Posted on 11/14/2007 3:38:07 PM PST by ddtorquee
The United States has largely eliminated the infrastructure and operational leadership of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network over the past five years. However, its ideological offspring continue to proliferate across the globe.
American efforts to combat this contagion are hamstrung by the fact that its ideological and financial epicenter is Saudi Arabia, where an ostensibly pro-Western royal family governs through a centuries-old alliance with the fanatical Wahhabi Islamic sect. In addition to indoctrinating its own citizens with this extremist creed, the Saudi government has lavishly financed the propagation of Wahhabism throughout the world, sweeping away moderate interpretations of Islam even within the borders of the United States itself.
The Bush administration has done little to halt this ideological onslaught beyond quietly (and unsuccessfully) urging the Saudi royal family to desist. This lack of resolve is rooted in American dependence on Saudi oil production, fears of instability in the kingdom, wishful thinking about democracy promotion as an antidote to religious extremism, and preoccupation with confronting Iran.
(Excerpt) Read more at globalpolitician.com ...
This is an excellent article.
Ah, our dear friends again. If it weren’t for their massive oil reserves, the Saudis would just be a bunch of sand rats stuck in the stone age. Instead they’re filthy rich and actually have an influence on world politics. Y’know, maybe we should’ve let Saddam have them and then bombed him—kill two birds with one stone.
The Pope doesn’t have an army any longer and the Buddhists don’t fight anyone.
Perhaps the best solution is to just take all American influence and knowledge out of Saudi Arabia and see how long the Royal family survives. With respect to the absurd price of oil, just tie it to commodity prices, for example, one bushel of corn for one barrel of oil.
bump
Aside from that not happening, Saudis wouldn’t miss the USA all that much.
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