January 17, 2008
Mideast Snapshot
 Chatting with Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson at CNN's workspace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before heading out to shoot elements for next month's Inside the Middle East on the streets of the Saudi capital, January 14th, 2008.
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Add a commentJanuary 16, 2008
Saudi Arabia 101: A White House Producer's Tale
CNN Producer Becky Brittain traveled to Saudi Arabia for the first time as part of the White House press corps. She sent me this account of a day spent following the U.S. president and Saudi Arabia's king and her first hand look at the palaces Saudi's petro-dollars can buy:
-- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 15th, 2008 - It's dinner at the King’s Palace. And I’m not talking about a Chinese food buffet. Or dining with Elvis. This time it's at the palace of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.  A view of the royal guest palace. We are staying at the Marriott in Riyadh and being at the hotel for just a few minutes shows me a lot. We are told that we don’t have to cover our heads unless we go out to the market or on the streets. But if we stay on the hotel property and remain with the US press delegation, we should be fine. Even so, I could immediately sense a slight bit of insecurity in being a blond here. For the second part of the day, I join the so-called "travel pool" in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Each day, it's one TV network's turn to be right next to the President, whether it means being on Air Force One, in his motorcade or covering presidential meetings and events. We then share our material and information with the other four networks in the "pool." Today is CNN's turn to cover the President's Middle East visit.
We load up in the vans and go through Saudi "security". It’s a little intimidating because the men all have machine guns hanging around their necks, but the security itself does not make me feel secure. We weave through traffic and I can’t tell you how many almost-accidents almost occur. I just have to close my eyes and not watch. We get to the airport, and are ushered into a holding room in the royal terminal for a couple of hours. When I need to go to the bathroom, I asked an embassy escort to direct me. The Saudi folks (with guns) have no idea where the women’s bathroom is because they have had very few women in this part of the airport before. When I get there, it's obvious the women's bathroom hasn't had much use. Two of the stalls just have holes in the floor and the other stall has a toilet but no sign of toilet paper. I walk out of the stall and - all of sudden - a man with a machine gun (do you see a trend?) walks in and looks at me like I’ve invaded his space (his weapon wasn’t drawn but it was startling nonetheless!) He really doesn’t care that he’s just walked into the women’s bathroom! So I hightail it out of there being thankful that I don’t experience that too often! After that experience and a bit more waiting, it's time to go outside with the rest of the "pool" journalists and wait for Air Force One to arrive. And it may be Saudi Arabia but it is freezing outside. They say it hasn’t been this cold here in thirty years and they have real snow in their forecast for the first time that anyone could remember. I, of course, didn’t bring a coat on this trip. I didn't think I'd need one in the desert. Wrong! I packed one sweater and I’ve worn it every single day. The President’s handlers decide it is too cold for the ceremony to take place outside so the President and King Abdullah quickly make their way inside to a very large room packed with Saudi men and a strong smell of incense. I was one of about ten women (all American in the press corps or with the White House) in the room. There is a formal receiving line and a bit of tea and coffee drinking; then it's off to the waiting limos. I've been covering the White House for years and this is the longest motorcade that I have ever seen: well over 100 cars. We are so far behind the President’s limo that we can’t even spot him. All we see for miles ahead of us are taillights! At one point, another motorcade joined ours and we get pushed even further back. We head to the King’s guest palace where there is an arrival ceremony that involves dozens of horses. We spend several hours waiting for the President in an ornate lounge in one of many wings of one building of the Guest Palace. There are many chandeliers and gilded furniture. I'm guessing this part of the palace was decorated in the '70s. It has that feel. After dinner, there's more waiting (pool coverage usually involves running and waiting, running and waiting) but only see the President for a very short time. First in a room that about 300 Saudi men had exit when we arrive. There's more marble and more chandeliers but nothing compared to the room we got to next to film President Bush and King Abdullah. I’m not sure if I can adequately describe how lavish but let’s just say that if I picked something up and broke it, our overall national debt would be even more astronomical. The King and the President come out to say hello and drink some coffee. The King gives Bush a huge necklace, bestows a Saudi honor on him, before going off to have a private meeting. One more country to go! We head to Sharm el Sheikh tomorrow for the day and then we finally head home. -- Posted by Hala Gorani January 15, 2008
Waiting To Board Air Force One
 Dubai International Airport tarmac, January 14th 2008. White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino. On the left, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.
The Future Of Liberty?
On June 20th , 2005 Condi Rice gave a speech in Cairo that was to set the tone for the Bush Administration's involvement in the Middle East – they would push hard for democratic reforms in the region.  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accompanying the U.S. President on a visit to Dubai (January 14th, 2008) Talking to the students at the American University of Cairo, many of them American-minded reformers, it was an inspired moment. The US would be behind them! http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2005/48328.htm In front of a packed audience Rice said, "Now, we are taking a different course. We are supporting the democratic aspirations of all people." As Bush lands in Egypt on the last leg of his Middle East trip, he should be reminded of the leading opposition figure Ayman Nour – imprisoned for his challenge to Mubarak. How about police torture? The jailed bloggers? Most glaringly, the lack of free and fair elections in Egypt? Keep in mind, Egypt is a recipient of almost $2.6 billion in funding and assistance from the U.S. What about women in Saudi? How about the labor practices if the UAE? …And on and on and on. The fact is the President cannot travel through the Middle East and make many demands these days. He desperately needs his Sunni Middle Eastern partners to help isolate Iran. Iran has been able to push forward with its agenda because of Iranian influence in Iraq and the diminished power of the US in the region. It is not surprising we did not hear any substantive announcements on this trip about real democratic progress in the Gulf or Middle East. Bush can talk about reforms and democracy in the Middle East, but few here on the ground in the region believe he can back up all the rhetoric. -- By CNN's Wilf Dinnick January 13, 2008
The "Freedom Agenda" (Continued)
We've just arrived in Abu Dhabi in the U.A.E., where the U.S. President is spending 24 hours before heading to Saudi Arabia. He gave a speech a few minutes ago calling for political liberalization in the Middle East. It sounds a lot like the calls for freedom and democracy of 2005, when George Bush promised the U.S. would monitor democratization efforts of even close regional allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. President Bush and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
With twelve months left in his mandate, will Mister Bush's words have an impact? Send us your thoughts at mideast@cnn.com or add a comment below. --Posted by Hala Gorani in Abu Dhabi |
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Welcome to the Inside the Middle East blog. Our reporters, producers, cameramen and editors will regularly add to this with colorful behind-the-scene stories. This page is about how we put the show together -- from on-location shoots to the editing room -- as well as for anecdotes and stories that don't always make it into our finished on-air product.
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Inside the Middle East airs 1st full weekend of every month and the following Thursday.Saturday (1st Saturday of every month) 0730, 1330, 1830 (all regions) Sunday (1st Sunday of every month) 1130, 1730 (all regions) Thursday (1st Thursday of every month) 1330, 1730 (all regions) (All times GMT) I-Report
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