Monk

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At a press conference last night, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, was asked what the president and king had discussed about human rights.

“About what?” the prince repeated flatly.

“Human rights,” Condi prompted.

“Human rights?” the stately prince pondered, before shimmying out of the question.

-- Maureen Dowd for The New York Times

Dowd reports on the president's diplomatic voyage to the Middle East, bringing out the clash between inordinate wealth and anti-democratic sensibilities. Medievalism and modern oil wealth brought together. It's a kind of nauseating combination. What is yet more disturbing is that Dubya and his conservative ilk may actually believe that there is something to be said for these inegalitarian ways.

( dowd )

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Wow, one gets some confirmation that the Saudis really are moving to the Islamists and jihadists, evidently seeking to play a leadership role among them. Maybe I am misunderstanding things, but this seems like horrifically terrible news, and that our Middle East woes are getting ever blacker.

People have often wondered why we have been so solicitous of Saudi Arabia, when that county is the fount of Islamism and even gave us most of the hijackers of 9/11. I have understood the answer to be because the Saudi government has been on our side in that tumultous and dangerous region - the Saudis aren't great, but they were all we had, and that included control over a lot of the Middle East oil.

Now, it looks like we got nothing!

( article )

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The Saudis are seeking common ground with Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah?? So I gather by reading Jim Hoagland's column. I would think this would be bigger news. If this is true, that civil war is definitely breaking against our interests. And Israel and the West are in some dire straits indeed. But I guess that's life in the Middle East.


(Source: Jim Hoagland for The Washington Post)

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I heard this interesting scrap of rumor, watching cable news tonight. Bush has been in the Middle East, and the Saudis supposedly told him that if the American troops are pulled out of Iraq, the Saudis will go in to take care of business against the rising Shia. Well, I could not help thinking that this might not be such a bad deal, after all. With the Sunnis and Shia fighting and killing each other, they may be too busy to worry about carrying out jihadic terrorism against the West. And then, years later, we can see where we are. But this does sound a wee bit optimistic.

What is really painful, though, is that even if this could be true, Bush would still mess it up, going by his statements that he has no intention to leave Iraq. Which means that the Sunnis and Shia get a real sweet deal, carrying out their civil war while killing Americans caught in the middle for a nice bonus.

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