Sic Semper Tyrannis

Our Allies in Syria

 

"A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced two men to lashes and prison terms for converting a woman to Christianity and helping her flee the conservative Islamic kingdom, the Saudi Gazette reported on Monday. A Lebanese man was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes for converting the woman, while a Saudi man was sentenced to two years and 200 lashes for aiding her escape abroad, the English-language daily said. It added that the pair had challenged the verdict and would appeal. A spokesman at the justice ministry could not immediately be reached for comment. In Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, it is against the law for Muslims to abandon their faith, a practice known as apostasy. Proselytising for other religions or practicing them openly is also illegal." Yahoo News

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These are our allies in Syria.  pl 

http://news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-punish-men-over-christian-woman-convert-081856796.html

Rice reveals that Hizbullah helps Syria

 

"U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told the U.N. Security Council's monthly meeting on the Mideast that Hezbollah leaders are also continuing to plot new measures with Iran to keep Assad in power.       

Rice's comments — and those of Israel's U.N. Ambassador Ron Prosor — gave the clearest indication that Hezbollah, which fought a war against Israel in 2006 and is a major political and military force in Lebanon, is sending an increasing number of fighters to help the embattled Syrian regime.       

Syria's ruling Alawite minority is an offshoot of Shiite Islam and has had close ties to Iran and Hezbollah which are Shiite-dominated. Assad has long helped Iran aid Hezbollah and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, in destabilizing Lebanon and threatening Israel's security and U.S. interests in the Middle East. "  NY Times

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This is truly comic.  Susan "Meet the Press" Rice is still riding high.

Hizbullah is a major component of a stable government in Lebanon.  It was elected to the number of seats in parliament that give it that power a number of years ago and the political science seminar crowd that makes up the US foreign policy establishment has resolutely opposed the Lebanese government ever since.  BTW, when did Hizbullah last fire rockets or anything else into Israel?  If memory serves, it was in 2006.

In Syria the US seeks regime change without UN authority.   The allies of the US in this endeavor are; Turkey (Sunni ruled), Egypt (Sunni ruled), Saudi Arabia (Sunni ruled), Qatar (Sunni ruled) Al-Qa'ida (Sunni fanatics) and NATO.

On the other side, the government of Syria (Alawi, Druze, Shia, Sunni and Christian in orientation), Iran (Shia ruled), Iraq (Shia ruled) and now apparently Hizbullah (a Shia militia)

So, the US has become the ally of Al-Qa'ida and the Wahhabi Saudis against a multi-confessional government and its Shia allies.

How clever we are!  pl

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/10/15/world/middleeast/ap-un-un-mideast.html?ref=world&_r=0

More Jingoism at the Washington Post

"If the fighting continues to spread, important U.S. allies, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, could be destabilized; both are indirectly backing Sunni fighters. The fragile political order in Iraq, bought with thousands of American lives, could collapse. Al-Qaeda could acquire new recruits and sanctuaries across the region. The best means of preventing this, as State Department Middle East experts have been pointing out for months, is to accelerate the downfall of the Syrian regime. There are several ways of doing that, short of direct military intervention: materiel aid to the rebels is one. Now that its refusal to take that step has led to the very consequences it warned of, the administration would be wise to reconsider. "  Washpost editorial

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The Washington Poat and New York Times fed us this kind of jingoistic nonsense before we invaded Iraq.  The claim was made that Iraq = Nazi Germany.  Today Kurdistan - Tomorrow the Sudetenland!  What rot!  and they are doing the same thing again.  In those days Judy Miller and Michael Gordon led the charge in NY but the Washington Post was not far behind.  Today ,the neocon Post editorial page apparently cannot wait for the day when American infantry will bleed and die in Syria.  The unholy trio of McCain, Graham and "Deputy Dog" Lieberman seem eager supporters of that aspiration.

The Post admits that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are material supporters of the Sunni jihadi insurgents in Syria.  Turkey and Saudi Arabia are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim in their populations.  The Post nevertheless thinks that Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be de-stabilized if fighting continues.  Well. if that is so, let Saudi Arabia and Turkey stop supporting the insurgency.

Sunni Turkey has announced that it will give permanent sanctuary to al-Hashemi, the condemned Sunni VP of Iraq.  What a surprise! Not!  I did not think for a moment that the pious Sunni Turk, Erdogan, would deliver a kinsman of the prophet (Al Hashimi) to die on a scaffold in Baghdad at the hands of the Shia.

If there are any people left in the State Department who have a clue about the Middle East they should  all hold up their hands!   Oh!  There's one over there!  pl 

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/us-stands-by-as-syrias-violence-spreads/2012/09/10/e8c36246-fb71-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html

Is there a US policy in the Islamic World?

I think that is a valid question:

- In Egypt we support consolidation of power by an obviously Muslim Brotherhood run government.  To that end, HC and her deputy, Bill Burns,  have traveled to Cairo to threaten and cajole the Egyptian military into accepting what the Egyptians know will become an Islamist state with all that promises for women, Christians, homosexuals, etc.

- In Afghanistan we are engaged in a very long, very costly war against an Islamist guerrilla army that has the support of many in that country.  It is claimed that the Afghan soldiers and police who are killing our men are merely "disaffected." Yes, but their disaffection is largely the result of their anti-kaffir xenophobia.  We are now in the process of abandoning the failed COIN strategy in favor of a CT based strategy that I advocated three years ago, but that was then.  This is now.  The time has probaby passed.

-In Iraq, we created a government that rejected any real strategic relationship with us and now conspires with Iran to halp Iran evade the sanctions regime.  But, we still say we love them.

- In Tunisia, the Islamist element in the new government is seeking to erase French culture in the country.  We look fondly upon them.

- In Yemen we directly assist the new Yemeni government in seeking the annhilation of the small Sunni Wahhabi insurgent movement.  In so doing we align ourselves with the Sunni majority of the former PDRY against the Fiver Shia population of the North who are thought to be somehow related to Iran.  They are not.

- Iran.  Well, I won't even try to deal with that here.  We await Israel's initiative.

- Saudi Arabia.  We await their desires as well.

- Syria.  We support a Sunni Wahhabi led, financed and armed insurgency against a government that has traditionally been hostile to Islamist groups.

What's the connecting thread here?

Don't embarrass yourself by saying oil and Israel.

"It is a tale told by an ifdiot."  pl

Are the Saudis next?

The US MSM continue to"'drool" over the prospect of the downfall of the Syrian government, you know, the one with the seat in the UN.  A gradual escalation of media manipulation and covert action is moving towards a point at which the Assad government is destroyed.  The government may win the Battle for Aleppo but in the long run....

This struggle is being waged with the support of Saudi Arabia.  Money, materiel, hired trainers, political support for the FSA and AQ; All these "goodies" are being provided in the hope of creating a Sunni run state.

The Saudis should think carefully about this process.  They too fulfill all the criteria to become, perhaps inevitably, a target for the neocon/neo-Wilsonian "crusade" to rid the world of tyrants and tyranny..  They are a highly repressive police state.  They are oppressors of women, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Bahai, gays, etc.  They have no secular constitution.  The Qur'an is their constitution.  They have no civil criminal law code.  Sharia is their law code, Hanbali Sharia.  There ks no political process, no "due process," no democracy.  The country is run for their own benefit by a kleptocracy based on family and sycophancy.  There is, of course, no habeas corpus.

The US needs their oil?  Yes.  The Saudis should take little comfort from that.  It will be asked why such oppressors should have such wealth with which to accomplish rheir selfish, sinful and sybaritic ends.  There are many in Saudi Arabia who would be willing to rise up against the tyrants.

Happily for the Saudis, the US is come upon an era of oil and gas plenty in the Dakotas.  That might save the Saudis from the wrath of the righteous.  pl

Scenarios flowing from a Syrian outcome

The civil war in Syria has a number of possible outcomes:

- The present Baath Alawi/Sunni secular goverment survives.  If that happens there will be widespread ethno-religious cleansing seeking to eliminate the chance of a renewal of a Saudi backed sectarian insurgency.  IMO, no outside power would intervene to prevent this cleansing.

- The civil war persists indefinitely.  Iran and Russia continue to support the Syrian gov.  Syria is torn to pieces, possible irreperably.  Western powers and Saudis continue to support rebels.  Lebanon my or may not be drawn into this continuing situation.  The Lebanese do not relish such a possibility.

- Syrian government falls.  A Sunni salafi government is installed with Saudi support and initial American support which turns to eventual embarassed silence as installation of a sharia law state occurs.  This new state becomes a haven for jihadi terrorists.  Massive repression of non-Sunnis occurs.  The Syrian salafi government seeks to "absorb" Lebanon.

Israel is seriously threatened by either of the outcmes in which the present government does not survive.

Chemical weapons are not a serious factor in any of these scenarios.   pl

Guest Post from oilprice.com: The Most Immediate Threats to Global Energy Security - Jellyfish Interview

Earlier today COL Lang, hopefully enjoying his summer vacation, emailed to ask if I'd make sure the following interview, which was conducted by oilprice.com's Jen Alic was reposted in full.  Oilprice's publisher, Mr. James Stafford, contacted COL Lang to offer him and the SST community a full reprint of this very interesting interview.  You all will find it reprinted in its entirety below:

The Most Immediate Threats to Global Energy Security - Jellyfish Interview

By Jen Alic | Tue, 19 June 2012 14:32

As global energy supplies come under increasing attack by non-state actors and private energy holdings become key targets of political maneuverings and criminal activities, Oilprice.com discusses the nature of the growing threat and how to reverse the risk with “smart power.” 

To help us look at these issues we got together with Corporate intelligence specialists Jellyfish Operations and security expert Jennifer Giroux.

Michael Bagley is the president of Jellyfish, a global boutique intelligence firm that combines on-the-ground intelligence collection and analytics with an unprecedented country-to-country economic diplomacy program that helps governments, corporations, institutions and private individuals forge secure partnerships, discover new opportunities and mitigate operational risks. 

Jennifer Giroux is a global security expert who specializes in emerging threats to energy infrastructure in conflict-affected regions.

In the Interview Michael & Jennifer talk about the following:

• Why the risk to global energy supplies is increasing
• Violent entrepreneurialism: Why piracy is on the rise
• The most immediate threats to global energy security
• Which countries are most likely to see attacks in the future
• Why Saudi Arabia could be the next country to have its energy infrastructure come under attack
• Why energy companies assets are becoming key targets.
• How energy companies can create opportunities in Conflict-Affected Regions
• Why companies need more than just intelligence to operate in hostile environments

Oilprice.com: Energy supplies have always been at risk, particularly due to geopolitical maneuverings, transit through countries in conflict and those suffering from ongoing political instability, as well as piracy on the high seas. You have both mentioned that the risk to global energy supplies is increasing. How do you support that claim?

The Ikhwan return in Syria

"After three decades of persecution that virtually eradicated its presence, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood has resurrected itself to become the dominant group in the fragmented opposition movement pursuing a 14-month uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Exiled Brotherhood members and their supporters hold the biggest number of seats in the Syrian National Council, the main opposition umbrella group. They control its relief committee, which distributes aid and money to Syrians participating in the revolt. The Brotherhood is also moving on its own to send funding and weapons to the rebels, who continued to skirmish Saturday with Syrian troops despite a month-old U.N.-brokered cease-fire."  Washpost

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I told you so, repeatedly.  The revolt in syria is a Sunni Islamist revolt intended to bring to power a sharia law dominated government run by "friends" of the Wahhabi government of Saudi Arabia.  Kunuri wrote that the Islam of the Saudis has little in common with the Hanafi dominated Islam of Turkey.  Yes!  Yes! Yes!.

The "bleeding heart" liberals of the West and the half baked liberals of the Middle East are creating monstrous governments that will devour whatever movement towards the 21st Century and better, more prosperous lives the peoples of the region had achieved.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syrias-muslim-brotherhood-is-gaining-influence-over-anti-assad-revolt/2012/05/12/gIQAtIoJLU_story.html

"How Osama bin Laden is winning, even in death" Ignatius

"What we’re seeing now in Egypt is something that might be called electoral bin Ladenism. Take the group Gamaa Islamiya, which under its spiritual leader, Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, made the first unsuccessful attempt to destroy the World Trade Center in 1993. Today, the organization has formed a Salafist political party with the benign name Building and Development Party. This organization, which like al-Qaeda traces its roots to the Islamist theorist Sayyid Qutb, has 13 seats in the new Egyptian parliament.

Syria will be a test of whether this post-bin Laden Islamist movement can continue to reject violence or will instead be radicalized by the jihadist magnet that is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The successor to bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has tried to use the anti-Assad battle to rehabilitate the al-Qaeda brand — even though it’s another fight that embodies the Muslim-on-Muslim violence that bin Laden came to abhor."  Ignatius

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"... a year of mostly nonviolent democratic revolution. But it has brought to power some Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood groups that share common theological roots with bin Laden. And the al-Qaeda goal of driving the “apostate,” pro-American President Hosni Mubarak from power has been achieved."  Ignatius

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Truer words were never..., etc.  Islamic revivalism (especially in Sunni Islam) is a cyclical phenomenon.  Islam sees itself as a universal truth that should become a way of life for all.  All else is tactics.

 

A Letter From Yusuf al-Misry

"Pat,

This time it is not about Egypt, though I will get back to Egypt in the near future. It is about the GCC countries.

It is obvious that there is an unfavorable configuration developing rapidly.

The sense in the GCC Capitals is that the US may “sell” these countries in any moment. That the US is not a reliable “anchor” in the current violent storm in the region. And that the US is weak – at best – or that it will let these ruling monarchies down in any grand bargain with Iran.

Why this is a dangerous situation? Simply because it creates a psychological environment that can begets unneeded complications. The paranoia regarding the US led to the rejection of three US NGOs in the UAE, Riyadh ceasing to coordinate with its main alley regarding Egypt, the arrest of a royal Sheikh in RAK and many other incidents which reflect the general sentiment that could border panic.

Some Interesting Material Pertaining to the Quds Plot

Adam L. Silverman, PhD*

Yesterday COL Lang put up a brief post pertaining to the announcement that the FBI and DOJ had broken up an Iranian Quds Force backed plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador, as well as conduct embassy bombings in DC.  While the comments have been very interesting, I tripped across a few other blogs that had some interesting thoughts and analysis on the matter.

The first is from Emptywheel.  She's the blogger that actually broke the news story on how many times KSM had been waterboarded and she did extensive coverage of the Scooter Libby trial and the FBI's investigations into the anthrax case.  Basically, she spends a lot of time poring over and through material and comparing the sources looking for overlooked material, gaps, etc.  This makes sense as she's a non-practicing PhD in Comparative Literature.  In this case she went through the criminal complaint and compared the material that the DOJ has released and what has been said in the media availabilities.  While she's not making any definite conclusions, she seems to be arguing that this is more of the same from the FBI - find someone that can be manipulated by a confidential informant and then run with it.

Emptywheel drew my attention to a piece by Max Fisher at the Atlantic that I hadn't yet seen that makes the case that doing something like this actually runs counter to what Iran is trying to strategically do in the region and vis a vis the US.

Finally, I went and looked at Professor Juan Cole's take on the whole thing and he seems to thing the golden nuggets of wisdom are to be found within the claim that Arbabsiar could get a lot of Iranian opium to the cartles.  Simply, this might have had much more to do with drugs than terrorism.

At this point anyone's guess is as good as mine; none of this makes much sense.

* Adam L. Silverman is the Culture and Foreign Language Advisor at the US Army War College.  The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the US Army War College and/or the US Army.

We should give Israel our veto in the UNSC

 
"...Saudi Arabia would no longer be able to cooperate with America in the same way it historically has. With most of the Arab world in upheaval, the “special relationship” between Saudi Arabia and the United States would increasingly be seen as toxic by the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims, who demand justice for the Palestinian people."  Turki bin Feisal

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Prince Turki is well known to Americans who deal with the Middle East.  He has a long record of close cooperation with the US Government.  He is US educated and is as comfortable in the US as anyone from abroad can be. His anecdotes of life at Lawrenceville as a boy are hilarious.  He does not enjoy telling us that we are about to lose his country as an ally. 

Saudi Arabia has long contemplated the ever more obvious tranformation of the US into what amounts to a client state of Israel.  In the last few years the nearly absolute control of Amerucan foreign policy, personnel appointments and diplomacy by Israel has reached such a level of certitude in every day matters that people are afraid to question this control in fear for their livelihoods. This is to be seen in the government itself, in the "think-tankeries" of the magalopolis and in journalism. 

The "Israel Power" now demands an American veto of Palestinian UN membership in the Security Council.  Such a veto will lose us Saudi Arabia as an ally.  People like Turki do not make such threats idly.  For an Arab, especially a Saudi, to make such blunt statements as those in his NY Times op-ed is a difficult thing.  His willingness to do that is indicative of despair.

We are told by the US Government that we will veto the application because we love peace and that UN membership for the Palestinians would be an obstacle to peace.   Such pronouncements reduce the American citizeny to the status of mushrooms, a rabble to be kept in the dark and fed horseshit. 

The truth is that our Israeli masters fear and hate the Palestinians as tribal enemies and do not intend to ever deal fairly with them.  All else is lies and mirrors.

In humble service to the hegemon we will vote this week to destroy whatever hope there might be for American influence in the Islamic World.  After that we should prepare for whatever new wars Israel may want us to fight for them.  pl

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/opinion/veto-a-state-lose-an-ally.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Turki&st=cse

Osama bin Laden : The real story? - FB Ali

The killing of bin Laden in a US Special Forces raid on a house in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad unleashed a torrent of stories about the event. The accounts by various US officials (given in bits and pieces immediately after the raid) gave little information on the details of the operation, and none on the ‘back story’. This left the field open to a lot of speculative accounts about how the raid took place and the events leading up to it. A rash of conspiracy theories also sprang up, many of which flatly denied bin Laden was even present in the house, while others put forward various versions of the Pakistani role in these events.

Recently, two accounts have been published that claim to be based on information from sources ‘in the know’ or ones who actually participated in the planning (though perhaps not the execution) of the raid. The first was a detailed account by Nicholas Schmidle in The New Yorker, based on interviews with and information provided by senior White House staff and some of the planners of the raid. This was obviously the “official” version, what the US administration would like people to believe. The second is a post on her blog by RJ Hillhouse, in which she quotes her intelligence sources on certain aspects of the raid, especially the events leading up to it.

By studying these two accounts, separating the grain from the chaff, and judiciously filling in some of the blanks, it is possible to come up with what is likely to be fairly close to the real story.

 

#Qathafi's victory will mean more repression.

 
"The protesters carried Iraqi flag and banners, with some chanting "Baghdad is a free country, America get out!" and "No for Occupation, No for America."

One banner read "No, no America," while another said, " Yes, yes for Quran."

American troops are scheduled to depart from Iraq at year's end under a bilateral agreement between the Iraqi government and the United States."  CNN

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The conspiracy mongers are having a field day ascribing to the US and NATO wonderfully bizarre deviousness in the thwarting of the "Arab Spring" revolts and alarums.  "The US was only lukewarm to the Egyptian revolutionaries."  "The US wanted Mubarak to leave in something other than the manner of his actual going."  "The US has tacitly approved Saudi and Bahreini repression of the Shia revolutionaries in those places." 

"A post-America Middle East..."

"... a glimpse of a post-American Middle East, where the United States’ allies and foes, brought together in the interests of stability, plot foreign policies that intersect in initiatives the United States must grudgingly accept.

“There is a sense that the regional players have gone up as the United States has gone down in terms of its presence, its viability, its role,” said a high-ranking Lebanese official allied with the American-backed side in the crisis, which erupted last week." Anthony Shadid

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When US influence in the Middle East declines, Israel's position declines.  Maybe some people should think about that.  Maybe blind acceptance of political pressure in the US is not such a good idea.  pl

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/world/middleeast/19lebanon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

More on the Saudi arms sale...

 "Israeli concerns about the newest deal have been reportedly calmed by assurances that the jets will lack long-range weapons systems and be of a lower grade than those sold to Israel. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has reportedly discussed the deal with US officials and a US Defense Department official told Reuters that Israel is "fairly comfortable" with it overall. "  CS Monitor

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Ratigan was pretty quiet about this today.  Apparently he had not "gotten the word."  He left it to his new "Robin," Cenk Uighur, (apparently some sort of left wing Turk type) to bash the Saudis, thereafter vaguely mumbling his approval.

I did not much like living in SA.  They are, in many ways, insufferable in their arrogance and thinly veiled disdain for everyone else.

Nevertheless, one should contemplate what a replacement country would be like in that particular space on the map.  Do we imagine that the new country would be some sort of liberal Islamic republic ruled by democratic Shia and Sunni secularists?  If we imagine that we are even bigger fools than the Ziocons who still think that has been the outcome in Iraq.

The US and SA align themselves more or less on parallel courses in the ME because the two countries have quite a few parallel interests, even though in many ways their philosophies are at odds.  The same thing is true of Pakistan and the US, as well as quite a few other places.  

And, we need the money.  pl 

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0914/Why-60-billion-in-US-arms-to-Saudi-Arabia-isn-t-causing-an-outcry/(page)/2

The Saudi weapons sale.

 "The Obama administration is seeking to sell Saudi Arabia advanced aircraft worth up to $60 billion in what Pentagon officials say would be the largest-ever single foreign arms deal.

A senior Defense Department official said the administration is prepared to authorize the sale to the Saudis of as many as 84 new F-15 fighter jets and three types of helicopters: 70 upgraded F-15s, 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds. The deal could be done over five to 10 years, depending on production schedules and training needed." Washpost

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There will be 60 billion dollars for these items with a possible 30 billion more for ships and naval systems.  And then, there would be the maintenance contracts for all this equipment.  There would be Saudi major contractors but the sub-contracts, ah the sub-contracts and consulting!  We are talking real money in this.  

The New York based newsies are already starting a campaign against this sale headed surprisingly by Dylan Ratigan who usually bloviates endlessly about the dying US economy.  On his afternoon show yesterday he went on and on about "giving" the weapons to the Saudis and "sending" the weapons to, etc.   Hello, anyone in there? (referring to his head).  THIS IS A COMMERCIAL SALE!!  There is no foreign aid program for Saudi Arabia.  There never was one.  They buy things from our companies, paying in hard cash, denominated in US dollars.  70,000 US jobs will be saved or created by these sales.  We give or loan the Egyptians, Pakistanis and Israelis money with which to buy our military materiel.  The Saudis buy it with their own money.

Do they really need the equipment?  I seriously doubt it.  The Kingdom has a very small population base. They have a difficult time filling their small forces.  I predict the creation of one of the world's most impressive static displays of military equipment.  But, they might hire foreign soldiers and pilots.  They have done that before.   Don't turn your nose up at that thought. The money would be terrific, and there are such fringes as Saudi social security and wall to wall  medical and dental care provided in world class facilities by doctors who are the best that money can buy.

The Iranian threat?  Oh, yes, of course...  Somehow I think this has much to do with "commissions" passed around in the royal family/courtier crowd.  5% of 90 billion plus will go a long way.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/13/AR2010091306429.html

"Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites" Tomlinson

 "Saudi Arabia has conducted tests to stand down its air defences to enable Israeli jets to make a bombing raid on Iran’s nuclear facilities, The Times can reveal.

In the week that the UN Security Council imposed a new round of sanctions on Tehran, defence sources in the Gulf say that Riyadh has agreed to allow Israel to use a narrow corridor of its airspace in the north of the country to shorten the distance for a bombing run on Iran.

To ensure the Israeli bombers pass unmolested, Riyadh has carried out tests to make certain its own jets are not scrambled and missile defence systems not activated. Once the Israelis are through, the kingdom’s air defences will return to full alert."  Tomlinson

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If this were true, and the plan were executed, the Saudis would pay a very high price in the Islamic World. The "legitimacy' of Al-Saud rule in the land of the emergence of Islam would be gone.  It has always been a bit shaky.  The reaction of the armed forces of Pakistan is incalculable in such a situation, and they ARE the Islamic nuclear power.  And what would Israel's air force accomplish in such an attack with conventional weapons?  Can Israel be this foolish?  Are the Saudis equally foolish?  I think not.  pl 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article7148555.ece