Posted on 10/11/2001 9:09:28 AM PDT by Canuck1
Tony Blair's efforts to shore up the international coalition against terrorism suffered a setback on Thursday when it emerged that he had failed to secure a meeting with Saudi Arabia's leaders.
The prime minister spoke to crown prince Abdullah on Tuesday about arranging a meeting during his two-day Middle East trip that ends on Thursday night. Mr Blair regards Saudi Arabia as a key member of the international coalition against terrorism.
However, a British official said Mr Blair could not find a mutually convenient time for the meeting. Mr Blair wanted to hold talks on Thursday because he visited British troops in Oman on Wednesday.
The British official acknowledged there could be political sensitivity in Saudi Arabia about Mr Blair visiting the country while the military strikes on Afghanistan continued
However, the official said it was important to get across the argument that the action in Afghanistan did not amount to a conflict between the west and Islam.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "We did have discussions with Saudi Arabia about the possibility of including Riyadh on this trip. It simply was not logistically possible." The spokesman added that Mr Blair hoped to go to Riyadh in the near future. Related stories
Excuse me? Is Saudi Arabia an ally in the fight against terrorism or is it not? It seems the Saudis are more sympathetic toward Bin Laden and the Taleban.
Perhaps this war is more of "a conflict between the west and Islam" than our politicians care to admit.
America is reliant Saudi Oil and relies on the fact that Saudi Arabia needs American military muscle to protect her from Iraq .
This has not stopped Saudi Arabia from fighting her end of the Islamic Hearts and Mind war for the crown of premier Islamic state. This war had been fought for along time now, Nasser of Egypt claimed the crown in the 50s, Iran in the 80s, Saddam tried to take the Crown by force with an Invasion of Iran which although had the backing of the Arab world did not elevate his country into what he deemed its rightful position.
He decided to use force again this time against Kuwait to be followed by an invasion of Saudi Arabia, today he is using more covert methods as both protector and victim. The Saudi Royal family use there considerable wealth to support Islamic groups all over the globe, even groups allied to her Islamic enemies.
What happens when Saudi Arabia no longer needs America.
My own theory is, that if America does topple Saddam, Saudi Arabia although secretly delighted her enemy and rival for the Islamic crown is gone, will turn on America and will ask her to leave, this will be to show that the Saudi Royal family are Islamises at heart.
Every move made in the Arab world is made with one eye on the world wide Muslim population.
Tony
Clearly not. Maybe we should have allowed Saddam to trade Kuwait for Saudi.
All govrernments try to tell you they are stronger than they are. But the truth is goverments fall all the time. The people of Saudi Arabia see bin Laden as a hero. The Saudi King knows if he goes after Laden he is an Ex King and perhaps a dead King.
Al governments that have separation of churh and state try to tell people that religions are not powerful either.
The fact is history teaches religions are more powerful than Governments. Governments tax and control. Religions promise heaven. Poor nations united by a religion tends to want to destroy rich nations not dominated by a religion.
There are about 1 billion Muslims. I doubt if over 900 million of them support bin Laden.
The Muslim nation's leaders are in a quandry. If they support us their people may overthrow them. If they don't we may overthrow them.
Until we take a couple down, they will fear their people far more than they fear us. They will support the cause of bin laden if not bin ladein directly.
That is why dubya keeps saying more than one "Terrorist" nation will fall.
The Royal Family gains its legitimacy from the clerics who administer the religion in that country. Their reign is decreed by Allah according to what is taught there. The Royals prop up the clerics and vice versa. No dissent at all is allowed. There can be no reform, or else the whole thing comes tumbling down.
Over 65% of the population is under25 years old. They have no work skills and little future prospects. They are perfect targets for radical Bin Laden rhetoric.The whole country is a train wreck waiting to happen.
The West is basically happy to have the Royals in charge because we fear all of the likely alternatives. The Saudis have been the most moderate Arab member of OPEC in terms of not using the oil supply as a weapon, and they do not threaten their neighbors (Israel excepted, of course.)
It is not realistic to expect the Saudis to be real rah-rah in supporting the coalition, due to these fragile internal conditions. Remember that Bush has said help will come in a variety of ways, not all of which will be obvious. How are the Saudis helping? Well, maybe in the intelligence area and maybe not. But one thing is for sure--the price of gasoline has not spiked during this conflict. In my area it is 12 cents a gallon cheaper than it was on the evening of 9/11. This is the kind of "cooperation" we are getting.
Just remember, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, et al know what they are doing. And you can bet they are doing all they can in getting the results we want without causing the Bin Laden supporters to seize power in an Arab state.
"But the question that people in Washington are now beginning to ask is what happens if the chain of money and state support does not lead to such pariah states as Iraq, Iran or Syria. What if a great deal of the money, training, and religious and political inspiration comes from Saudi Arabia, America’s main “strategic ally” in the Gulf? Israel has for years been warning of Saudi involvement with the suicide bombers of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Now there are numerous circumstantial links with September 11.
"Many of the US hijackers were Saudis, as is bin Laden. In several cases, their terrorist indoctrination began at fundamentalist Islamic colleges, funded by Saudi money. Their political attitudes reflected an anti-Western religious zeal that is widely promoted in the Saudi media, even though these media are subject to some of the strictest censorship in the world.
"Saudi Arabia, it should also be remembered, is the source of the ultra-fundamentalist Wahhabi sect of Islam that inspired the Taleban regime. Saudi Arabia is also the only country apart from Afghanistan that practises the medieval version of Sharia in all its horror. And the head of the Saudi intelligence service, believed to be the Royal Family’s main link with the Taleban, resigned abruptly within 24 hours of the horror in New York. When you put these facts together, there is surely a risk that the trail of money and blood that started at the World Trade Centre could ultimately lead to Riyadh."
Exactly. For example, there has been no "energy crisis" due to curtailment of supply during this period. In fact, gasoline prices have gone down since 9/11, at least where I live.
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