Karen asked: <<<< What does it mean to you that articles like this are appearing in the mainstrteam press? >>>>
Jan, Bill, Lawry and Brad have all replied with perceptive comments from different angles. Simmering all these down, and bearing in mind that the Rand Report was allowed to leak (this was very significant, I think), my view is that Bush is now allowing an anti-Saudi Arabian strategy to become talked about even while he himself concentrates on making the case publicly against Saddam Hussein. I think the tight circle behind Bush decided some months ago (and perhaps a long time before then) that there's no way that a fundamentalist insurrection can be avoided in Saudi Arabia and that this would have disastrous effects on oil exports to America and on its already-shaky economy. (America would be significantly affected for at least a year until oil supplies from Mexico, Nicaragua, Russia, etc, could be ramped up.) Also, as a corollary, this group decided that there's no way that the Islamic mullahs and associated terrorist groups can be turned around in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan, etc. (And there's also the possibility that Islamic fundamentalism could erupt and overthrow governments in several other countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Indonesia, etc, unless some dramatic intervention occurs. ) So, if continuing catastrophes are inevitable, then it might as well be American-led so that, at least (if successful), oil supplies can be maintained. My bet is this: if Saudi Arabia doesn't collapse in the next few weeks (perhaps prompted by King Fahd's death), then Bush will announce landings of troops in Kuwait. When? September 11 2002. On this tragic anniversary, no leader can ever have had a better opportunity to gather the vast majority of his country's population behind him -- despite the growing opposition within the country (even from leading Republicans, as I heard this morning on the radio) and without. (I don't think that the American troops will necessarily do anything immediately in Kuwait. They won't need to. They'll just build up steadily. Sooner or later, this will provoke an uprising in Saudi Arabia, and the troops will then move south to protect the oil wells [or bring them back into production if sabotaged]*. Maybe, as a bonus, there'll be a coup d'etat in Iraq but, really, America can afford to wait upon events there -- there is no evidence that Saddam Hussein is of any danger in the meantime despite American propaganda.) Keith Hudson *I've little doubt that the mysterious Carlyle group will be importantly involved here (and would have included Enron, were it not for its collapse!). Members include some of the more responsible members of the immensely rich bin Laden family (good friends with Prince Charles, incidentally) and, together, with other pro-Western rich Saudi Arabians, will take over formal ownership of the SA oil industry (as well as the assets of those SA businessmen who have been supporting Al Qaeda). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- Keith Hudson,6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel:01225 312622/444881; Fax:01225 447727; E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
