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| Arabia |
| Saudi Envoy Slams Iraq War Opponents |
| 2003-12-13 |
| Countries that opposed the U.S. decision to invade Iraq have no right to protest U.S. initiatives restricting reconstruction contracts to allies, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States, said Friday. "Git yer chicken-pickin’ finger off’n that-there loot. That’s MY loot!" Bandar said he thought it was He’s a diplomat and he's amazed? He said even more dangerous than terrorists themselves are those who say they condemn terrorism but don’t actively fight it. Bandar repeatedly praised Bush’s decisions to fight terrorism, invade Iraq and send troops to Afghanistan to oust the Taliban. "We just came to the realization that the French are pigs, too!" ``We should be grateful for what the United States has done to get rid of those two evils, the Taliban and Saddam,’’ Bandar said, generating applause from hundreds in attendance of a luncheon co-sponsored by the Bilateral/U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce. Bandar’s always known how to warm up a crowd. Bandar kept his comments about terrorism to a minimum despite recent terror attacks in Saudi Arabia and warnings of more to come. ``That fight has been imposed on us,’’ Bandar said. ``None of us asked for it.’’ "And so I shall stop talking about it." Saudi Arabia has spent more than $17 million on public relations, advertising and lobbying in the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks, according to Justice Department records. Television ads have depicted Saudi Arabia as aligned with American interests, and the country has hired Washington lobbying and law firms to advance its case. Not quite as bad as the French hiring Woody Allen and George Plimpton, but bad enough. Bandar has toured the United States in conjunction with the ad campaign to promote Saudi Arabia’s relationship with America and its commitment against terrorism. ``We are your friends because you have never taken an action that would hurt our people,’’ Bandar said, ... Had to have been a ventriloquist in the crowd, his lips definitely were off by then. ... adding that Saudi Arabia will continue doing its part to ``be Don’t stand there, you’re making me nervous! |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #17 If anyone's schizophrenic, it's gotta be poor Prince Bandar! He loves the West and all its kuffir decadence, but he's stuck being a Saud and knows that he's seeing the end of Washington's (and Foggy Bottom's) long love affair with SA. As for the Miss. National Guard, IF ONLY they'd been allowed to do the Bay of Pigs operation, Cuba would probably have been free for the last 40 years, but NOOOOO.....JFK had to use his CIA and Mafia pals! And TGA (what's a True German Ally look like, BTW, unless it's Donald Rumsfeld?), I'd bet the farm that President Bush and SecDHS Ridge do have a plan to control immigration with both Mexico and Canada and it ain't giving everyone visas. We cannot fight the GWOIT (Global War on Islamist Terror) against infiltration by those same Islamofascists with 2 very porous borders to our north and south. Ask around. |
| Posted by: Jennie Taliaferro 2003-12-13 9:33:57 PM |
| #16 You don't invade Cuba, you send them 11 million visas. Problem solved. When Cuba is 51st state most Cubans will go back, unlike the millions of undocumented Mexicans Ridge wants to grant an amnesty. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-12-13 7:37:32 PM |
| #15 Ship - easy, bro! No offence intended, suh! Brother Dave was FROM Mississippi or Alabama, I believe. And you're dead right: nobody can shoot like a cracker who's putting food on the table, not showing off at the range for his / her favorite sex toy of the moment. The Yankees learned this the hard way at Manassas / 1st Bull Run, I buhlieve. I'm from Texas, myownself. I still have my grandfather's 1911 45 ACP, in fact. If my apology is insufficient, suh, I'll get it out of storage when I come back to LA and meet you in, say, Las Cruces. No one will notice us there, heh. Take 10 paces, turn at fire at will! May honah be suhved! ;-> |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-13 3:05:07 PM |
| #14 He said that if war came with Cuba, we'd have to fight them with the Mississippi National Gaurd in the the back of a flatbed wagon. Anybody here thinking thats funny? It's standup and be counted time. There ain't no damn thing funny about the Mississippi National Guard! We have Brigades and far flung Cadres of Luckies! Hell give me three gentlemen from Mississippi, be they white, black or green and I'll show you a fire team. /cracker |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-12-13 2:01:10 PM |
| #13 Back in the late 50's there was a comedian named Brother Dave Gardner. One of the funniest people ever - and many modern comics owe their success to stealing one of his bits and taking it mainstream. He had one bit about Cuba which comes to mind reading Alan's comment. The problem with fighting Cuba was that we had fallen in love with missiles - great big intercontinental missiles. He suggested, hysterically, that Cuba was a serious problem: we didn't have anything that would go that short. He said that if war came with Cuba, we'd have to fight them with the Mississippi National Gaurd in the the back of a flatbed wagon. Only thing in our inventory that would fit the circumstances. Heh, heh. Some truth there that took potshots at the Pentagon's love of the huge chrome-plated mega-monster machines. Same applies to this little strip of land. Prolly take it with the Mississippi National Guard in Zodiacs. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-13 1:09:42 PM |
| #12 Don't jump to conclusions about the utility of a battleship on that coast, folks. I think there's a lot of shallow and dangerous water up close, which would reduce inland reach. Check your charts. I too would be more impressed if Prince Bandar said those things in Arabic, at a conference in Cairo. |
| Posted by: Alan Sullivan 2003-12-13 12:12:41 PM |
| #11 Let's see: Opposed GW2, eligible for recontruction pie. When will we learn. "He said even more dangerous than terrorists themselves are those who say they condemn terrorism but don’t actively fight it." Well this is hitting close to Riyadh. Say one thing to the infidels. Call for the jihad / death to infidels in the presence of Muslims. |
| Posted by: ed 2003-12-13 11:34:56 AM |
| #10 After the Somalli post we get this. Thats been the crux of saudi paranoia. If they, the royals, don't target the wahhabs for extinction then the US should. And if that means taking the source of funding from them then so be it. The current situation is a cancer. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-12-13 11:18:18 AM |
| #9 "...the last 16"-gunned battleship in operational service..." There's still one left? Hmmm. A 16" 50-cal naval gun on a ship just offshore can effectively reach about 40km inland. Quite effectively, according to the Iraqi army, vintage 1991. Voice of experience. |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-13 9:31:48 AM |
| #8 Lemme see if I can pick up where .com left off . . . . . . and there were these Marines off that very same coast, and an aircraft carrier, and the last 16"-gunned battleship in operational service in the world, and one fine morning about 0300 . . . |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-12-13 8:11:50 AM |
| #7 .com I really like your signature. I would introduce two changes: -Remove the asshat, for when dealing with other people. -Add stolen to the 40 km wide strip. I know Shia would be nearly as bad (but less dangerous since they cannot lead the Sunni world and don't control Mecca)but it would do no harm to unlegitimize Saudi's control of the oil. |
| Posted by: JFM 2003-12-13 8:09:10 AM |
| #6 More of the same, eh folks? Oil. Oily. Same same. So, there's this 40km wide strip along the Eastern coast of Saudi Arabia that provides the funding for the vast majority of the asshat terror in the world and... |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-13 5:05:18 AM |
| #5 Glenn is right. Even if this statement is just duplicitous diplospeak, it says something important here. The Saudis think we are the strong horse, and are siding with us, against France, Germany and Russia. The House of Saud see us as their only hope for staying alive. The fact that many see the Sauds as duplicitous is not a bad thing. Makes it easier for the Prez to say, "Ya know, I'd like to help you and all, but I also got voters who don't like you guys. YOu guys need to clean up your act, get rid of the Wahabis, the jihadis, and release bank records. Also, stop ragging on our citizens who are Christian, or Jewish." |
| Posted by: Ben 2003-12-13 4:44:38 AM |
| #4 Joe, guaranteed, the House of Saud will conduct the foreign and domestic affairs of their country, the best way they can see, to maximize the security and prosperity of the people of ... the House of Saud. |
| Posted by: Glenn (not Reynolds) 2003-12-13 4:18:55 AM |
| #3 When the Royal family renounces Wahhabism and the House of Saud severes all ties with the Wahhbists, I'll listen. But it ain't gonna happen. So they'll continue to talk nice, but support the exporters of hatred and intolerence. |
| Posted by: Gasse Katze 2003-12-13 3:06:58 AM |
| #2 Are the Saudi's duplicitous, or just plain schizoid? |
| Posted by: joe 2003-12-13 2:58:41 AM |
| #1 "... shoulder to shoulder with you against evil." With a knife in one hand and a song in your heart, no doubt ... |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-12-13 1:27:41 AM |