The ongoing debates in the Middle East focus around Iraq, Iran, Israel, Lebanon,Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, & Fatah. Yet we hear so little from the Saudi's? The Saudi's did criticize Hezbollah's attack on Israel? Hrrrr? Why would they do that? Aren't they good Muslim's that hate Israel? Why have they laid so low with regards to the Iraq dispute? Never objecting to the fact that their friend Mr. Bush seemed to be on target to create {{{{GASP}}}} a democracy right next door to them? Worse yet a democracy dominated by a Shiite majority!!!! Maybe the progressives in Riyadh are looking forward to a Shiite dominated Iraqi Democracy! Since all the money they spent trying to get Saddam to get rid of the Shiite government in Tehran didn't pan out, maybe there has been a complete paradigm shift in regards to the regional balance of power. But if that is the case why do they object to the Hezbollah Shiite attacks on Israel? Seems like their new found love for Shiites would be even more true in Lebanon/Israel than in Iraq. Or is there alot more to this story? Could it be that the Saudi's are saying something? Could it be that they are saying it through their golden boy Osama Bin Laden? Since Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed and it looked as though effective leadership was missing among Sunni's in Iraq, suddenly on July 2nd Osama Bin Laden calls on Iraqi Sunni's to turn on the Shiites. By July 10 a rash of sectarian violence broke out in Iraq. On July 12 Hezbollah started their crap in Lebanon/Israel, I think as a response to the Osama Bin Laden/Al-Quaeda attacks on Shiites in Iraq. When they are normally quiet Saudi offered a statement condemning Hezbollah! So the attack on Israel by Hezbollah, for some reason or the other obviously stung the Saudi's. Why?
Maybe they are so everwhelmed by the fact that people in the West actually think they can fix anything in the Middle East that they can't think of anything to say
Clay: I agree with many of your posts, but not when it comes to the Saudi/Osama thing. They HATE him. He is terrible press. They have already publically disowned him. The Saudis prefer to do all their terrorist funding WAY WAY under the radar. Yes, everyone knows about it, but its not Osama. If he showed there, they'd behead him within weeks.His own family wants him dead. Get off the Osama - Saudi thing. It doesn't exist. Jay
Yeah that's why Osama and his brothers are the largest investors in Daddy Bushs corporation, the carlyle group, "because there's no connection there".
Carlyle was founded in 1987 by William E. Conway, Jr., Daniel A. D'Aniello, Stephen L. Norris, and David M. Rubenstein. Only Norris has since left the Group, at the behest (some say demand) of the other founders. The three remaining founders are reported to collectively own around a 50% interest in the group's general partnership. The Saudi Arabian relatives of Osama bin Laden (not Osama bin Laden himself) were also minor investors in Carlyle until October 2001 when the family sold its $2.02 million investment back to the firm in light of the public controversy surrounding bin Ladenâs family after September 11. However, the Binladin family has disowned the al-Qaeda leader, who has no economic interest whatsoever in Saudi Binladin Group (SBG). While the Carlyle Group did invest on SBGâs behalf, said financial arrangement was terminated by mutual consent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group So where do you get your information from, or is it just more...
Jay, I understand what you are saying. I hate to be wrong and am definitely not a conspiratory theorist by nature. I simply cannot figure any other way. Of course Saudi would "publicly" disavow Osama. My questions revolve around why the richest country in the region is so low key on the foreign policy front and why they are the beneficiary of Osama Bin Laden's acts. We know they are sorry ass types by their basic culture. The Arabic Sunni's fund hundreds? of these fundementalist schools from which Al-Quaeda recruits. Have you ever looked close at these guys? They look like some kind of Islamic Mafia. Also, I would be willing to bet that Osama is as popular on the Arabian peninsula as Hezbollah is in Lebanon. I know there is alot more to this story than we have ever been told. I may be off base, BUT I am no more off base than the rest.
Basically Saudi's are against Israel and pro Palestine. That said, they are also against Iran & terrorism & try to be good ally to Western powers. Thus they are typically stuck in the middle on issues like current Israel/Hezbollah war. I guess it would be most accurate to say they are neither on Hezbollah or Israel side, and thus generally keep their mouths shut. That could change, however, if the war takes on new dimensions ...
I know they would love us to think that. They are just sweet little US allies, nice guys. Still questions remain. Why does so much money flow out of Saudi palaces to the fundamentalist schools from which Al-Quaeda recruits? Why has Saudi ( officially anyway) set on the sidelines as their friends Bush/Cheney planned on turning Iraq over to a group associated with an enemy they spent billions of dollars on trying to overthrow? Why haven't we caught Osama Bin Laden? If Saudi is such a good ally and so anti-terorist why have they not helped us in any way on any front? Osama Bin Laden did not like Saddam Hussein. They were polar opposites. Why did Osama not stick his nose into Iraq until after Saddam was gone? Is it possible he was afraid of him? That with Saddams connections it would be pretty easy for him to get Osama? Or because maybe Saddam could expose the direct connect between Osama and Saudi? If the Saudi's are so pro-palestine and anti-Israel, likewise with Al-Quaeda, why havent they helped in that struggle at all? Seems like Osama would find that struggle more enticing and would simply allow us to peacefully turn Iraq over to its new Shiite government? Fortunately, the sectarian splits in the Middle East are deeper than any hatred toward America or even Israel. This is clearly evidenced in Iraq. While it is well known that there is no love lost between Iran and Saudi they both avoid direct confrontation. They both use proxies. Who is Saudi's proxies? Well for one we know the US is a Saudi proxy, but we are to believe that they have no sectarian proxies looking out for the interests of Sunni's? If I am right, I believe that the sectarian problems between Saudi and Iran will lead countries in the region to once again begin cheating on the production limits set by Opec. As a result we should see lower oil prices. Lots of times that is the best way to see what's really going on....follow the money!