(a): Dar es Salaam ="House of Peace"
(b): Dar al-Harb = "House of War"
One aspect of Jihad is using (b) to achieve (a). Thus the al-Harbi clan is dedicated to war for Mohammed.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is run the way Tony Soprano runs New Jersey. It's family. The country is named for the family, The House of Saud. Every enterprise in KSA is the "territory" of some Prince and his "crew." There is a MacDonald's Prince. There is a Ford Prince, a Mercedes Prince,a KFC Prince, etc.
There are 3500 "Princes of the Blood" that is, they are directly related to the King or Royal Family via a legal wife or favorite concubine. Some are black, some are white, some are mulattos, I guarantee you that one (out of costume) looks like you or I. Their families and entourages form various factions that head up government posts, e.g., run the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, the phone company, the post office, and various businesses as decided in council, just like Tony Soprano. Everybody takes a piece, "wets his beak."
There are probably 10,000 "2'd string" Princes, who also have commercial territories and crews under their families. That's what you see. What you don't see is probably more important.
For example, one Prince runs the Royal Navy, another the RoyalAF, Army, etc. But there is another faction that controls the National Guard, which has its own Army, Navy, and AF, Intel, etc. Then there is another faction that runs the Religious Police. another that runs the State Police. Another that controls TV. Another who controls internet. Another the Education System. Who's in charge? What day is it?
Every faction has its own mosques and Imams and its own tribal power base under the tribal sheiks, each of whom has relatives intermarried into the Royal Family (he hopes) or at least a Princely one. The oil money filters down through the Princes to to the sheiks, who run their own social welfare systems on top of the "government's."
What this means is that whatever the Saudis tell us is true at some given moment in a shifting kaleidoscope of power struggles between the factions. Some Princes are the financial powerhouses behind terrorism, others are very "pro-American," with kids at Arizona State, Calahoosatachie CC, or some such, but support Imams too, and are subject to constant religious blackmail by Imams with pet projects that may or may not involve blowing the crap out of infidels.
It is not as if one were dealing with the Ladue Ladies Rose Society, run by Robert's Rules of Order. Think Mafia combined with Cherokee Strip, only the Hole in the Wall Gang are ga-ga-Billionaires and intend to stay that way Today's friend is tomorrow's enemy. Princely factions, including the King, use us to play one faction off against another. We have seen this before in the movies, right? (White Man help Apache kill Comanche, Apache leave White Man alone. Promise. Give guns now?)
There is only one thing on this planet that is worse than the Saudi "Government." That is whatever TF is going to follow it. The Saudis themselves think that the fact that this pernicious totally inbred miasma sort of works, or at least continues, must be a sign that the Wahabbi Muslims are the "Chosen of Allah."
Dear Barry and Reggie,
Hope the golf is going OK.
Can we please go pump our own oil now?
Regards,
KB
Thank you. Very interesting. The thought occurred to me yesterday that we know that AQ and the Muslim Brotherhood’s goal is to overthrow all these rulers in the Middle East, including the House of Saud. So far, Obama has been helping them under the guise of the Arab spring....Egypt, libya, etc. The scary thought that crossed my mind was what if the SA kingdom is next on the list and Obama is helping to orchestrate it? Most policy thinkers that are not left wing zealots shudder at that thought for the reasons you mention...but we have a left wing zealot at the helm...so anything is possible.
Scary thoughts to go with your morning java.