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December 14, 2006
Saudi Arabia: Connect Those Stories!
The following two stories emerge from the same source:
Story 1: Official: Saudis to back Sunnis if U.S. leaves Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has warned Vice President Dick Cheney that Saudi Arabia would back the Sunnis if the United States pulls out of Iraq, according to a senior American official.The official said the king "read the riot act" to the vice president when the two met last month in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The New York Times first reported the conversation Wednesday, saying Saudi support would include financial backing for minority Sunnis in the event of a civil war between them and Iraq's Shiite majority.
Asked about the meeting, a senior Saudi official -- who spoke on condition he not be named -- ruled out using terminology such as "warning" or "threatening." He said, "I believe the Saudi position was clear, that things might deteriorate or drift in Iraq, and then the kingdom will find itself forced to interfere."
The official also added: "This is not only expected from Saudi Arabia, but also Jordan and a lot of other Arab countries can't stand still and see things going that direction."[...]
Story 2: Gulf poised to equal nuclear Iran
Riyadh - Fearing Shi'a Iran is on the verge of becoming a nuclear power, Sunni Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states are warning they will not hesitate to join a rumbling regional arms race, analysts say.The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which groups Arab countries in the world's top oil and gas exporting region, said at a summit meeting on Sunday that it has decided to set up a nuclear energy programme for peaceful purposes.
The announcement by the six countries - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman - came amid concerns in the West and in the Gulf that non-Arab Iran's nuclear enrichment programme could produce an atomic bomb.[...]
The two "Arab" (e.i., Sunni Muslim) reactions come from the same source: fear of a militant, expansionist Shi'a Iran. They also spring from the real or perceived U.S. weakness--if the U.S. was victorious in Iraq and poised to destroy Iran's nuclear program, they wouldn't dare try to pull the nuclear stunt so openly.
The Sunni Arab States are now in a collision course with Iran.
Posted by Ruy Diaz at December 14, 2006 2:57 PM
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