On Selective Pacifism & other Oddities

[Bradford DeLong]

>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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