Stardate 20021225.0757

(On Screen): The self-declared "best friend" and "closest ally" of the US in the Gulf Region has repeated, yet again, that it won't participate in any action against Iraq and will "not necessarily" permit strikes to be launched from its territory.

Saud said the kingdom was trying its best to prevent any war on Iraq, as it would destabilize the whole region. He also denied there was any crisis in the kingdom's relations with the United States.

Actually, I think there can be no question that there's a crisis, and don't be too surprised if the next Congress starts asking really hard questions about the amount of influence that the Sauds have been buying among the career bureaucrats, especially in the State Department. (It's become quite common for senior diplomats from Foggy Bottom to be given very lucrative consulting contracts after they retire from State, if they've been "good friends" to the Saudis while they worked at State. As might be imagined, this tends to encourage others in State to be "good friends" to the Saudis.)

U.S.-Saudi ties have come under pressure since the September 11, 2001 suicide attacks. Several of the suspected hijackers were Saudis. Saudi Arabia has angrily denounced what it calls "negative propaganda" against it by U.S. media.

15 of the 19 hijackers last year were Saudis. Most people would use the word most to describe that, not several.

The Saudis have unquestionably been denouncing what they call "negative propaganda"; and what I call "the truth". What they don't like is that the reality of their corrupt and brutal regime is being exposed here. The last thing that the Sauds want is for us all to find out what they're really like.

For instance, we're not supposed to be paying attention to the way that they treat Christians in Saudi Arabia.