FEEL THE HEAT

Why Saudi Arabia is outraged (Hooman Peimani, Asia Times)

[T]he US congressional report seems to be adding insult to Saudi Arabia's injury. Since September 11 that country has been a target of Washington hawks' proposals for regime change as part of a plan to reshape the entire Middle East. Regardless of his intention, Bush's refusal to declassify the mentioned chapter will only create grounds for future leveling of unverifiable charges against Saudi Arabia, which could prepare US public opinion for a future regime change under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Within this context, the refusal could serve as a first step toward "dealing" with an old US ally, which the hawks consider as a strategically important state with uncertain future stability. Saudi Arabia's refusal to let the United States use its bases in a major way in their war on Iraq has probably qualified it as an "emerging rogue state" that Washington can afford to alienate now that it has access to oil-rich Iraq.

The concern of every authoritarian and totalitarian regime that they might be next unless the co-operate with us and liberalize their rule just can't be a bad thing. Posted by Orrin Judd at August 3, 2003 12:19 PM