Comments on: Saudi Arabia, Mysterious Ally http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/ Christopher Lydon in conversation on arts, ideas and politics Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:09:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: OliverCranglesParrot http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81963 OliverCranglesParrot Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:58:02 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81963 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/06/world/middleeast/06saudi.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print" rel="nofollow">In Public View, Saudis Counter Iran in Region</a> In Public View, Saudis Counter Iran in Region

]]> By: Tom B http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81962 Tom B Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:31:08 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81962 QUOTE: When Dick Cheney went to Saudi Arabia last month, King Abdullah apparently warned him that if the US pulls out of Iraq, the Saudis might be forced to back the Sunnis in the Iraqi civil war. ENDQUOTE. -- If the Saudi 'royals' do back the Sunnis in an Iraqi civil war, could that stabilize the situation? Could the Saudis (speaking the same language) identify and eliminate Sunni militias and put the militiamen under centralized (Saudi) command? Could Saudi Arabia successfully annex and dominate Al Anbar? Would the Saudis, should they send troops into Al Anbar, be received as allies or as foreign enemies? I understand the answers to these involve speculation, but are there those (presumably Saudis or Iraqi Sunnis, but perhaps simply academics) who are INTELLIGENTLY examining these issues? It seems we are always getting caught flat-footed when events move faster than our thinking; is anyone looking four or five moves ahead in this chessgame? QUOTE: When Dick Cheney went to Saudi Arabia last month, King Abdullah apparently warned him that if the US pulls out of Iraq, the Saudis might be forced to back the Sunnis in the Iraqi civil war. ENDQUOTE. — If the Saudi ‘royals’ do back the Sunnis in an Iraqi civil war, could that stabilize the situation? Could the Saudis (speaking the same language) identify and eliminate Sunni militias and put the militiamen under centralized (Saudi) command? Could Saudi Arabia successfully annex and dominate Al Anbar? Would the Saudis, should they send troops into Al Anbar, be received as allies or as foreign enemies? I understand the answers to these involve speculation, but are there those (presumably Saudis or Iraqi Sunnis, but perhaps simply academics) who are INTELLIGENTLY examining these issues? It seems we are always getting caught flat-footed when events move faster than our thinking; is anyone looking four or five moves ahead in this chessgame?

]]> By: plnelson http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81961 plnelson Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:53:37 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81961 <i> 1. The fundemntalists will over throw the present absolute rulers of Arabia be it Kings or presidents and will eventually rule for some time. 2. Then the progressives will overthrow the theocrats and rule over Arabia. Thing is in order not to let #1 take place is to help the progressives first quash the devil of them all Tribalsim, and fundemntalism will have no place in Arabia.</i> I agree that #1 is highly likely. I don't see the slightest evidence of #2. <i>Islam is a simple religon. It is a religion of love, forgiveness and compassion.</i> Yeah, right, sure, whatever you say . . . <i>US out of Arabia, UK out of Arabia, let the Arabs settle their own score, and they will eventually learn to respect and love one another and consequntly the world.</i> I agree we should get out. And I agree there will be lots of score-settling. And I could get rich if I had the DeWalt drill franchise in Iraq after we leave. But WRT the rest - you're dreaming.

1. The fundemntalists will over throw the present absolute rulers of Arabia be it Kings or presidents and will eventually rule for some time.

2. Then the progressives will overthrow the theocrats and rule over Arabia.

Thing is in order not to let #1 take place is to help the progressives first quash the devil of them all Tribalsim, and fundemntalism will have no place in Arabia.

I agree that #1 is highly likely. I don’t see the slightest evidence of #2.

Islam is a simple religon. It is a religion of love, forgiveness and compassion.

Yeah, right, sure, whatever you say . . .

US out of Arabia, UK out of Arabia, let the Arabs settle their own score, and they will eventually learn to respect and love one another and consequntly the world.

I agree we should get out. And I agree there will be lots of score-settling. And I could get rich if I had the DeWalt drill franchise in Iraq after we leave. But WRT the rest – you’re dreaming.

]]> By: Arab Activist http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81960 Arab Activist Wed, 17 Jan 2007 09:52:28 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81960 I don't care how much the US and Iran do to quell the uprising that have already started when Sadam invaded Kuwait and not when the Afghan Arabs came back from Afhgnistans like mythological heros. This is the next two things that will happen in Arabia : 1. The fundemntalists will over throw the present absolute rulers of Arabia be it Kings or presidents and will eventually rule for some time. 2. Then the progressives will overthrow the theocrats and rule over Arabia. Thing is in order not to let #1 take place is to help the progressives first quash the devil of them all Tribalsim, and fundemntalism will have no place in Arabia. Islam is a simple religon. It is a religion of love, forgiveness and compassion. The Fundemantilists have skewed the religion to their likings, and the West intermittently have supported these Fundemantilists against the progressives as were the case in Afghnistan, Yemen. Now we are faced with sectarianism, or so they say, but the real evil of all this incessant hell is tribalism. You take aways the control of the tribes of Arabia, and you will have move civilized societies. Only with the demise of tribalism can peace and rule of law and civility can begin to permeate in Arabia. The US, Britain and the West have to let go from affecting the naturl developments in Arabia, and the eventual winners by natural laws will be Arab moslems who understand their religion whole lot better than their contemporary fundematilists and their present Imams and leaders and will co-exist in peace and harmony with the whole world like never before. US out of Arabia, UK out of Arabia, let the Arabs settle their own score, and they will eventually learn to respect and love one another and consequntly the world. -Salam I don’t care how much the US and Iran do to quell the uprising that have already started when Sadam invaded Kuwait and not when the Afghan Arabs came back from Afhgnistans like mythological heros. This is the next two things that will happen in Arabia :

1. The fundemntalists will over throw the present absolute rulers of Arabia be it Kings or presidents and will eventually rule for some time.

2. Then the progressives will overthrow the theocrats and rule over Arabia.

Thing is in order not to let #1 take place is to help the progressives first quash the devil of them all Tribalsim, and fundemntalism will have no place in Arabia.

Islam is a simple religon. It is a religion of love, forgiveness and compassion. The Fundemantilists have skewed the religion to their likings, and the West intermittently have supported these Fundemantilists against the progressives as were the case in Afghnistan, Yemen.

Now we are faced with sectarianism, or so they say, but the real evil of all this incessant hell is tribalism. You take aways the control of the tribes of Arabia, and you will have move civilized societies. Only with the demise of tribalism can peace and rule of law and civility can begin to permeate in Arabia.

The US, Britain and the West have to let go from affecting the naturl developments in Arabia, and the eventual winners by natural laws will be Arab moslems who understand their religion whole lot better than their contemporary fundematilists and their present Imams and leaders and will co-exist in peace and harmony with the whole world like never before.

US out of Arabia, UK out of Arabia, let the Arabs settle their own score, and they will eventually learn to respect and love one another and consequntly the world.

-Salam

]]> By: davispeter http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81959 davispeter Wed, 17 Jan 2007 06:27:30 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81959 I'd like to know the las vegas odds for the human species surviving 50, 100, 200 years. I’d like to know the las vegas odds for the human species surviving 50, 100, 200 years.

]]> By: allison http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81958 allison Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:53:10 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81958 Rc21 wrote: Allison, why must you try and lay blame on the'’ royal families of the US ‘’ for something that is clearly a Arab muslim problem. Oh, I should have been more clear that the "royal families" comment was a non-sequitor. I don't blame anyone outside of Saudi Arabia for the internal culture. Rc21 wrote: Allison, why must you try and lay blame on the’’ royal families of the US ‘’ for something that is clearly a Arab muslim problem.

Oh, I should have been more clear that the “royal families” comment was a non-sequitor. I don’t blame anyone outside of Saudi Arabia for the internal culture.

]]> By: RobertPeel http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81957 RobertPeel Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:58:35 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81957 Because Saudi Arabia contains Mecca and Medina,most Arabs believe that Saudia Arabia is Holy Ground-Sacred Space. Ben Laden's complaint agains the West and America in particular is that the US Garrisoned its troups on Holy Soil. (i.e. the moral equivalent of Hitler stationing troups at the Vatican. The Saudis led us into the quagmire in 1991, used us a mercanaries against Sadam and failed to educate us regarding Arab mentalities. Remember the Kingdom of the House of Saud encourages the most fantatical form of Islam also spawned the terrorists who attacked on 911. As some one said this is a war that begin in 1991and had intensified over a decade. We have been lured by oil. However, we have provided the Saudi Kingdom with protection,defense with little democracy. Because Saudi Arabia contains Mecca and Medina,most Arabs believe that Saudia Arabia is Holy Ground-Sacred Space. Ben Laden’s complaint agains the West and America in particular is that the US Garrisoned its troups on Holy Soil. (i.e. the moral equivalent of Hitler stationing troups at the Vatican. The Saudis led us into the quagmire in 1991, used us a mercanaries against Sadam and failed to educate us regarding Arab mentalities. Remember the Kingdom of the House of Saud encourages the most fantatical form of Islam also spawned the terrorists who attacked on 911. As some one said this is a war that begin in 1991and had intensified over a decade. We have been lured by oil. However, we have provided the Saudi Kingdom with protection,defense with little democracy.

]]> By: Tom B http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81956 Tom B Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:08:41 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81956 It's probably almost as easy as it would be to seriously damage America's unguarded petrochemical alley stretched out for 10 miles between the Houston Ship Channel and Highway 225 (check a Houston map just for fun). Maybe the Saudis are really, really smart, and the Department of Homeland Security is not, but it would be hard to imagine that the Saudi facilities are significantly better protected than our totally unprotected facilities... It’s probably almost as easy as it would be to seriously damage America’s unguarded petrochemical alley stretched out for 10 miles between the Houston Ship Channel and Highway 225 (check a Houston map just for fun). Maybe the Saudis are really, really smart, and the Department of Homeland Security is not, but it would be hard to imagine that the Saudi facilities are significantly better protected than our totally unprotected facilities…

]]> By: avecfrites http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81955 avecfrites Mon, 15 Jan 2007 15:35:18 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81955 I'd like to know how easy it would be for someone to seriously damage the Saudi oil industry, either the pumps, pipelines, or port facilities. Is there someone with the expertise to comment on this? I’d like to know how easy it would be for someone to seriously damage the Saudi oil industry, either the pumps, pipelines, or port facilities. Is there someone with the expertise to comment on this?

]]> By: rc21 http://www.radioopensource.org/saudi-arabia-mysterious-ally/#comment-81954 rc21 Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:13:11 +0000 http://www.radioopensource.org/?p=847#comment-81954 Allison, why must you try and lay blame on the'' royal families of the US '' for something that is clearly a Arab muslim problem. It is their culture and their belief system that allows this behavior.By trying to pass blame on to the US you help muslim extrmists continue to rationalize their actions. It seems with some people the US is always to blame. By the way who are the royal US families? The Kennedys? Allison, why must you try and lay blame on the” royal families of the US ” for something that is clearly a Arab muslim problem. It is their culture and their belief system that allows this behavior.By trying to pass blame on to the US you help muslim extrmists continue to rationalize their actions. It seems with some people the US is always to blame. By the way who are the royal US families? The Kennedys?

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