The "golden chain" isn't just for disco any more.
"The 9/11 Commission Report, though it does not mention Khalid bin Mahfouz by name, refers to the “Golden Chain,” a “financial support network . . . put together mainly by financiers in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states,” which was responsible for Osama bin Laden’s “strong financial position in Afghanistan” from 1996 to 1998."
Says nothing about the Saudi regime being responsible for financing. If a government is to be held responsible for the indecent acts of their citizens, then I guess we better indict every US president from W. Bush back. This is the problem with the anti-Saudi propaganda. It seeks in no way to distinguish the acts of individual Saudis from the Saudi government's actions and positions.
As I said, do I think the Saudi regime above reproach? Of course not. I think their treatment of women and Christians is quite unconscienable. But do I think they can be changed by turning them into enemies? Absolutely not. We stand much more of a chance of changing them through engagment than through creating an adversarial relationship. Indeed, we've already seen positive changes such as a brutal crack down on Al Qaeda in the last 2 years where they have put more Al Qaeda out of commission than EVERY OTHER NATION ON EARTH COMBINED, and put serious hurt on its financial support in Saudi Arabia, something that to me trumps their pre 9-11 permissiveness about such activities. Additionally we've seen recent municipal elections as well.
If we publically turn against the Saudi regime and undermine them entirely as another poster on this thread advocates, what comes next will be FAR WORSE for the US when Al Qaeda radicals are able to shoot their way into power there. And such a regime will NEVER be changed for the better no matter what we do. And we would have no military option for dealing with them since invading Saudi to overthrow a radical regime would mean inflaming Muslim anger throughout the world as US troops occupy the land of Islam's holiest sites.
You really need to stop being so short-sighted here and stop substituting emotion for thinking. Our only good options with the Saudis is to engage them, push for change and ally with them in crushing Al Qaeda both within Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Like it or not, there is no good second option here. As I said, do I see them as angels and darlings? Absolutely not. But at the same time I do see the reality that we cannot wage a successful war on terror by cutting out the Saudi's regimes help and handing them over to Al Qaeda radicals.
Just like we had to maintain an uneasy relationship with Stalin to defeat the Third Reich, we have to maintain positive, if uneasy, relations with the Saudis to both keep our economy stable and to make strides in rolling up the Al Qaeda network. Think beyond your emotions.