Turki al Faisal to Obama on Syria: "Go ahead and talk. You don't need a midwife to bring you together."

In the Ithaca Journal, here

"... He said Bush's presidency was marked by a cool but controlled hostility, especially in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 bombings, in which many of the hijackers were identified as Saudi.

"Bush had turned his back to peace in the Middle East and almost abandoned all that Clinton had done. The Crown Prince sent him a letter stating that we were coming to a crossroads and either we go together in the road that we choose or we go our separate ways," he said.

Eventually, they came together and established what Prince Turki described as a preferable institutional dialogue, rather than being subject to the "whim and will" of two heads of state.

He said this more diffused approach has served well as the two nations tackle sensitive subjects like Palestine, Lebanon, Iran "and all the other hot spots."