Saudis and Iran prepare to do battle over corpse of Iraq

The Sunday Telegraph ^ | December 3, 2006 | Philip Sherwell

[Chgogal]

This is a very interesting article. I will leave you both now and allow these passages and possibilities to sink in. This is very interesting indeed.

[RightWhale]

The Saudis are understood to be considering providing Sunni military leaders with funding, logistical support and even arms

But not Saudis.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

ROFL! You think Bush has had anything to do with the fact that Sunnis and Shiites are at each others throats? This fight has been going on for over 1,200 years!

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

PS: President Bush has been trying to g
get them to STOP fighting. Despite his best intentions, that dog was never going to hunt. These people are fanatical, ignorant, hyper emotional, underachieving, foolish, warlike, and under the spell of a fatalistic and suppressive "religion". The world has been trying to show these people the way out of their self-imposed despair for decades, with no effect. In essence, they are doomed.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

The destruction of Iran and Saudi Arabia are both bigger and more important items on our list.

I don't know whose list you are referring to, but it is more than apparent that the Bush administration has been trying to stabilize the region, first by establishing a democratic government in Iraq. I am more than a little doubtful that this will work, but it may and it IS a noble attempt at accomplishing something that has never been achieved in that region (which, let's face it, we wouldn't have the least bit of interest in were there no oil there).

If we had wanted to "get" people on our "list", we would have conquered Syria and Saudi Arabia by now, and we would have been saturation bombing Iran for the past twelve months.

[capitalist229]

This is a huge opportunity to create a ME civil war to neutralize the Iranians, Syrians and Saudis all in one fell swoop.

We should encourage the Saudis to support Iraqi Sunnis, while we step back and let Al Sadr continue to increase total chaos.

The intent is NOT democracy in Iraq. It is to kill terrorists.

BUMP

[Prodigal Son]

but it is more than apparent that the Bush administration has been trying to stabilize the region,

I'm trying to imagine Eisenhower advising we stabilize Europe before we invaded it... Or Truman waiting for democracy to take root in Japan before we nuked it. What is the point of stabilizing a region of people who want to kill us?

first by establishing a democratic government in Iraq

I don't believe this is something that we can accomplish. The Iraqis themselves must want this democracy thing. They must hunger for it. Fight for it. Die for it. We removed the biggest impediment to democracy for them- Saddam. What they do with the opportunity is up to them. At the moment, it seems like they're more interested in killing one another. I don't care either way.

Iran is developing nukes. They are on Bush's Axis of Evil. Regime change in Iran has long been on the agenda of the US. As long as we're fighting terrorism (read radical Islam) it is completely obvious to go after their ideological base- Saudi Arabia. Bush has said many times that 'all options are on the table'. This is commonly translated to refer to nukes.

I'd say neutralising Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has to be high on the list of National Security Priorities. It doesn't matter if that list has been published by the NYT or not. It's common sense.

[Sword_Svalbardt]

The Saudi's are not in a position to do anything - they have too many internal issues at the present time. All they can do is what the Americans can do, and that is throw money at the problem - a definition of poor process control.

SS

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

I think the strategy was to influence regional societies to reform by virtue of a successful model in their midst (Iraq) -- this to achieve the desired outcome (stability for trade, abate terrorism, etc.) without having to resort to more armed conflict. Like I said, it was a high risk-high gain strategy that may not work, especially given the thousand-plus years of inculcation at work.

But if this strategy can work, it's certainly preferable to the attempted military domination of populations which approach that of the USA in numbers, wouldn't you agree?

[Prodigal Son]

Oh aye, it would be nice if it works.

We don't have to dominate them. Leaving them in rubble would be fine with me.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

I agree that, if all else fails, and it is clear that they are going to hit us hard, we should bomb them into the stone ages. Let them spend the next 100 years sifting through the rubble to find stones for rebuilding their homes. That will keep them occupied so as to reduce their penchant for mischief making.

[Sam Ketcham]

The Saudi's have been buying BILLIONS of dollars in military equipment. This turn of events has been in the planning for awhile. I am sure there will be a unity with the Kurds so as not to upset Turkey.