It would not be in the best interests of the US to see its privileged trade and economic relationship with Saudi Arabia evaporate. There are numerous agreements for cooperation in cultural, environmental, agricultural and other fields. Judging from statements made by both sides, cooperation in military training will continue.

Reviving the local economy continues to be the top concern of the Kingdom’s government. Reports also came out last week that the Shoura Council had approved revised tax regulations, which aim to make the Saudi economy competitive. The new regulations will cut current company tax levels, simplify procedures and establish a non-government judicial body to settle disputes and differences between clients and the tax authority.

It also stated that the council rejected the advice of the World Bank to levy tax on expatriates. The council emphasized the benefits of training tax officials and that their duties would be to assist the public and develop service-orientated relationships.

The four-year cabinet changes came as scheduled last week. The event, however, went unnoticed in the Western media. They merely see what they wish to report. The names and faces of the ministers are not new. They are known to the public and there were no surprises. However, the nation has been delighted with the reforms that came with the changes announced and those built into them. This is partly so some public demands, which the government not only has been able to read but also to implement.

Hopefully US think tanks and Western media can get in touch with real events and handle them prudently. Saudis wish the West to continue to report on them. One day the voices of truthful reporting will rule supreme. Saudi Arabia is not a house of cards but it is the house of Saudis.

Differences of opinions with friends are tactical rather than lethal. To them, closing bases is as comfortable as reopening them. Osama Bin Laden ordered them to be closed. Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz declared, loud and clear, at the press conference, that Saudi Arabia had not asked for it.

If US think tanks and Western media run after Osama Bin Laden rather than listen to Rumsfeld and Sultan, it is their prerogative to misread realities. When matters begin to sink in, they will realize the big picture. Nothing can be stated louder than the truth and nothing can be heard clearer than the truth itself. Renewal of US — Saudi relationship will create good investment opportunities. It brings maximum benefit in honest dealings. Differences between partners can only establish the truth. The on-time establishment of states in Palestine and Iraq, along with developed and progressive Gulf States free from foreign involvements, will assist in achieving economic development speedily and convert the dream of prosperity into reality.