The sweet smell of counter-revolution by Pepe Escobar

[Jefferson23]

April 7, 2011


United States Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is in Riyadh to talk to Saudi King Abdullah. The Associated Press told the world's media they should discuss the "Arab upheaval". Then there are all those other cliches - "political reform", oil production, "the Iran threat". But as the Pentagon meets the House of Saud at the current juncture, they can only say one thing: I love the smell of counter-revolution in the morning.


Yes, it smells greater than napalm. And it does smell like victory. The US-Saudi counter-revolution is winning, hands down, against the great 2011 Arab revolt. The House of Saud wanted Hosni Mubarak in Egypt to hang on to power all the way - and so did Washington, who first said the regime was "stable", then bet on Omar "Sheikh al-Torture" Suleiman carrying an "orderly transition", and then, when the collapse was inevitable, reluctantly joined the Tahrir Square crowds.


To prevent Washington from even trying to embark again on the right side of history, the House of Saud had its plan in place to smash the peaceful protests in Bahrain, by invading its neighbor across the King Fahd causeway. This was only possible because a crucial exchange with Washington was already clinched; we get you an Arab League vote for a no-fly zone over Libya, you let us deal with Bahrain (see Exposed: the US-Saudi Libya deal Asia Times Online, April 2, 2011).

As Gates and Abdullah discuss the intricacies of "US outreach" (those dictators that can get away with murder) and "regime alteration" (those they want thrown to the dogs), the current juncture spells out Washington/House of Saud in charge on all fronts - wrong side of history and all.

remainder in full: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD08Ak01.html