Saudi rage at U.S. is complicated by long embrace of its ways

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- In the nighttime heat, Abdel Aziz Sanad and Mohammad al Bayadi sipped their coffee as they spelled out their simmering anger toward the United States. For too long, the men said, the United States had bullied the Arab world.

"I do not accept violence," said Aziz Sanad, 25, a low-ranking government worker. "But America is a large person, and after beating Arabs and Muslims for years, the small person has finally hit back. I'm happy about that." As protest, the men said they would neither buy American products nor work for an American company.

Yet the spot they chose to savor coffee and smoke cigarettes was Dunkin' Donuts. The U.S. chain, the men explained blithely, had better coffee than a nearby Saudi shop. They would have to wean themselves from it to deliver on their angry pledge.

Many Saudis are caught up in a welter of powerful and sometimes conflicting attitudes toward the United States.

Though stung by the fact that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were Saudis, many Saudi citizens say the United States has reacted unfairly, vilifying their religion, nation and worldwide charities. The anger has been fed by articles in the press and word-of-mouth tales about the wrongs reportedly suffered by Saudis in the United States.

May fingerprint Americans

Government officials, according to Saudi newspapers, have vowed to begin fingerprinting Americans arriving in the desert kingdom in retaliation for a crackdown on Saudis entering the United States.

Wealthy Saudis talk of vacationing anywhere but America, of sending their children to college in other countries and of investing their money elsewhere.

A number of Saudis, who were working or studying in the United States at the time of the terror attacks and who were ordered to leave by U.S. officials, have been preparing to sue for the financial losses they say they suffered.

The Al Madinah newspaper recently carried a long article, describing how a young Saudi student at an unnamed American university was forced to return home one semester short of graduation because of the troubles he faced at the hands of U.S. officials and citizens.

"He went through 25 days of persecution, investigations and humiliation for his country and religion, just because he was holding a Saudi passport," the article said. It also described how he was allegedly stripped to his underwear in public for an inspection at a New York airport.

Some Saudis fear a U.S. invasion of their nation, part of a nefarious plan to seize Saudi oil and force its Islamic institutions to accept Western views. First Iraq, some Saudis predict, and then them.

Stamped by U.S. presence

Complicating the fury toward America is a longtime Saudi embrace of the United States, its businesses and its ways. Strip away the mosques, palaces and historical remnants of the nation's desert heritage and much of Saudi Arabia's largest cities look and feel American.

No other Arab nation is stamped as heavily by the presence of American companies, from Starbucks to Planet Hollywood to major U.S. companies that provide everyday services. Many rich Saudis prefer U.S-made luxury cars, for example.

A sad expression suddenly covered the face of a young Saudi journalist, who said he had traveled the world but had never seen America.

"Now," he said, "my dream will not come true."