On Selective Pacifism & other Oddities

Bradford DeLong jbdelong at uclink.berkeley.edu
Fri Nov 30 11:26:40 PST 2001



>Hey, and anyone who despises the Saudi and Kuwaiti regimes - they're
>the moneymen behind al Q. So instead of saying, "Well I don't really
>know what's going on, can't trust the info we're getting on 9/11," I
>say, fuck it. Al Q sucks, and should be put out of business, and
>doing that requires going after SA and K. We can make common cause
>here - the war against terrorism should be a war against sheiks too.
>
>Doug

But who do you replace the Al-Saud and the As-Sabah with? Lots of the plausible candidates--the Saudi versions of Hafez Assad or Saddam Hussein or the Ayatollah Khomeini or the Taliban--would be a step backward, not forward. The Sheikhs' rule has been dictatorial, but "softer" than rule in many neighboring countries.

Until the guys at the NSC see a clear way forward to replace the Al-Saud and the As-Sabah in such a way that their successors will be more like Nasser or Ataturk than Hafez Assad or Saddam Hussein, they are going to bide their time.

U.S. action will be limited to pressure on the Al-Saud and As-Sabah to act like Henry VIII in terms of prescribing what shall and shall not be preached, and to dry up the Saudi and Kuwaiti equivalent of the Noraid cans in the Boston bars...

Brad DeLong --



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