Two current examples of why the Middle East and all dealings with Middle Easterners is a lost cause
It's just the nature of the Middle Eastern beast.
We cannot change it.
Period.
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U.S. Officials Voice Frustrations With Saudis’ Role in Iraq
By HELENE COOPER
U.S. Officials Voice Frustrations With Saudis’ Role in Iraq
By HELENE COOPER
July 27, 2007
nytimes.com
This article was reported by Helene Cooper, Mark Mazzetti and Jim Rutenberg, and written by Ms. Cooper.
WASHINGTON, July 26 — During a high-level meeting in Riyadh in January, Saudi officials confronted a top American envoy with documents that seemed to suggest that Iraq’s prime minister could not be trusted.
One purported to be an early alert from the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr warning him to lie low during the coming American troop increase, which was aimed in part at Mr. Sadr’s militia. Another document purported to offer proof that Mr. Maliki was an agent of Iran.
The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, immediately protested to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, contending that the documents were forged. But, said administration officials who provided an account of the exchange, the Saudis remained skeptical, adding to the deep rift between America’s most powerful Sunni Arab ally, Saudi Arabia, and its Shiite-run neighbor, Iraq.
Now, Bush administration officials are voicing increasing anger at what they say has been Saudi Arabia’s counterproductive role in the Iraq war.
This article was reported by Helene Cooper, Mark Mazzetti and Jim Rutenberg, and written by Ms. Cooper.
WASHINGTON, July 26 — During a high-level meeting in Riyadh in January, Saudi officials confronted a top American envoy with documents that seemed to suggest that Iraq’s prime minister could not be trusted.
One purported to be an early alert from the prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, to the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr warning him to lie low during the coming American troop increase, which was aimed in part at Mr. Sadr’s militia. Another document purported to offer proof that Mr. Maliki was an agent of Iran.
The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, immediately protested to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, contending that the documents were forged. But, said administration officials who provided an account of the exchange, the Saudis remained skeptical, adding to the deep rift between America’s most powerful Sunni Arab ally, Saudi Arabia, and its Shiite-run neighbor, Iraq.
Now, Bush administration officials are voicing increasing anger at what they say has been Saudi Arabia’s counterproductive role in the Iraq war.
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Terrorist Wants More
Ehud Olmert has released 255 Palestinian prisoners, including some Hamas members, in another boneheaded “good will gesture” to the terrorists of Fatah. But the problem with this kind of appeasement is that the thugs will never be satisfied; today, without making any promises or concessions, or being helpful in any way whatsoever, Mahmoud Abbas demanded the release of 100 more.
So much for good will.
Ehud Olmert has released 255 Palestinian prisoners, including some Hamas members, in another boneheaded “good will gesture” to the terrorists of Fatah. But the problem with this kind of appeasement is that the thugs will never be satisfied; today, without making any promises or concessions, or being helpful in any way whatsoever, Mahmoud Abbas demanded the release of 100 more.
So much for good will.
posted by jillosophy at 7/27/2007 09:53:00 AM
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