FDR SHIPBOARD MEETING WITH SAUDI KING IBN SAUD_ 15 FEBRUARY 1945 « Cambridge Forecast Group Blog

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FDR SHIPBOARD MEETIG WITH SAUDI KIG IB SAUD:15 FEBRUARY 1945

January 13, 2009 at 1:11 am | In Economics , Financial, Globalization, Middle East, Oil & Gas, Palestine, USA | Leave a Comment

12/28/2009 FDR SHIPBOARD MEETING WITH SAUDI…

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King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) confers with the then President of the United States, Franklin D.

Roosevelt, on a cruiser in the Suez Canal, 15 Feb 1945

Ibn Saud meets American President Roosevelt (1)

The meeting of the American President, close to victory in the Second World War, and the most

important Arab leader of his time was an event of great historical importance.

Ibn Saud met President Roosevelt on board the U.S.S. Quincy in the Great Bitter Lake of the Suez





Canal. (President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were returning from their meeting with Stalin at

Yalta.)

The meeting was instigated by President Roosevelt who hoped that Ibn Saud might be able to offer

constructive advice on the Palestine issue. The President recounted at some length the dreadful

oppression the Jews had suffered under the azis and explained the determination of the Zionists

(whose political influence in the United States was considerable) to find land which would give the Jews

security at last.

Ibn Saud’s response was soundly reasoned. If the Jews were to be compensated for the outrages

perpetrated against them, then it should be the perpetrators who carried the cost. If the United States

and its allies wished to see the Jews settled on land of their own, then it should be German land that

was appropriated.

Ibn Saud meets American President Roosevelt (2)

When Roosevelt broached the issue of Palestine, Ibn Saud was uncompromising. Why should the

Palestinians be expected to atone for the sins of the Germans? Why should the United States look to

its friends rather than to its enemies to make reparations for the crimes of its enemies?

Despite the differences of view, the meeting was conducted throughout with courtesy, with both men

showing respect for each other’s customs. President Roosevelt was impressed by the s imple clarity

with which Ibn Saud presented the Arab case.

He gave two undertakings to Ibn Saud; first that he would do nothing to assist the Jews against the

Arabs in Palestine and, secondly, that he would never do anything to harm the Arab people. He

promised that the United States Government would not make any changes to its policy on Palestine

without prior consultation with both the Arabs and the Jews.

These verbal assurances were confirmed in a letter, dated April 5th, 1945, in which Roosevelt made it

clear that he was committing himself, not as an individual, but as “Chief of the Executive Branch” of

the United States Government.





Ibn Saud meets British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) attending official dinner with Sir Winston Churchill, Lake Qaroun, Egypt,

17 Feb 1945

Ibn Saud met the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the Grand Hotel du Lac on the shores of

the Fayyoun Oasis, fifty miles south of Cairo.

This meeting proved less happy and less productive than Ibn Saud’s meeting with President

Roosevelt. Churchill, who insisted on smoking and drinking alcohol throughout their discussions,

attempted to link the assistance Britain had given to Ibn Saud over the years to the Palestine issue.

He suggested that Ibn Saud should use his authority and influence to persuade the Arab world to

accommodate Zionist aspirations. Churchill made no promises that Britain would temper its support

for the Zionists with sensitivity to Arab rights. Ibn Saud found Churchill’s views entirely unacceptable.

King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) confers with the then President of the United States, Franklin D.

Roosevelt, on a cruiser in the Suez Canal, 15 Feb 1945

King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud) attending official dinner with Sir Winston Churchill, Lake Qaroun, Egypt,

17 Feb 1945

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FDR SHIPBOARD MEETING WITH SAUDI KING IBN SAUD_ 15 FEBRUARY 1945 « Cambridge Forecast Group Blog