The September 11 commission report notes that Saudi Arabia is “a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism” and that “significant problems remained” regarding its role in the war against terror.

On August 18, the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., announced its newest ad campaign. Embassy spokesman Nail Al-Jubeir explained, “We want to put to rest the charges that have been lingering around since 9/11 that the Saudi government or Saudi officials have funded terrorism or extremism. I think the 9/11 report from the Commission vindicated us on this, and we want to make sure that people in this country are aware of it.”

This is not the first time the Saudis have initiated a public relations campaign to highlight their efforts against the extremist Wahhabi ideology they espouse. Past efforts failed because leading Saudi officials were quoted making contradictory statements in English and in Arabic.

Examples include high-ranking members of the royal family blaming terrorist acts such as September 11 on “Zionists.” The Saudi interior minister, Prince Nayef, declared in 2002: “Who committed the events of September 11…I think they [the Zionists] are behind these events…”According to NBC Nightly News, his statement “completely undercut a $10 million campaign advertising Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the war on terror…”

Just last week on Saudi government TV, Saudi cleric Sa’d bin Abdallah Al-Breik spoke on Channel 1 in support of Prince Nayef’s theory: “We must not inflate [the importance] of Al Qaeda, to the point of claiming that it is the main and only perpetrator of this large operation [9/11]… It is a mistake to ignore the possibility that the Zionist hands used some people who were planted into one of the stages of this plan…These false accusations and the rush to accuse Saudi Arabia, the judging of others according to the guidance of the Zionists via the media which is owned by the Zionists…”

A more recent PR flap occurred in April, a week after a group of leading Saudi royal family members, led by the foreign minister, Prince Saud Al-Faysal, made their way to American think tanks and TV shows with a message to the American people that they are partners in the war on terror.

The following week, which included a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Abdullah stated at a gathering of Saudi dignitaries that “Zionism is behind terrorist actions in the kingdom…I am 95% sure.” His statement was affirmed by leading Saudis such as Prince Nayef and the governor of the Riyadh region, Prince Salman. Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy adviser, Adel Al-Jubeir, appeared on CNN, but was at a loss for words to explain this statement. Rep. Tom Lantos, a Democrat of California and the ranking member on the House International Relations Committee, reacted on the House floor, calling Prince Abdullah’s statements an “outrage” and “blatant hypocrisy.” Prince Abdullah’s remarks caused another failed chapter in Saudi p.r. history.

This leads to current efforts by the Saudi regime to tell Americans that they are against extremism in English – while in Arabic continuing to espouse the mantra of anti-Americanism. One of many examples that can be found on www.memritv.org is that of an interview with Saudi professor Nasser Bin Suleiman Al-Omar on a June 13 Al-Majd TV program.

Mr. al-Omar, who runs a popular Islamic Web site, www.almoslim.net, discussed the approaching collapse of America, aided by the Muslim-American community: “America is collapsing from within…Islam is advancing according to a steady plan, to the point that tens of thousands of Muslims have joined the American army and Islam is the second largest religion in America. Today, America is defeated. I have no doubt, not even for a minute, that America is on its way to destruction…It will be destroyed gradually. America will be destroyed. But we must be patient.”

Another example of Saudi hatred comes from a Friday sermon at the Al-Nabawi Mosque in Medina on June 25, delivered by Sheik Saleh Bdeir and shown on Saudi state TV: “The enemies of Islam, the Jews, Christians, [and] atheists…never cease attacking the Islamic nation…Confront your enemies’ efforts with greater and stronger efforts, before these enemies become stronger.”

No p.r. campaign can fix that which is contradicted by members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family and government controlled press’s words and deeds. To date, millions of dollars have already gone into failed attempts to improve the image of Saudi Arabia. As long as the Saudis continue to embrace an ideology of extremism, no amount of money will lead Americans to believe otherwise.