Walter Ruby’s “Saudi King’s Perestroika Moment” (July 25) represents wishful thinking rather than realism. The Saudis have been major financial contributors to the terrorist foot soldiers for years. While the Saudi monarch sponsored the Madrid conference, it was organized by Abdullah Al-Turki, a man who justifies Palestinian suicide bombings and is alleged to have links to a senior al Qaeda financier. A first step towards dialogue must be the absolute rejection of, and indeed a termination of, terrorism. Despite denials and a pretense of division between politics and religion, the Saudis have both the power and money to influence the situation. When Jews can freely visit Saudi Arabia and the numerous Web sites featuring anti-Semitism are taken down, together with such acts as
a cancellation of the Hamas Charter, then perhaps dialogue can commence.
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