Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Our Loyal Saudi Allies Threaten Aid To Iraqi Sunnis
A cheery-as-mumps post in this morning’s NY Times announced that our loyal royal allies, the Saudis, are threatening financial aid to the Sunni population of Iraq if we pull out of that country. Where would we be without Saudi Arabia? Maybe using some sort of alternate energy…
The Bush’s are very tight with the Saudis. One of the things our invasion of Iraq accomplished was removing a very real threat to the Saudi government. It also increased our imports of oil from Arabia and effectively took Iraqi oil off the market…
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/world/middleeast/13saudi.html?ei=5094&en=9b8923e7095544b1&hp=&ex=1166072400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 — Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia conveyed that message to Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during Mr. Cheney’s whirlwind visit to Riyadh, the officials said. During the visit, King Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran, and pushed for Washington to encourage the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Bush administration officials said.
***
Until now Saudi officials have promised their counterparts in the United States that they would refrain from aiding Iraq’s Sunni insurgency. But that pledge holds only as long as the United States remains in Iraq.
The Saudis have been wary of supporting Sunnis in Iraq because their insurgency there has been led by extremists of Al Qaeda, who are opposed to the kingdom’s monarchy. But if Iraq’s sectarian war worsened, the Saudis would line up with Sunni tribal leaders.
***
In a speech in Philadelphia last week, Prince Turki reiterated the Saudi position against an American withdrawal from Iraq. “Just picking up and leaving is going to create a huge vacuum,” he told the World Affairs Council. “The U.S. must underline its support for the Maliki government because there is no other game in town.”
The Bush’s are very tight with the Saudis. One of the things our invasion of Iraq accomplished was removing a very real threat to the Saudi government. It also increased our imports of oil from Arabia and effectively took Iraqi oil off the market…
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/world/middleeast/13saudi.html?ei=5094&en=9b8923e7095544b1&hp=&ex=1166072400&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 — Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia conveyed that message to Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during Mr. Cheney’s whirlwind visit to Riyadh, the officials said. During the visit, King Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran, and pushed for Washington to encourage the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Bush administration officials said.
***
Until now Saudi officials have promised their counterparts in the United States that they would refrain from aiding Iraq’s Sunni insurgency. But that pledge holds only as long as the United States remains in Iraq.
The Saudis have been wary of supporting Sunnis in Iraq because their insurgency there has been led by extremists of Al Qaeda, who are opposed to the kingdom’s monarchy. But if Iraq’s sectarian war worsened, the Saudis would line up with Sunni tribal leaders.
***
In a speech in Philadelphia last week, Prince Turki reiterated the Saudi position against an American withdrawal from Iraq. “Just picking up and leaving is going to create a huge vacuum,” he told the World Affairs Council. “The U.S. must underline its support for the Maliki government because there is no other game in town.”
