Cheney in Saudi Arabia — seems war with Iran’s comink
Cheney just flew to Saudia Arabia, spoke for two hours with the saudi king, then flew back.
See the Assoc Press story copied below — which was on the AP wire four hours ago but now … I can’t find.
No official comment as to what was discussed. Backgrounder saudi source paints it as little more than a general agreement that they wish things were better in Iraq. Nonsense.
Meanwhile Bush is bouncing from his moronic performance in asia into Jordan (this coming Weds) to meet the Iraqi prime minister.
While al Sadr (the shia leader in Baghdad) has already given Washington an ultimatum — saying his group will leave the unity government if the Bush-Maliki meeting in fact takes place.
While Baghdad in the past three days has gone up in flames.
While Bolton yesterday tells BBC that Syria-Iran are responsible for Gemayel’s assassination and that the Jim Baker show re Syria might have to be shutdown.
And while Moscow yesterday announces it has already shipped high-tech missiles to Iran to help it defend its nuclear facilities against air attack.
While the dollar on Thurs and Friday crashes, something China could do with a bat of an eyelash, to send a warning like that of Moscow’s re the missiles.
So. Perhaps the Israeli (American) war with Iran that Perle began to sell in 1995 is about to break open, before the Dems take control of Congress. Using the speculative spin on Gemayel’s murder as part of the casus bellum propaganda package.
In any case, there is no way Cheney flies to speak with the saudi king unless something thunderous is in the air.
November 25, 2006
Cheney Arrives for Talks in Saudi Arabia
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:55 p.m. ET
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Vice President Dick Cheney sought Saudi help on Saturday in dealing with Iraq’s spiraling violence and other regional trouble spots where U.S. policy is on the line: Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
Cheney’s visit with King Abdullah was brief, lasting only a few hours before he flew back to Washington, but it underlined the two allies’ concerns over upheavals across the Middle East, which many Arabs blame on U.S. policies.
In a sign of the urgency of the U.S. concern, President Bush is scheduled to meet with Iraq’s prime minister in the Jordanian capital Wednesday and Thursday to discuss security matters.
The unusual succession of visits by the two U.S. leaders was planned before outbursts of violence this week dramatically worsened the situation in two countries of key American interest — Iraq and Lebanon.
On Tuesday, an anti-Syrian Lebanese politician was gunned down in Beirut, highlighting the fragility of the U.S.-backed government and heightening tensions between that country’s pro- and anti-Syrian forces.
Two days later in Iraq, suspected Sunni insurgents set off a series of car bombs that killed more than 200 people in a Shiite district of Baghdad, fueling an upsurge in the retaliatory sectarian slayings that threaten to tear the nation apart.
The meeting at Yamama Palace likely focused on both conflicts, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian front, which stands at a key crossroads amid attempts to form a new Palestinian government and get peace negotiations going.
The U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the discussions and Saudi officials were not available.
Before the meeting, a Saudi official said Cheney was expected to ask oil-rich Saudi Arabia to use its considerable influence with Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority to promote reconciliation with Iraqi Shiites and Kurds. Sunni insurgents have staged some of the bloodiest attacks on U.S. troops and Shiites.
In return, Saudi Arabia wants the U.S. to help rein in Iraq’s Shiite militias, which have been blamed for sectarian attacks that have killed thousands, said the official, who agreed to discuss the meeting only if not quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the talks.
On Lebanon, the Saudi official said the kingdom wants to ensure there are no cracks in support for the U.S.-backed government, which is opposed by groups allied with Syria and Iran. Saudi Arabia has strong links to the anti-Syrian bloc dominating Lebanon’s Cabinet and parliament.
The official said Saudi Arabia hopes Washington will not snub any Palestinian government that emerges from talks between the militants of Hamas and the more moderate Fatah faction. The U.S. and other nations have shunned the current government led by Hamas, which has refused to recognize Israel and renounce violence against the Jewish state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of Fatah, is trying to work out a new unity government with Hamas, but Arabs hope the U.S. will be flexible with how much Hamas must moderate to allow a resumption of the peace process with U.S. ally Israel.
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries on the Persian Gulf are also deeply concerned over the West’s confrontation with Iran over that nation’s suspect nuclear program.
Gulf countries worry about the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran and its attempts to expand its influence in the Middle East. But they also fear the West’s attempt to force Iran to rein in its program could bring Iranian reprisals.
(End AP story)
