Washblog

I'm thinking about two exchanges I've taken part in recently, the Washblog conversation on Particle Man's post: Can the Democrats in DC End the War? and a phone conversation I had last night with a friend who believes that if we withdraw from Iraq, WWIII is likely to start sooner rather than later -- but that we must withdraw immediately, nevertheless

My friend pointed me to news reports on the "summoning" of Dick Cheney to Saudi Arabia for a two-hour visit late in November by King Abdullah.  Saudi Arabia, a predominantly Sunni nation, shares a 500-mile border with predominantly Shi'ite Iraq.  King Abdullah was thought to be warning Cheney that if the US leaves Iraq, Saudia Arabia will invade.  That theory is borne out by a recent piece in the Washington Post by Nawaf Obaid, an adviser to the Saudi government, entitled Stepping Into Iraq: Saudi Arabia Will Protect Sunnis if the U.S. Leaves, and warning of "massive intervention" in Iraq by Saudi Arabia if the US leaves. Given recent opinions of all top US military leaders responsible for Iraq that more troops is not the answer (these leaders are being purged now), it's interesting to consider whether this Saudi advice may play a large part in this administration's fixation on escalation.