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To: JasonC

[The Saudis aren't going to do jack]

What is your opinion of what we should do with the Saudi Royal Family *after* they refuse to help us and after Iran is free?

I find your take on Chirac's announcement fascinating. This morning I awoke to the German media massively criticizing Chirac for "bringing nukes into the discussion". As usual, the Germans were talking at a 5th grade level. No mention of whether Chirac's words meant that he was for or against Iran getting nukes. This means that you, JasonC, and most any other FReeper, is more worth reading than a German newspaper. But meanwhile...expect Merkel not to actively try to subvert Bush this time. Merkel openly supported the Iraq War in the election campaign of 2002 and her party only lost by 0.5% at the time. Of course, support for the war back then still did not mean support for sending German troops...but even under Schroeder, we did get 2 German spies (BND agents) who won major medals from the Pentagon for secretly giving us a lot of target information when we bombed Baghdad.


73 posted on 01/20/2006 12:56:43 AM PST by GermanBusiness
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To: GermanBusiness
Nothing. Pressure them to keep spigots open, encourage them to liberalize their society slowly and at the margins, increasing rights for women and religious minorities and adding forms of democratic consultation. Without expecting them to actually do much. I don't go running to France for military alliances and I don't go running to Saudi Arabia for leadership against militant Islam. There is no water in that well, it is a fool's errand.

As for Germany, I expect them to straddle as usual, trying to support the US but also deferring to Jack Straw's diplomatic silliness and French lust for Iranian contracts, by slowing things down, leaving any reaction at the level of economic sanctions not military intervention, and urging those sanctions be minimal rather than touching oil etc. Yes that is better than actively castigating imaginary US warmongering in the press every week. But responsible leadership it is not, and it just leaves all the real work to better leaders and less frivolous countries.

74 posted on 01/20/2006 8:34:30 AM PST by JasonC
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