Bush's new Iraq policy

[mburbank]

I haven't seen any press reports about the Saudi's allying themselves with Al Quaeda. If you have, post them. I have seen multiple press reports about threatning to support the Sunnis, which would be different.

And alliances are always built on the premiss that mutual interests are served. They are often built on both promising more than they give and attempting to get the better deal.

In addition, the alliance between the US and the Saudis has always been more about an alliance between the Bush family and the Saudi Royals than about the actual interests of either country.

A Saudi threat to back to Sunnis is a powerful incentive to 'stay the course'. As I said before, that doesn't mean they don't mean it. I just think it serves the interests of team Bush as well. This is how alliances work.