Zalman Shoval, former Israeli Ambassador to the US, told Arutz-7 today that the Saudi initiative is close to being a non-starter:
\"Even the Economist in England called it a half-initiative... It is nothing more than a conversation between a New York Times columnist and the Saudi Prince… It\'s basically just an attempt to rehabilitate the tarnished Saudi image in the American administration, Congress, and public, following the revelation that the World Trade Center and Pentagon-attack terrorists were from Saudi Arabia… This purpose was achieved somewhat when Bush and his spokesman said some nice words about it - but the truth is, their reaction was basically a cold one, and they made it clear that their approach is still the Tenet-Mitchell outlines and that the violence must stop, etc. … The Israeli response was also along these lines, that is, If this is a public-relations exercise, then we\'ll also say nice things such as, \'we\'re checking, we would like to meet, etc.\' - but nothing beyond that...\"
\"Even the Economist in England called it a half-initiative... It is nothing more than a conversation between a New York Times columnist and the Saudi Prince… It\'s basically just an attempt to rehabilitate the tarnished Saudi image in the American administration, Congress, and public, following the revelation that the World Trade Center and Pentagon-attack terrorists were from Saudi Arabia… This purpose was achieved somewhat when Bush and his spokesman said some nice words about it - but the truth is, their reaction was basically a cold one, and they made it clear that their approach is still the Tenet-Mitchell outlines and that the violence must stop, etc. … The Israeli response was also along these lines, that is, If this is a public-relations exercise, then we\'ll also say nice things such as, \'we\'re checking, we would like to meet, etc.\' - but nothing beyond that...\"