JEF Diary: American President’s Brother Building Bridges With Saudis
Siraj Wahab, Arab News



Neil Bush says he doesn’t discuss politics with his elder brother, US President George W. Bush. (AN file photo)


JEDDAH, 27 February 2007 — There are many interesting sessions being presented at the Jeddah Economic Forum, but just as much (if not more) is happening on the sidelines of the forum. International and local businessmen, educators and officials from around the world are sharing ideas, building relationships and negotiating business deals — typical networking stuff. It seems as if there is a conversation going on in every nook and cranny of the Jeddah Hilton with the impromptu meetings occasionally spilling out onto the picturesque palm-fringed seaside promenade just across the street.

It was during one such networking sessions that Arab News ran into Mr. Neil Bush, the younger brother of the US president. There was no cause to strike up a business negotiation with the affable brother of the current US president, who runs an educational software company with dealings in the Gulf region, but Arab News did take the opportunity to speak to him.

“The Jeddah Economic Forum has been very productive,” he said. “I have been to this conference four times since 2002. I have seen it develop from the very beginning. There was less participation in the past, now there is more international participation.”

He was among the many awestruck by the speech of Jordan’s Queen Rania on Sunday. “I loved her speech,” he said. “She had a very realistic perspective on things. The panel discussion that followed later was interesting and stimulating.”

Neil Bush’s business card describes him as chairman and CEO of Ignite Learning, a company devoted to developing technology-assisted curriculum. “We are building a model in the United States for developing curriculum that is engaging to grade-school kids, and our model is to deploy this engaging content through a device,” he said. “So it is easy for any teacher to use our device through projectors and speakers. The curriculum is loaded on the device. We use animation and video and those kinds of things to light up learning in classrooms for kids. It helps teachers connect with their kids. We are planning to develop an Arabic version of that model.”

Bush said his company intends to recruit skilled developers to create that Arabic version of the curriculum, focusing on the basics, like science and mathematics. “We are starting to build these local joint ventures outside of the United States so we will have this Arabic content probably by the end of the year,” he said. “But we won’t be penetrating this market thoroughly for the next two to three years.”

Now was the time for me to bring up the elephant in the room: The fact that the policies of his brother (unlike the policies of his father) are deeply disliked in the region for reasons that are obvious to anyone following the current state of affairs.

I had to ask him: How does Neil Bush react to people who tell him they are not happy with his brother’s foreign policy? “Don’t forget, I am the son of a president who I deeply respect and admire and who is admired a lot in this region,” he said, referring, of course, to George H.W. Bush, who liberated Kuwait from an Iraqi occupation in 1990s. “I think my dad has demonstrated in his policy how sensitive he is to culture, how bringing people together and how dialogue and conversation can lead to peace... And even when there is aggression you know you can deal with it in a way that is wise and judicious.”

True, I said, but what about his brother’s strategy? “I think people need to be fair about the position my brother is in,” he said. “My brother is president at a time in history that we have never seen before as Americans. Our country was attacked viciously, and I think everybody in the world recognizes that. The reaction he has had to it in part reflects the deep hurt of the tragedy that struck us on Sept. 11, 2001. He is doing what he thinks is right.”

The younger Bush says he emulates his father when it comes to discussing politics with his brother. “I have a personal policy similar to my dad’s policy and that is I don’t discuss politics with my brother,” Bush said. “He is an elected president. He never appointed me to be his secretary of state. I love my brother as a brother. He has two children; I have six now, so we talk about life in general. We have a lot in common. But he doesn’t talk about my business and I don’t talk about his. When he retires we will have plenty of good chats.”

At this point, the conversation consciously moves away from this topic and toward this whole “clash of civilizations” thing. “I get frustrated when I talk to my American friends about the region in general and particularly about Saudi Arabia,” he said. “There is this common misperception of the Arab people, of the Muslim faith, about the relationship with Saudi Arabia. I think there needs to be leadership on both sides to help bridge the gap of misunderstanding. A lot of my American friends, a lot of Americans in general, have common misunderstandings and the basic myths that they have in their minds about this region.”

So what is Neil Bush doing to rectify how Americans perceive Saudi Arabia with the reality on the Saudi street?

“It is not at all hard for me to explain; it is easy,” Bush said. “I can explain it very well, but people won’t believe me unless and until they come and see it for themselves. For example, I am bringing a delegation today that talks of water-desalination technology — very amazing technology. They have never been to Saudi Arabia. Obviously they can’t help but be impressed by the hospitality and the warmth of the reception and the response of the people that they met regarding their project. They just loved this place. The terrain is interesting to them. You know, romantic and kind of exciting. So there is a lot to be said about coming here and seeing it for yourself.”

Bush says it is important to gain “a more balanced perspective” on Saudi Arabia, and to let go of some of the stereotypes. “If I go by the images of Saudi Arabia portrayed in movies, that of gun-toting mullahs, then I think I will have a very different impression of Saudi Arabia than the one that is balanced and based on reason and facts.”

As a man whose family is deeply involved in the global oil business, Neil Bush has spent a lot of time in the Kingdom and says he’s not only grown to love the people, but also to understand the system. “It’s a kind of tribal democracy that people don’t talk about very much,” he said. “So it hurts me quite a bit and causes me anguish over the ignorance outside about Saudi Arabia.”

Indeed, not every system needs to be a Western-style Jeffersonian representative democracy, does it?