"time" magazine calls prince alwaleed bin talal the arabian warren buffett. when he talks, the business world listens. tonight prince alwaleed bin talal joins me from the four seasons in paris where he's on vacation, to share his unique perspective on america's debt, the middle east, and the news corp. scandal. your highness, thank you for joining me. let me start right from the top by asking you of your impression of america's economy right now. where do you think it is? where can it get to? and what is your advice to the guys in washington about how to get america incorporated back on its feet? >> it's a pleasure to be on your show, my friend piers. as for the u.s. economy, as we all know, the 2nd of august is nearing very fast, and it's very important for the members of congress and the president of the united states, obama, to reach a conclusion as swiftly as possible because the budget deficit in the united states and the cumulative debt and the raising of the debt ceiling, it does not only impact the u.s. economy but also impacts the whole world economi

try megared today. >>> my guest prince alwaleed bin talal.ce alwaleed, what have you made of this extraordinary year for the region, the middle east. we first saw tunisia, egypt, libya, dictators being toppled, uprisings driven by young people, better educated, restless, and demanding better from their leaders. what did you make of it from saudi arabia? >> well, it's very clear that the arab population is rising because they'd like to have a say in the running of their affairs, running of their government, and this is very legitimate. with the globalization of the world, the world is getting too small, and they see what's happening all over the world from the openness point of view, from democracy, freedom of speech, liberty, freedom of press, and they would like to have the same thing. i think what happened in egypt, tunisia, what's happening right now in yemen, what's happening in syria and libya are all indications of what the world needs, and i believe it's very important for the arab rulers in all the remaining countries, 18 countries, e