The Threat of Democracy
At the Arab Summit in Riyad, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia said: "In our beloved Iraq, the bloods among brothers are shed in the shadow of the illegitimate foreign occupation and the repulsive sectarianism threatens civil war."
The Saudis know the present situation could lead to a more intense civil war, and possibly a regional war. Nevertheless, they wants our troops to leave Iraq. The king and others are playing to the domestic and regional galleries, which makes it more difficult for America to retain both domestic and international support. King Abdullah's comments reflect the intense anger towards the United States in the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia, like many of America's traditional Arab allies, feel that they've been completely sold out and left in the lurch by the invasion. Our friends in the region are sitting back, watching America bring a system of government called democracy, which has deliver power into the hands Iran, who they see as the greatest threat to the region.
The invasion of Iraq has emboldened their enemy Iran. They complained about it before the invasion and have been complaining ever since. Consequently, Saudi Arabia’s support for the Sunnis in Anbar province has grown. Presently, their support is covert, but it's becoming more obvious.
Men in Iraq's western Anbar province are manning checkpoints, with the supported of our military. These men are drawn from tribes under an umbrella network of the Anbar Salvation Council, their loyalty remaining with their tribal sheiks, who want to reestablish a stranglehold on their traditional turf. This has broader ramifications than just Iraq's western Anbar province, because it represents the direction our traditional Arab allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt favor. They want Sunni Iraqi Arabs to be re-empowered and the establishment of a government in Baghdad, that is much closer to Amman or Riyadh than Tehran.
The tribes and the Baathists still remain in control of Anbar province and that’s the way Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt want it to continue, because a Shiite dominated Iraq is a threat to their rule.
The Saudis know the present situation could lead to a more intense civil war, and possibly a regional war. Nevertheless, they wants our troops to leave Iraq. The king and others are playing to the domestic and regional galleries, which makes it more difficult for America to retain both domestic and international support. King Abdullah's comments reflect the intense anger towards the United States in the Arab world.
Saudi Arabia, like many of America's traditional Arab allies, feel that they've been completely sold out and left in the lurch by the invasion. Our friends in the region are sitting back, watching America bring a system of government called democracy, which has deliver power into the hands Iran, who they see as the greatest threat to the region.
The invasion of Iraq has emboldened their enemy Iran. They complained about it before the invasion and have been complaining ever since. Consequently, Saudi Arabia’s support for the Sunnis in Anbar province has grown. Presently, their support is covert, but it's becoming more obvious.
Men in Iraq's western Anbar province are manning checkpoints, with the supported of our military. These men are drawn from tribes under an umbrella network of the Anbar Salvation Council, their loyalty remaining with their tribal sheiks, who want to reestablish a stranglehold on their traditional turf. This has broader ramifications than just Iraq's western Anbar province, because it represents the direction our traditional Arab allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt favor. They want Sunni Iraqi Arabs to be re-empowered and the establishment of a government in Baghdad, that is much closer to Amman or Riyadh than Tehran.
The tribes and the Baathists still remain in control of Anbar province and that’s the way Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt want it to continue, because a Shiite dominated Iraq is a threat to their rule.
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