Thousands of Scholarships Lift Saudi Enrollments in U.S.

By JOEL BRINKLEY
Published: December 18, 2005
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - Urgently trying to improve relations with the United States, the Saudi Arabian government is promoting a scholarship program that has already more than doubled the number of new Saudi enrollments at American colleges and universities since last year.

The program, aimed in part at reducing widespread hostility in the Saudi public toward the United States, has reversed a steady plunge in Saudi students here that started immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The Saudi government offered 5,000 students full four-year scholarships, complete with living allowances. About two-thirds of the 5,000 students enrolled in American schools this fall, the State Department said, and the number would have been higher had the United States been able to process all the visa requests.

The academic relationship between the countries has been an area of concern for senior officials. James Oberwetter, the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said in an interview that the drop "in exposure the population has had to the United States" was not helpful for the Saudis "at a time when they need to be looking outward instead of inward."

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/international/middleeast/18arabia.ready.html

Saudi Arabia? After all, it was mostly Saudi's who were on those planes on 911.

Ingrates!