December 13, 2006
Saudis Say They Might Back Sunnis if U.S. Leaves Iraq (click on)
By HELENE COOPERWASHINGTON, Dec. 12 — Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia conveyed that message to Vice President Dick Cheney two weeks ago during Mr. Cheney’s whirlwind visit to Riyadh, the officials said. During the visit, King Abdullah also expressed strong opposition to diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran, and pushed for Washington to encourage the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, senior Bush administration officials said.
The Saudi warning reflects fears among America’s Sunni Arab allies about Iran’s rising influence in Iraq, coupled with Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. King Abdullah II of Jordan has also expressed concern about rising Shiite influence, and about the prospect that the Shiite-dominated government would use Iraqi troops against the Sunni population.
THE SAUDIS have told Bush to stop delineating on religous grounds. Of course, to do so would provide Bush with his 'scapegoat' - the Shias. The so called extremists are being assaulted PER the Saudi on the back of Bush's military. Bush is not fighting America's war, he is fighting the Saudi war.
Riyadh And Tehran, 2006: Honeymoon On The Rocks (click on)
...Some history is instructive. The Saudi-Wahhabi alliance of 1744 was by definition anti-Shiite, viewing many Shiite practices as polytheistic. Riyadh has a history of oppressing its own Shiites, which number approximately 10% of the population and are concentrated in the oil-rich Eastern Province. The 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution posed a strategic nightmare, as Iran now challenged the Saudis for regional hegemony and stirred unrest among its Shiite subjects. Until the mid-1990s, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca was the site of repeated clashes between Iranian pilgrims and Saudi forces....
enough
