mutual understanding between religions. He is also the co-chair of the C-100 group which promotes interfaith, dialogue and has been affiliated with the world economic forum since 2003. We are also most fortunate to be joined today Trudy Rubin, our foreign affairs columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Trudy has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and is the author of the Willful Blindness - the Bush Administration and Iraq. Prior to 1983, Trudy lived in Jerusalem and Beirut serving as Middle East correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. In her over 30 years of experience Trudy has traveled around the globe covering a range of social and political issues. In 2001, she made Philadelphia proud and she was named as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her analytical commentary on the Middle East. Ladies and Gentlemen, please join me in welcoming His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal and Trudy Rubin. Prince Turki I understand that you are going to make a few remarks first, is that correct? Well, if you want me to do that sitting down I would be happy to do it but if you don't mind I will prefer to stand. Oh, please do. Thank you. [Foreign language]. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much Ms. McBride and to all the various council for inviting me today. Mr. (Sayer) thank you very much and I appreciate your kind introduction. Ms. Rubin, I have known you for far longer than either of us wishes to remember. Your reporting and insightful coverage have contributed to a greater understanding of the Middle East. I hope that my remarks today will help to achieve this as well. It's a privilege to come to Philadelphia, the birthplace and home to one of my favorite figures in American history, Benjamin Franklin. Of all the wonderful stories and historical anecdotes there are about Ben Franklin. It is most appropriate for today's discussion to mention his leadership in the area of foreign affairs. As you all know he was America's first ambassador to France and successfully developed a strong friendship between the two countries. His diplomatic efforts led to America's first formal alliance with a major super power and established a strong blueprint for American diplomacy. His success with the French was based on a few basic but fundamental principles. First, he developed an open dialogue. Second, he always had the courage to firmly uphold the ideals of his nation. And finally, Mr. Franklin was creative in his approach to the challenges of the day. These three principles are no different than the ones that have been used to build a strong friendship between Saudi Arabia and the United States. For more than 60 years our two nations have used these ideas to work together and to tackle some of the world's largest and difficult problems from energy security and the cold war. Today we face many difficult challenges that continue to challenge both of us and they deal primarily with the Middle East. The region is faced with several conflicts, some of them lasting decades. Saudi Arabia has been working diligently to resolve all of them and we continue to work with the United States to this end. Briefly I would like to address some these issues. As it is clearly a topical matter, I will start with Iran. Its nuclear ambitions are clearly a concern for the global community. We believe the entire Middle East should be a nuclear free zone including Israel. So we speak directly with Iran on all issues. We find that talking with them is better than not talking with them. Next there is Iraq. With each passing day Iraq falls deeper and deeper into bloodshed. More innocent civilians are caught up in escalating sectarian clashes each day. Saudi Arabia continues to work for a solution which we believe will need to come from within the Iraq. We have worked hard to try to bring stability to a nation that is struggling and we will continue to work for a peaceful and sovereign Iraq. The struggle in Iraq is political, not sectarian or ethnic. Pure political ambition is driving the fighting, and only a political solution will stop it. Efforts to engage all parties must be strengthened. Our efforts in diplomacy have been coupled with an unyielding support for humanitarian relief and assistance to the Iraqi people. Throughout the conflict, the Kingdom has offered the economic support. During meetings held at the United Nations, Saudi Arabia led the formation of several initiatives to support its neighbor. One of these initiatives was a recent pledge to extend $1 billion towards the reconstruction of Iraq. Moving on, ladies and gentlemen, there is a problem of Lebanon. In recent years, the world witnessed a nation that was seemingly beyond reconstruction and was just reemerging as a center for culture, commerce and tourism in the Middle East. However, the Israeli air-strikes on this - of this summer not only destroyed infrastructure, they also jeopardized the spirit of the Lebanese people. These events along with a series of assassinations beginning with late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and more recently with Cabinet Minister Pierre Gemayel have dealt a serious blow to the progress of a flourishing nation. The Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory the Shebaa Farms drives Hezbollah's military resistance to Israel. We move Israeli occupation and the Lebanese will disarm Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia has stood by the Lebanese government and continues to support the people of Lebanon in their struggle for peace and stability. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a tendency to compartmentalize and keep these issues separate. This is not the best approach. What is really needed is a holistic and comprehensive strategy that starts directly from the root of the problem and that is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. After five decades allowing the situation to continue is inhuman. Palestinians and Israelis are dying and I fear that more killing that is allowed to take place the more hatred is spread on both sides. And the more difficult it becomes to establish peace. Our common enemies use it this problem to fuel their extremisms and we can now - we cannot allow this to continue. Peace is no longer simply a regional necessity, but a global imperative. Unfortunately, every time we get close our hopes are dashed. For 50 years, ladies and gentlemen, we've had ideas and proposals, resolutions and initiatives and even full-blown accords. But never has there been an honest and just implementation or enforcement of these agreements. Right now, even after the events of this summer we still have the roadmap - President Bush's roadmap and the Abdullah Peace Plan - King Abdullah's Peace Plan that was presented in 2002 to the Arab Summit Conference in Beirut. We finally need to bring these parties to the negotiating table. A lasting and just peace plan can only result from the diplomatic negotiations. Israelis and Palestinians can begin to build confidence and trust in a process that takes into account the needs of both sides. Only when there is trust in the process, can there be trust in the implementation of the solution. Again, remove Israeli occupation of Palestine and we can remove the arms that - that caused all the killing. Saudi Arabia has been open about its willingness to take a lead in engaging on these issues and this particular issue. We believe it is time for the rest of the international community to join us, because no one nation can resolve this issue alone. I am glad that Saudi Arabia and the United States can expand on our historic friendship, and work together to bring stability to a troubled, but important region. As I mentioned earlier, the diplomatic principles established for America by Benjamin Franklin, are the very foundations for the relationship between the Kingdom and the United States. They are certainly being employed today. From the first visit by an American President to Saudi Arabia in 1945, when Franklin Roosevelt met King Abdul Aziz in the Red Sea, to the most recent visit to Saudi Arabia by Vice President Cheney. We now serve as an example of what it means to have an open and honest relationship. This, ladies and gentlemen, reminds me of a story of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, two great leaders and two great allies. Winston Churchill was a guest in the White House during the war years and President Roosevelt wanted to honor him by putting him up at the White House instead of Blair House. And one night, Mr. Roosevelt wheeled into Mr. Churchill's room and found him stark naked. So he tried to wheel back in embarrassment but Churchill turned to him and said, "Mr. President, the Prime Minister of England has nothing to hide from the President of the United States." Over a year ago, when I presented my diplomatic credentials to your Secretary of State, I told her the story. And while I assured her that I was not going to come to her any day naked, I did convey that this is the kind of relationship we would like to have with the United States; an open one and one that's full of dialogue and cooperation and greater understanding. Thank you very much, ladies and gentleman.