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| Pentagon brief sez Soddies are the Bad Guys... |
| 2002-08-06 |
| A briefing given last month to a top Pentagon advisory board described Saudi Arabia as an enemy of the United States, and recommended that U.S. officials give it an ultimatum to stop backing terrorism or face seizure of its oil fields and its financial assets invested in the United States. They finally noticed, did they? And it's only been eleven months... Nope. Ten, since it was a month ago. That's blinding bureaucratic speed... "The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader," stated the explosive briefing. It was presented on July 10 to the Defense Policy Board, a group of prominent intellectuals and former senior officials that advises the Pentagon on defense policy. Lessee, here... 15 of 19, check. Binny's a Soddy, check. Soddy charities supporting terror groups, check. Soddy charities supporting jihadi-producing madrassahs, check. Soddy controllers within al-Qaeda, check. Soddies financially supporting the Paleo Bad Guys, check. Soddies supporting killing in Chechnya, check. Soddy preachers calling on God to destroy us all 'cuz they hate us, check... "Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies," said the briefing prepared by Laurent Murawiec, a Rand Corp. analyst. A talking point attached to the last of 24 briefing slides went even further, describing Saudi Arabia as "the kernel of evil, the prime mover, the most dangerous opponent" in the Middle East. Not mobilizing divisions, but mobilizing money and hired killers... The briefing did not represent the views of the board or official government policy, and in fact runs counter to the present stance of the U.S. government that Saudi Arabia is a major ally in the region. Yet it also represents a point of view that has growing currency within the Bush administration — especially on the staff of Vice President Cheney and in the Pentagon's civilian leadership — and among neoconservative writers and thinkers closely allied with administration policymakers. And most people reading blogs... One administration official said opinion about Saudi Arabia is changing rapidly within the U.S. government. "People used to rationalize Saudi behavior," he said. "You don't hear that anymore. There's no doubt that people are recognizing reality and recognizing that Saudi Arabia is a problem." Eventually you quit rationalizing. Eventually you quit giving second chances. Eventually you quit "not noticing" in the hope they'll clean up their act so we won't ever have to admit there was a problem... The decision to bring the anti-Saudi analysis before the Defense Policy Board also appears tied to the growing debate over whether to launch a U.S. military attack to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. The chairman of the board is former Pentagon official Richard N. Perle, one of the most prominent advocates in Washington of just such an invasion. The briefing argued that removing Hussein would spur change in Saudi Arabia -- which, it maintained, is the larger problem because of its role in financing and supporting radical Islamic movements. Replace stagnation with instability in the hope that eventually there will be stability. Once kick over the Soddy traces and there will likely be a succession of equally squalid regimes. One day they may become civilized, but under the skin they're just North Yemen... Murawiec said in his briefing that the United States should demand that Riyadh stop funding fundamentalist Islamic outlets around the world, stop all anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli statements in the country, and "prosecute or isolate those involved in the terror chain, including in the Saudi intelligence services." If the Saudis refused to comply, the briefing continued, Saudi oil fields and overseas financial assets should be "targeted," although exactly how was not specified. No details are needed at this point. Letting this brief out is a larger-caliber shot across the Soddy bows. If they want to save themselves, the right reaction will be to note this publicly as an aberration, and behind the scenes get busy on the cleanup and the disposal of those who know too much. I suspect that what they'll actually do is react with their usual arrogance, which'll be an indication they think they have enough call on the ummah to bring about a jihad in which we'll face the Entire Muslim World® protecting the wahhabis. It'll definitely shake out the for-us, against-us split. Asked for reaction, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said he did not take the briefing seriously. "I think that it is a misguided effort that is shallow, and not honest about the facts," he said. "Repeating lies will never make them facts." Hmmm... Bandar thinks it's an aberration... "I think this view defies reality," added Adel al-Jubeir, a foreign policy adviser to Saudi leader Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz. "The two countries have been friends and allies for over 60 years. Their relationship has seen the coming and breaking of many storms in the region, and if anything it goes from strength to strength." Another view that it's an aberration... We'll see what Arab News has to say. Thhis is the most important news item that will come out today, unless the ayatollahs fall in Iran in the next few hours. The article goes on to discuss who agrees (Perle) and who disagrees (Kissinger) with the premises. But it lays the groundwork for a break with the Sods and it provides a bit more reason to push against Iraq. I still think that, unless the Iraqis are actually closer to getting the WMD that Sammy wants, we should be concentrating on tracking down and wiping out the jihadi groups wherever they are, to include Paleostine, Kashmir and Indonesia. But if Iraq is a lever to break the Soddies' hobby of subverting the entire world then I'm all for it. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #1 Thanks for emphasizing why this is important. Those of us who have been reading blogs since 9/11 will find this old stuff, but the fact that this story appeared in the WAPO, with as much detail and atribution as it has, is just one more sign that the gloves are coming off, and that the administration isn't even trying to maintain appearances any more. |
| Posted by: Old Grouch 2002-08-06 19:16:07 |