"The Pentagon is now debating whether Saudi Arabia is our enemy. Yes and no. There is a secularized, U.S.-educated, pro-American elite and middle class in Saudi Arabia, who are not America's enemies. They are good people, and you can't visit Saudi Arabia without meeting them. We should never forget that.

But the Saudi ruling family stays in power not by a democratic vote from these progressives. It stays in power through a bargain with the conservative Wahhabi Muslim religious establishment. The Wahhabi clerics bless the regime and give it legitimacy -- in the absence of any democratic elections. In return, the regime gives the Wahhabis oil money, which they use to propagate a puritanical version of Islam that is hostile to the West, to women, to modernity and to all non-Muslim faiths."

A good op-ed in the NY Times by Thomas Friedman, one of my favorite authors, about the power of oil vs freedom.

On Dateline NBC tonight John Hockenberry interviewed Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud about the topics mentioned in my earlier posting on Saudi financing of al-Queda.  Predictably, he denies it.  The report also delves into the US's blindness when it comes to Saudi Arabia.  American intelligence organizations collect no intelligence on Saudi, to avoid "annoying the royal family".  Hopefully this indicates more of the mainstream media will be turning their eye to our relationship with Saudi, and how it may have led to the 9/11 attacks.

"Turki knew Bin Laden well, not just through family connections but because in the early 1980s he had hand-picked the young Saudi to organise Arab volunteers fighting the Russians in Afghanistan.

According to the documents, the agreement stated Bin Laden would not use his forces in Afghanistan to subvert the Saudi government. In return, the Saudis agreed to ensure that requests for the extradition of Al-Qaeda members and demands to close Afghan training camps by third countries were not carried out.

To reinforce the deal, the Saudis agreed to provide oil and financial assistance to both the Taliban and to Pakistan. The documents detail donations totalling several hundred millions of dollars. "

Oops.  So now what?  Now that there's all sorts of evidence supporting the fact that the House of Saud was one of the principle financiers behind al-Queda, and basically none showing Iraq is responsible, do we invade Saudi Arabia?

"Making the "Just War" argument for Iraq (Op-Ed) By wrinkledshirt Fri Aug 23rd, 2002 at 05:38:52 AM EST

The "Just War" argument is a special branch of military philosophy and ethics geared towards determining whether or not it is justifiable for one nation to declare war upon another. There are five criteria that need to be fulfilled, and this article will explore each of these five criteria in an attempt to see how they apply to the impending war against Iraq. "

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