Jeddah, Mar 18: America is acting like a Third World country, said Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s former ambassador to the US, during an interview with The Financial Times.
Speaking about US President Barack Obama’s latest budget proposal, Prince Turki asked: “Is there any chance of that being passed?”
Edward Luce, the journalist who conducted the interview, replied in the negative. It was then that the prince said: “America is acting like a Third World country.”
He also spoke about the negative impact of US internal problems on the Middle East. “Let’s say that people are talking about the US retreat, particularly in the Middle East,” he said.
“For the Kingdom, it is a matter of putting our foot down, where in the past we did not. It is a matter of accepting reality. You have to acknowledge the world has changed. Obama’s speech to the UN last September made it clear that America will be concentrating exclusively on Palestine and Iran, and for everywhere else — Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Mali, Iraq, Egypt, and so on — you will have to fend for yourself,” the prince said.
“So whether it is collecting your (Saudi Arabia’s) own resources to do that, or reaching out to others in the area to help you overcome these challenges, we are adjusting to the reality of a retreating America.”
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