But isn't it a little strange for Al-Jazeera or other influential stations in the region to use a Western-style marketing mentality given that the media "product" they're pushing often has an anti-Western slant?

In all honesty, I don't think it was anti-Western. When [the U.S.] started attacking, I didn't think Al-Jazeera was sensationalizing. It tried to get viewers, but it was there on the ground. OK, it was reporting every day what the Iraqi minister of information was saying, but that guy was a buffoon, so it became a comedy show. But as far as the strikes, we wanted to see ... you know, it was this awesome thing, it was terror ... I spoke to a lady from Baghdad a couple of days ago who was leaving there, and she said she wished she'd died because she didn't want to be injured, and the noise, the roar of the bombs ... she said, "To get one man you had to do all this?" Al-Jazeera was focusing on that.

But wasn't Al-Jazeera ignoring the importance of removing a despot like Saddam Hussein? Wasn't that an intention of the war? We've since seen the torture chambers and the mass graves ...

But that was not the expressed intention. They went in for weapons of mass destruction, then suddenly they said they wanted to remove him. I'm happy Saddam is gone, seeing the dead bodies and all ... I hope he's the last of the despots.

But this was the same Saddam who was [once] the darling of the Western world ... I'm going to write an article in a few days, saying the Americans have to stay there, that they have to come to terms with the situation, and have to really build Iraq back up.

Ever since September 11, mistrust of Saudi Arabia has been growing in the West. You've spent a lot of time in the U.S. yourself -- what would you most hope for Americans to know or understand about Saudi Arabia now?

Well, there isn't mistrust in the West, because the West also means Europe. Saudis still go to Europe with or without visas ...

Let's say America then ...

Yes, in America there is mistrust, and it's because of the media. [America is] applying the principle of collective guilt to all of us. I'm not a bin Laden supporter and never have been, and never will be. I know there are people who subscribe to his views -- I haven't met them but I know there are -- but what I'd like Americans to understand about Saudi Arabia is that just as not all Americans are serial killers or child molesters or kidnappers ... we are not [all] bin Laden.

In contrast to its reaction to the September 11 attacks, the Saudi government was quick to acknowledge the participation of 15 Saudi nationals in the Riyadh bombings. According to the Associate Press, the bomb sites were shown on official Saudi television, and the interior minister, Prince Nayef, issued harsh words not only for the attackers, but also for "religious figures who instigate violence." Is this an attempt to placate the U.S., or does it signal real change in the regime's outlook, especially in terms of clamping down on volatile religious leaders?

Fifteen is a very unlucky number for Saudis. [Laughs].

I don't think we are here to placate the U.S. We are a sovereign nation, not a banana republic. But I think we have to look really deep into our society ... I really think we have to solve our problems ourselves. In America, you always solve problems because you admit there are problems.

First of all, all of us have to admit there is a problem ... I'm glad the Saudi interior minister said this, because he felt there was a need to say it. We are a patriarchal society, and we have this sense of honor and shame like, "Oh we shouldn't talk about this fear ... ' We are not an angelic society living in heaven -- we live in the world. I think we have to admit there are people within our society who fall outside the pale of civilized behavior. They either have to be educated and taught and reprogrammed, or they have to be punished according to the existing laws of the land.

Saudi Arabia currently suffers from an astonishing 30 percent unemployment rate, and many in the West believe the country is a hotbed for terrorist activity. How important a role will the media play in bringing real economic and political reforms to the country?

Reforms need political will. The media is now focusing and I think the government is fully aware. But the media's role is to highlight the shortcomings of society, not to act as a P.R. arm of the government. And the media has realized this; we have some fantastic papers, some wonderful journalists ... who are pointing at the ills of society. I think we have a government that's listening now.

So it depends ... I think if you have the right ingredients for progress, yes, but if we do not admit that we have shortcomings then we'll be in serious trouble. The authorities and the media should be partners in progress, and we should not be suspicious of the media.

And I think people should come and see that we have nothing to hide in Saudi Arabia or other Arab states. I think we should allow more people to come in and write.

Do you believe it's possible to have a free, objective media in Saudi Arabia? And across the region?

Yes, it is possible and I think it exists. There are many journalists who write without fear or hindrance, and who are doing very well. And you have satellite TV with access to so many channels ...

I am an optimist. I think there is no alternative to reform. The bombings in Riyadh have been a wake-up call. I think our own media has to rise up to the challenge, to talk and uncover ... The media itself should be a reformer in many ways.

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