Posted on 07/05/2009 12:37:59 PM PDT by Avi Kane
Now the Israelis just need the fly over rights which the United States has denied for the last several years.
The real war is the cold war between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran.
hope they drop a bomb on mecca on the way back.
Not permission, but just a promise that the Saudis would not attack Israel in retaliation for an Israeli attack on Iran.
Look at a map.
...As if they could stop them.
The only nation that could stop them is the US, who effectively controls Iraqi airspace and had previously denied Israel the Iraqi fly over rights.
This isn’t media spin. It’s not the least bit surprising actually. Saudi Arabia is a Sunni Arab power with the most oil reserves on the planet. Iran is a Shi’ite non-Arab power with the second most oil reserves on the planet. Sunnis hate Shi’ites, Arabs hate Persians, and the last thing the Saudis want is for their regional rival to go nuclear and blackmail the Arab world for energy (Iran can’t refine its own oil, they’re too poor).
You have to look at these guys’ mindset, warped as it is: the Saudis consider themselves the guardians of the “holy” mosques at Mecca and Medina, and a head above everyone else because Islam was born in their country and they consider Wahhabism to be the “purest” form of Islam. They don’t want some second-rate, “impure” Shi’ite *Persians* calling the shots in the region.
It’s all tribalism. Welcome to the 7th century.
The most important thing for the Israeli government, in its plans, should be the reaction to the strike.
Israel will, more than likely, get tacit, private statements that neighbors will not shoot down Israeli aircraft.
Publicly, these same countries might well condemn the Israeli air strike.
Such is the political situation, in that part of the world.
Yep...and in typical Saudi fashion, they get someone else to do their dirty work instead of doing it themselves
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
We have a winner.
Why should Israel about flying through any Arab country’s airspace? What are the A-Rabs going to do about it? That’s right, nothing. Besides, the Arabs have no love for Iran and they’re secretly hoping that Israel wipes out Iran’s nuclear capability.
Great point! And a weakened Iran might allow Saudi Arabia more flexibility in promoting Wahhabism in the Muslim world and ultimately terrorism against the west.
Yeah that’s true. That’s why we had to push Saddam back for them, because they were incapable of doing it themselves.
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