[Cool Hand]

Originally Posted by godfry n. glad

Well... Your hypothesis would be worthy if it weren't for my understanding that George HW opposed deposing Saddam...even the second time around. His reasons for not bringing down Saddam in the First Gulf War was stated in The World Transformed, which he co-authored with Brent Scowcroft. Insufficient military power to pacify the country after occupation and the high likelihood we would become involved in a military and diplomatic quagmire.

I don't know enough about that to comment. I'll try to check out that book and see. Thanks for the tip.

I also understand that the Dumbya administration was planning the invasion of Iraq prior to 9/11.

I haven't heard that. Do you have a reference or source for your understanding?

My supposition is that the Saudis want us there. The Saudi royal family, actually. It's my understanding that the king is an invalid due to a stroke and his days are numbered. There seems to be a great deal of unease upon the part of the royal family due to simmering resistance to the control of the royal family within Saudi Arabia....Osama bin Laden being amongst them. I'd say that the invasion to depose Saddam was to remove the most likely extra-Arabian source of attempts to grab Saudi possessions in the event of regime instability brought on by the passing of the king.

So... How does Saudi Arabia get us to dance to their tune? Money. Specifically, the oil profits which the Saudis have been raking in since the 1970s have, in large part, been reinvested in the American economy. Huge sums. Huge sums that can be withdrawn in the blink of an eye....to some considerable damage to the U.S. economy. That, I believe, is the leverage.

I suspect that should there be an internal confligration within Saudi Arabia, we will be involved in it...most likely as a prop to the existing regime. And...if you're looking for a corrupt dictatorship that terrorizes its own people, look no farther than Riyadh....our "ally".

My tenuous source for this is Robert Baer's Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude.

godfry

I haven't read the book, but your theory sounds plausible. Thanks for sharing it, godfry. It's good to get differing perspectives.

Cool Hand