Israel Matzav

That'll be the day

Joel Brinkley has a great idea that unfortunately is unlikely to happen: Tell the Gulf states to take care of Iran.

I know what King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia would say: We can’t attack a fellow Muslim nation.

That’s nonsense. Didn’t Iran and Iraq fight a nine-year war during the 1980s? Neither side showed reluctance to kill fellow Muslims; half a million people died. Haven’t the vast majority of Muslim civilian deaths in both Iraq and Afghanistan been at the hands of al-Qaida in Iraq, the Taliban and other Muslim miscreants? “We can’t kill fellow Muslims” is a nice slogan, but one that Islam lives up to no better than Christians, Buddhists or members of other faiths.

Instead, King Abdullah and the others would rather watch the United States do their dirty work for them, condemn the U.S. in public, offer thanks in private and then watch passively as America absorbs terrorist revenge attacks and further damage to its reputation in the Arab world. Why should the U.S. do it? The danger for the Gulf states is far greater than for anyone else, except perhaps Israel.

For the U.S., the sad truth is that even if the Saudis and their neighbors did find the gumption to collaborate on an airstrike, Iran would still try to blame the United States. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have made a great show of selling those arms to the Gulf states specifically as a counterbalance to Iran. Congress has seemed happy to approve these sales even though, many members would have worried that the weapons would be used against Israel.

It's nonsense but over the last 60-80 years, the US has gotten 'our friends, the Saudis' used to the idea that the United States does their dirty work and their bidding. Unless and until the US disabuses them of that notion quite explicitly, nothing will change.

So nice try, but there is no way this will happen.

Labels: Iranian nuclear program, our friends the Saudis

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:13 PM