SAUDI MESSAGE TO THE PRESIDENT-ELECT

first and rough draft

This commentary is meant to complement the last two, and add a note to the January 6post.

TURKI AL-FAISAL

Choreographed by Saudi intelligence or not (probably were ), Turki al-Faisal’s comments likely were meant as a message to President-Elect Obama. The message: to disregard Bandar bin Sultan and his advice. Instead, the message asks that Mr. Obama use Turki al-Faisal (and Muqrin, the current head of Saudi intelligence, by likely extension) as the liaison to the Saudi ruling elite.

It probably isn’t a bad idea. Bandar had been part-and-parcel of the disastrous decision to invade Arab Iraq and eliminate a power that balanced the Iranian militarily (the eight-year war), ideologically (an inclusive Arab nationalism, attractive enough to the Arab Shia), and church/state-wise (a country which was viciously secular versus one run by clerics.) Not to mention that Bandar was (and possibly still is) under investigation in this country for alleged kickbacks worth $2 billion from BAE Systems, the British-American arms company, to secure the Yamama arms contract.

(To be precise: BAE Systems was under investigation. But the subject of the investigation most likely was/is the alleged $2 bn kickbak to Bandar. The Department of Justice picked up the case after the Serious Fraud Office in Britain had closed the file under pressure from Tony Blair. Please try and find prior post titled something like this, "Bush to Bandar: You're not my Brother...")


MR SATTI’ NOUREDDINE

As to the January 6 Post, I may have misconstrued Mr. Noureddine’s observation. I said that it amounted to opening up to the Israelis and the harmful idiots. This offended me since this perceived opening was taking place at a time when these were continuing on with the project to colonize Arab Iraq (e.g., the monster-like embassy, the hope pinned on the armed forces and an eventual coup by these) and the de-facto break-up of the country since , like it or not, the Kurds will not but by force re-join Iraq as nationals.

I still think that Mr. Noureddine is dead wrong on expecting the Israeli public to revolt against its leaders and pull out from Gaza without eliminating Hamas. As I said, the Israeli casualties have to be high enough and, until now, they’re not. (It took losing hundreds of soldiers in the 1980s and the rise of a new power, Hezbollah -- itself a result of the occupation -- for the Israeli occupiers to pull out from Lebanon. But Hezbollah had Syria and strategic depth as a consequence. Hamas has Egypt and a treasonous ruling elite working in total coordination with the Israelis. In 2006, it took rockets flying into northern Israel at such a rate as to cause mass migration by Israelis from that part of the country. Not to mention that Israeli troops couldn’t take over a single Lebanese town or village in full, with Hezbollah fighters so ready for them. It’s unlikely Gaza would be that tough a nut to crack for the Israelis, so intent are these on killing any and all Palestinians -- children and civilians at U.N. schools, women, the aged, and the young. But victory will be in the eye of the beholder. Hamas could come out of this with a brighter aura. In addition, the Arab opposition should adopt yet a deeper realization that the West, including France and especially Sarkozi and his diaspora ilk, cannot be trusted. Gaza would usher in a new phase in Arab nationalism, Islamic likely, and secretive as hell.)

Mr. Noureddine wasn’t opening up to the new colonialists who want to dominate Arab and Muslim oil, using Israel and its diaspora (and these using their Arab friends, greasy snake oil salesmen, hateful and self-hating assholes) to achieve that goal. I think that, as with most Arabs, Mr. Noureddine was disappointed that the Arab Street hadn’t come out in full, nor the Arab Islamists. The mistake he made (and I make it myself often enough) was that he thought the Arab public would come out into the streets to express the anger the public and Mr. Noureddine feel. Not. The Arab public in its opposition has gone underground and should continue to head that way.