U.S./Saudi Rift?

[Flabbergasted]

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2006/12/12/1455/3584

U.S./Saudi Rift?
by BooMan
Tue Dec 12th, 2006 at 02:05:05 PM EST

Something bad is going on in Saudi Arabia.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, flew out of Washington yesterday after informing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his staff that he would be leaving the post after only 15 months on the job, according to U.S. officials and foreign envoys. There has been no formal announcement from the kingdom.
The abrupt departure is particularly striking because his predecessor, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, spent 22 years on the job. The Saudi ambassador is one of the most influential diplomatic positions in Washington and is arguably the most important overseas post for the oil-rich desert kingdom.

Turki, a long-serving former intelligence chief, told his staff yesterday afternoon that he wanted to spend more time with his family, according to Arab diplomats. Colleagues said they were shocked at the decision.

The exit -- without the fanfare, parties and tributes that normally accompany a leading envoy's departure, much less a public statement -- comes as his brother, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the highly influential Saudi foreign minister, is ailing.

I obviously don't know what this means, but I know it is very significant. It could be that Saud al-Faisal is seriously ill and that Turki al-Faisal is going to take over as foreign minister. It could indicate severe tensions in the U.S./Saudi relationship. It is highly suspicious that Turki would choose such a critical time to go home. Bush is planning on rolling out his new Iraq strategy sometime before Christmas. In my analysis, that means right now is the time to for the Saudis to use all their influence to guide Bush's decisions.

Perhaps they have determined that Bush's strategy is fundamentally incompatible with their interests. Perhaps this is their way of showing thier displeasure.

On the other hand, maybe Turki has worn out his welcome here, or our intelligence agencies have discovered something ugly, like Faisal has been working with terrorists (here, or in Iraq).

All I know is that this is an earth-shaking event within the foreign policy establishment. Text

[MannyGoldstein]

1. I Think It Means That The House of Saud is About to Purchase...

a lot of anti-Shia mayhem in Iraq.

[MADem]

2. It could indicate severe tensions in the U.S./Saudi relationship.

Oh.


FUCK.


Let's hope not. After all that asskissing Deadeye Dick did not even a month ago....

I'm inclined, frankly to believe that it's this; he's getting the "Condi" job: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101333.html

Turki, a long-serving former intelligence chief, told his staff yesterday afternoon that he wanted to spend more time with his family...his brother, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the highly influential Saudi foreign minister, is ailing.

Saud, who was appointed in 1975, has held the position of foreign minister longer than any of his counterparts anywhere in the world -- dating back to Henry Kissinger's tenure as secretary of state.

Saudi officials have not commented on Saud's condition, but he has suffered from tremors for years. Last year, he slipped in the shower and fractured a shoulder. After attending the opening of the U.N. General Assembly in September, he flew to Los Angeles for surgery and quietly remained in the United States until shortly before Thanksgiving, according to an Arab official.

As Saud's health has declined, Turki has increasingly been rumored as a possible replacement for his older brother. He would symbolize continuity in Saudi foreign policy at a moment of tension over Iraq between Riyadh and Washington, two long-standing allies in forging common political and economic policy in the Middle East. King Abdullah summoned Vice President Cheney after Thanksgiving for talks on Iraq and other Middle East flashpoints.

Turki has been the subject of both high praise and controversy. In the 1980s, while he was intelligence chief, he reportedly met al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden several times during the U.S.- and Saudi-backed support of mujaheddin fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He subsequently denounced bin Laden.

Turki later served as ambassador to Britain. "He was regarded as being one of the most effective ambassadors from any country and was held in very high regard," a British diplomat said yesterday....

[Flabbergasted]

3. Gotta love these lines though....

snip

....at a moment of tension over Iraq between Riyadh and Washington, two long-standing allies in forging common political and economic policy in the Middle East. King Abdullah summoned Vice President Cheney after Thanksgiving for talks on Iraq and other Middle East flashpoints.

snip

[MADem]

4. SUMMONNED, indeed. Come here, little dog, chop chop!!!!!

Bow down before me...sit, beg!!! OK, then, in return for your guarding the house, here's your bone of oil...good dog!