Saud Al Nasir Al Sheik Sabah

If the chief diplomats from warring Kuwait and Iraq were to run into each other on one of Washington's sidewalks--now spackled with spray-painted anti-war slogans and littered with "Free Kuwait" fliers--they would probably pause, shake hands somberly and then briskly walk their separate ways. Such are the niceties of the Arab diplomatic world. Although their embassies are close by, the diplomats rarely see each other these days. And if they do, it's on television.

If the chief diplomats from warring Kuwait and Iraq were to run into each other on one of Washington's sidewalks--now spackled with spray-painted anti-war slogans and littered with "Free Kuwait" fliers--they would probably pause, shake hands somberly and then briskly walk their separate ways. Such are the niceties of the Arab diplomatic world. Although their embassies are close by, the diplomats rarely see each other these days. And if they do, it's on television.

The Kuwaiti ambassador has just set down the phone receiver, and his hand, although clammy and cool, smells sweetly of after-shave. Sheik Saud al Nasir al Sabah, 45, descendant of a family that has ruled Kuwait for 256 years, is part of a clan of 1,000 cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces, who, until seven days ago, controlled the tiny sheikdom perched on the Persian Gulf. Saud's uncle is the emir; his cousin is the crown prince; his son-in-law is the emir's son.

His tiny nation conquered, his people humiliated, somber Sheik Saud al Nasir al Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the United States, stood on the dais at a Beverly Hills banquet and reflected on "the bright side." Now, at least, the Kuwaitis know who their friends are, he said--especially "our friends in the United States." He described an emotional meeting with President Bush shortly after the Iraqi invasion--how the President wiped away a tear after hearing reports of rape and other atrocities.

His tiny nation conquered, his people humiliated, somber Sheik Saud al Nasir al Sabah, Kuwait's ambassador to the United States, stood on the dais at a Beverly Hills banquet and reflected on "the bright side." Now, at least, the Kuwaitis know who their friends are, he said--especially "our friends in the United States." He described an emotional meeting with President Bush shortly after the Iraqi invasion--how the President wiped away a tear after hearing reports of rape and other atrocities.

The Kuwaiti ambassador has just set down the phone receiver, and his hand, although clammy and cool, smells sweetly of after-shave. Sheik Saud al Nasir al Sabah, 45, descendant of a family that has ruled Kuwait for 256 years, is part of a clan of 1,000 cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces, who, until seven days ago, controlled the tiny sheikdom perched on the Persian Gulf. Saud's uncle is the emir; his cousin is the crown prince; his son-in-law is the emir's son.