[whataretheysaying] Mary Madigan: Foreign policy as written by Michael Vick

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Posted by Mary Madigan:
Foreign policy as written by Michael Vick
http://whataretheysaying.powerblogs.com/posts/1188235146.shtml


   Iraqis protested against Saudi-sponsored terrorism in front of the
   White House and Saudi Embassy in Washington DC yesterday.

   [1]sauditerror 

   [2]sauditerror 

   [3]Gateway Pundit and [4]LGF reported on a protest that the media
   largely ignored. According to GP, Iranian Mehr News was the only major
   media outlet to cover the protest. They wrote:

     TEHRAN, Aug 25 (MNA)-- Hundreds of Iraqis residing in the U.S.
     converged in the front of the Saudi embassy in Washington on Friday
     condemning Riyadhâs policy towards Iraq, Sotaliraq said on its
     website.

     With slogans "Down with Terrorism" and "Shia and Sunni Should Unite
     in Iraq," demonstrators called for the immediate halt to Saudi
     support for terrorism in Iraq and the issuance of âtakfiriâ
     religious decrees (fatwas) by Saudi scholars.

     Nazar Heydar, the director of Iraq information center in Washington
     and a member of the international center for campaign against
     terrorism, said âby this demonstration we meant to draw the
     attention of the world to Saudi Arabia as the real source of
     terrorism.â

     âWe believe that by issuing takfiri religious decrees and financial
     support of terrorist operations, Saudi Arabia is the real source of
     terrorism, not only in Iraq, but in the entire world. We read in
     the press that 50% of suicide bombers in Iraq are Saudi nationals,â
     he explained...

     ..."We tried to submit a copy of the statement to the Saudi
     ambassador to Washington, but he refused to accept it," Heydar
     noted.

   Actually, another Iranian news outlet covered the protest. [5]Alalam
   News writes:

     WASHINGTON, Aug 26--Washington's Muslim residents staged a rally in
     front of Saudi Arabian embassy to protest the issuance of
     excommunicative verdicts (Fatwas) in the Persian Gulf country.

     Hundreds of angry Muslims urged the Saudi government on Sunday to
     put an end on such provocative verdicts which are the main reason
     of the slaughter of innocent Iraqi people...

     ..The protesters said the excommunicative verdicts trigger violence
     and terrorist attacks in Iraq and other regional countries.

   Of course, Washington doesn't need Iraqi protesters or Iranian news
   agencies to tell them about Saudi sponsorship of terrorism around the
   world.

   They know about it, they just don't care.

   There is no force on heaven or earth that will convince our current
   elected officials to abandon their belief that Saudi Arabia is a
   'crucial ally'. From the [6]International Herald Tribune:

     U.S. officials have been stepping up public criticism of Saudi
     Arabia but remain cautious in dealing with a crucial ally in the
     region. Iraqi officials have openly accused Saudi Arabia of
     allowing a flow of funding to support Sunni insurgents and failing
     to prevent would-be suicide bombers from crossing the Saudi border
     to infiltrate Iraq

     ..."We need to send a crystal clear message to the Saudi Arabian
     government that their tacit approval of terrorism can't go
     unpunished," Weiner told a news conference. "Saudi Arabia should
     not get an ounce of military support from the U.S. until they
     unequivocally denounced terrorism and take tangible steps to
     prevent it."

     Weiner and Nadler said they will introduce legislation to block the
     deal, and hammered home the point that 15 of the 19 hijackers on
     Sept. 11, 2001, were Saudi citizens.

   They know Saudi Arabia is responsible for 9/11 and they know Saudi
   Arabia is responsible for the suicide bombings in Iraq. The use of
   logic and/or reason would lead to the logical conclusion that that an
   entity which has been attacking us nonstop for years is an enemy.

   Instead, the list of Saudi attacks against us is followed, as usual,
   by the mantra that this is a 'crucial ally'. What makes them an ally?
   Nothing at all.

   Obviously this alliance is not built on logic or reason. It's built on
   more fear, loathing and habit. The rules for the games were playing in
   the Middle East could have been written by Michael Vick - it's not a
   great game, it's not a geopolitical strategy - it's a dumb, bloody
   dogfight.

   For years we've been fighting the remnants of the cold war by using
   the Sauds as a kind of pit bull to fight our official and unofficial
   battles. The Russians had their pit bull, Iran. The Europeans and the
   UN had their pit bull, Saddam, the weakest of the bunch, and China had
   whatever mangy dog they could throw in, (right now, it's the Sudan).
   This pit bull strategy worked for us against the Soviets in
   Afghanistan. We thought it was maintaining the status quo in the
   Middle East, but we were wrong.

   9/11 should have been our cue that our pit bull was too rabid to
   manage. The spread of Iran, Syria and general Islamist sponsored
   terrorism worldwide should have been everyone's cue that the pit bull
   games were both dangerous and stupid. It was time to put these dogs
   down - all of them, not just the runt.

   We didn't. Instead, we continue to feed and pamper our rabid dogs. We
   let them roam wherever they want. There isn't a government in the
   world that doesn't call the Sauds a 'crucial ally'. There isn't a
   government in the world that questions the need to keep playing these
   games.

   That's why this protest is interesting, despite the obvious
   possibility that Iran encouraged or sponsored it. The 'news', that our
   Saudi allies sponsor the terrorism we're supposed to be fighting,
   needs to be spread among voters worldwide, and a grassroots effort is
   the only way to do that. Our government won't do it. Neither will the
   media.

   Most governments are happy to embrace the rabid regimes in Iran and
   Saudi Arabia - they're amply rewarded with piles of money and
   political status for their tolerance of terrorism. If you polled any
   government agency, asking them if the Sauds were a crucial ally, you'd
   probably get a more than 90% 'yes' response.

   According to most polls, more than 70% of Americans know that the
   Saudis are not our allies. The only benefit ordinary citizens get from
   our friendship with the Saudis is our status as 'soft' targets from
   the terrorism, [7]"militant" and [8]seperatist violence that
   relentlessly trails our Gulf allies like stink on a skunk. That and
   high oil prices are the only benefit we'll ever see from this 'crucial
   alliance'.

   If we wait for the government to take action against these rabid
   regimes, they'll do it sometime around the time our sun goes nova - or
   around the time the rabid beasts run out of oil, whichever comes
   first. If we don't like this status quo, we're going to have to go out
   there and tell our governments that this situation has to change.
   Voters do have a voice, and it's about time we used it. We're the only
   ones who can stop these games.

References

   1. http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070824/480/ba714ae34c33443ba31d9f82fe536286
   2. http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070824/480/3ba48d8545c84cafbc245e9264919761
   3. http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2007/08/iraqis-hold-rally-against-terrorism-at.html
   4. http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/?entry=26825_Iraqis_Protest_at_Saudi_Embassy&only
   5. http://www.alalam.ir/english/en-NewsPage.asp?newsid=009030120070826194531
   6. http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/29/america/NA-GEN-US-Saudi-Arabia.php
   7. http://yalibnan.com/site/archives/2007/07/saudi_militants.php
   8. http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=3985