Yeah, I’ve heard that too- and don’t believe it. They continue to support radical Islam just like Iran. They’re two peas in the same pod.
They may believe the same thing, at least religiously, but the Saudis don’t won’t a nuclear power next-door, especially run by fanatics. Saudi Arabia is a strong and staunch supporter of Islam. But it is like the old joke about certain aspects of Christianity, I believe in the afterlife, I’m just not ready to go today ... or something like that.
My take on the Saudis is that the situation there is much more complex. The “they” in S. Arabia is the house of Saud, the royal family. They are in a precarious position. They run the show, no doubt, but they have to deal with the radical Islamists - much like Egypt, Jordan and the other “moderate” Arab countries. The way the Saudis have chosen to do this is by pure appeasement. They provide support and succor to the Wahabbis, and they are recognized as the “custodians of the holy mosques” (Mecca et al). The faustian bargain they’ve made is the hope that the radical Islamists will keep their Allah Akbar stuff outside the Kingdom. Doesn’t always happen that way, of course, as there is a relatively robust Islamic “terrorist” activity level within the Kingdom.
Now, pertaining to Iran, the Saudis are indeed (IMHO) absolutely petrified of an hegemonic, powerful Iran. Iran’s the Shias and they’re not Arabs, but Persians. Saudis of course are Sunnis. Oceans of blood have been spilled over the centuries between these 2 major torch bearers of the “religion of peace”. Throw in a nuclear armed Iran and you’ve got the Saudis’ worst nightmare. They’ve lived quite well with the Jews having hundreds of nuclear warheads. They rightly don’t lose any sleep at night worrying about crazed Judaists nuking Riyadh or Jeddah or the oil fields. Ahmedinijad and his cronies, however, do probably cause the Sauds to lose a lot of sleep.
Frankly, I strongly believe that the Saudis would like nothing better than the Israelis taking out Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It’s a win-win for the Saudis: they get rid of their #1 threat in the region and they also get to blast the Jooooos in the UN and world press. Would be a great day for them!!!
Interestingly, heard some fellow the other night on Coast to Coast talking about the recent Bilderberg meeting. His take was that the “one world govt” folks at Bilderberg have had their plans stalled - primarily by the popular uprising against the debt and socialist/communist tilting of western govts. He noted that, in these situations, they always default to a war. Diverts attention and fury away from the domestic govt and builds support for the otherwise unpopular president/prime minister. As such, his prediction was that the “green light” has been given for an attack on Iran. I know it sounds tin-foil crazy, but recent developments (such as recent report about US carrier groups being diverted to the region) make you scratch your head. And, no one really has any love for the Iranian regime. And, if I’m Barry, I would try to leverage this strategically with the Israelis to get a Palestinian settlement (even at lousy terms for the Israelis). In this scenario, Barry gets a war against an enemy that everyone recognizes is a really bad actor; conceivably, can get this without direct US military involvement (Israelis do the dirty work); as such, has no real direct recrimination potential; gets support from the American population going into what is shaping up to otherwise be a midterm election disaster of historic proportion; and, possibly gets an “historic” settlement of the Israeli-Palesitinan conflict (and Barry is thus the great peacemaker). Sounds crazy, but stranger things have happened...
While both nations *do* support brands of 'radical', for which read ultra-fundamental, Islam, bear in mind that those versions are both distinct from one another, and mutually incompatible with each other.
The Saudis could, and would, if necessary, look the other way in an Israeli strike against Iranian nuclear aspirations. It makes a whole lot of sense to those of us who have an understanding of the Middle East, its major players, and their motivations...
the infowarrior