One would think that Arab leaders would have learned a lesson (or two) after failing to tell the Arab side of the conflict with Israel since the establishment of the Jewish state on Arab lands in Palestine in 1948, a loss the Arabs describe as the Nakba or catastrophe.

Once again the oil-rich Arab leaders are disappointingly unable so far to convince the world of the reasons, as they see them, that led to the skyrocketing price of oil which had more than doubled in one year; now over $140 a barrel.

A key issue in telling the Arab side of the story or argument is the audience, a point Arab officialdom often hardly fathom. Arab officials are of the opinion that their American counterparts are the ones they need to convince.

This may be so in some cases but more often than not, the American public and the media as well as think tanks and university audiences are equally important, if not crucial.

Take the case of the top issue that is now on the table - oil - where Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter, followed by either Iran or Iraq. Several Arab states are also in this league: Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Libya and Algeria.

At present Saudi Arabia, an American ally, is under "intense pressure" from Washington, and hardly a day passes when it is not badgered in the media over the price of oil, now reaching a little over $4 a gallon in the US, which is actually less than half of what Europeans are paying.

There is a public and sharp disagreement between producers and consumers over the reasons for the "oil shock", other than the obvious increase in demand from China, India and the neighbouring Arab countries, as well as in the sharp fall of the value of the dollar.

Saudi Arabia's explanation came at the hastily organised international meeting of oil producers and consumers in Jeddah which was attended by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.

According to Saudi Arabia's Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al Naimi, the global supply of oil exceeded "substantially" global demand between the second quarter of 2007 and the same period in 2008 by nearly double the amount, from a minimum of 800,000 barrels a day to a maximum 1.6 billion barrels.

"Clearly something other than supply and demand fundamentals [are] at work here, and a simplistic focus on supply expansion is therefore unlikely to tame the current price behaviour," he stressed.

More to the point, King Abdullah cited several factors that were driving "the unjustified, swift rise in oil prices [including] speculators who play the market out of selfish reasons", plus higher consumption by developing countries and higher taxes in some countries.

But the US energy secretary argued that US officials had found no evidence that speculators are driving up prices.

However, the joint statement issued at the end of the conference attended by delegates from 36 countries and executives of 25 oil companies called for improved transparency and regulation of financial markets.

Tensions

Adding to the confusion were tensions in the region, particularly The New York Times report that quoted US officials as saying Israel had carried out a large military exercise in an apparent rehearsal for a potential bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities.

If this were to take place, one certain result is that 40 per cent of the world's oil would not be able to pass through the Straits of Hormuz, a narrow waterway separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula.

The report, which surprisingly did not precipitate any anxiety in the Western world, triggered a $3 raise in the price of oil. Last week's increase in oil prices was not the first that was caused by tensions between Israel and Iran.

Haaretz reported that "oil prices soared to $11 on June 6 after the former Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a newspaper interview that 'if Iran continues with its programme for developing nuclear weapons, we will attack it. The sanctions are ineffective'."

In this oily maze, Saudi Arabia ought to take the lead in explaining its views world wide in an elaborate and sophisticated media campaign, alongside a wide speaking tour by its officials in the US and Europe, that addresses issues bluntly such as the need for expanding US oil refining capacity.

The fact that Saudi Arabia's pledge at the Jeddah conference to increase, in the next few days, its supply of oil to a record 9.7 million barrels a day (and up to 12.5 million barrels a day in 18 months) had little effect on the market must be raising eyebrows everywhere.