SIDE-STEPPING KING ABDALLAH:

SIDE-STEPPING KING ABDALLAH::

ARE THE PRO-AMERICAN ELEMENTS IN THE SAUDI GOVERNMENT RUNNING THEIR OWN FOREIGN POLICY ?

A recent news story in a (partly and probably) Qatari-financed London Arabic daily reported recently that the Saudi Ministry of Information, the financier of a huge Arabic news empire, had ordered its outlets to cease and desist from propagating Abdel Halim Khaddam’s pronouncements against the Syrian government.

These Saudi-financed media outlets earlier had made hay of Abdel-Halim Khaddam’s defection. (Refer to article below.)

Those familiar with the war taking place between the coalition of Russia, Iran, and Syria and that of the U.S.,Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Israel can reasonably conclude (without hesitation) that the Saudi Kingdom itself had sponsored the defection of the former Syrian Vice-President.

Since the defection, there had occurred one phone conference between the Syrian President and the Saudi King. ( A visit is expected soon.)

In that conference, Mr. Asad reportedly complained to the King about the campaign by the Saudi-financed media against Syria’s government and about the play these media outlets were giving Abdel Halim Khaddam’s pronouncements against his colleagues in Syria. In short, he informed King Abdallah that the Kingdom he ruled was waging a campaign to unseat Mr. Asad from the presidency of Syria.

The gag order to the Saudi outlets followed soon after the phone conference. This order could be a tactical and therefore temporary move. But it could be also an indication of a “coup” against the King. It is after all quite striking that a campaign of this magnitude would be launched without even a hint of a statement about the Golan. In other words, knowing King Abdallah’s background, it strikes SaudiPolitics as unlikely that he would have approved of an anti-Syrian campaign without balancing this campaign with a demand for concrete Israeli steps to withdraw from the Golan Heights.

Accordingly, there exists a distinct possibility that pro-American elements in the Saudi foreign policy establishment had launched the anti-Syrian campaign without first seeking approval from the King. To reiterate: It’s not beyond Saudi Arabia to launch an anti-Syrian campaign. It is, however, beyond the logic of a rule by King Abdallah to launch this campaign without balancing it with a demand that Israel withdraw from the Syrian Arab lands–even if it were only lip service.

That the campaign should stop soon after the phone conference between the Syrian President and the Saudi King adds weight to the above interpretation: The Syrian President must’ve described a Saudi anti-Syrian campaign about which magnitude the King was not informed. (I doubt that he sits by CNN, the Saudi-financed al-3arabiyyah, or the Qatari-financed al-Jazirah.)

That the King would not have approved of an anti-Syrian campaign (without balancing it with a demand that Israel withdraw from the Arab Golan) is borne out by the King’s recent history. When Crown Prince, King Abdallah had made a generous and just offer to Israel, which the Israelis had ignored at a time when the Bush Administration was at the height of arrogance and delusion in preparing to invade a small and defenseless Arab country. Israel, on orders from the Bush Administration, gave CP Abdallah’s plan the cold treatment. It therefore doesn’t make sense that the same person, now King, would bless Israel’s occupation of Arab land, directly or indirectly, after Israel had rejected his rather courageous offer.

Which leads us to the observation that there exists a high likelihood that elements within the Saudi foreign policy establishment were running (and may still) their own foreign policy show. In so doing, they feel fully protected, since they are assisting (they think) the Kingdom’s most important ally. This has become more acceptable now that Empire had promoted out of the Pentagon the pro-Likud neocons who wanted to break up the Kingdom.

But is that what Empire really needs?

Words to the wise: Empire needs to lose less of its children in the quagmire called Iraq, and not co-sponsor an insignificant defection. Accordingly, Empire needs honest advice from friends who know the region.

Those who know the region, and who are not ideological, also know that the Israeli occupation of Arab lands links U.S. troops in Iraq to that of Israeli troops occupying the West Bank, the Arab Golan, East Jerusalem, and (de facto) Gaza.

Defections and campaigns against a regime which is eyeing its occupied land doesn’t help in saving the life of U.S. troops in Iraq. Perhaps it’s time to reinvigorate CP Abdallah’s peace plan, not pursue self-defeating policies a la Iraq invasion.

Perhaps not.