<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META content="MSHTML 5.00.2722.2800" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sometimes I wonder if the admin isn't trying to
triggered the big C. Capitulation. Leading to the big D. Then
their friends and relatives can buy up all the cheap assets as they've
supposedly done in Asia. Probably forclosing on South America. They
certainly have good ideas for devaluing the dollar. In case there's any
Arab money left in the market.</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:rhisiart@earthlink.net" title=rhisiart@earthlink.net>R</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:lbo-talk@lists.panix.com"
title=lbo-talk@lists.panix.com>lbo-talk@lists.panix.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, August 12, 2002 2:19
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Sands shift under House of
Saud</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>The Sunday Business Post<BR><FONT color=#0000ff><U><A
href="http://www.sbpost.ie/story.jsp?story=WCContent;id-53303"
eudora="autourl">http://www.sbpost.ie/story.jsp?story=WCContent;id-53303</A><BR><BR></U></FONT><B>Sands
shift under House of Saud<BR></B> By Tina-Marie O'Neill<BR>Dublin,
Ireland, 11 August, 2002<BR><BR>The Saudi Royal family<BR><BR>Age: King Fahd:
80; Crown Prince Abdullah: 78<BR><BR>Appearance: Similar bearded appearance.
Always dressed in traditional<BR>Islamic garb. Like ageing Saudi rockstars,
they're rarely seen without<BR>heavy dark sunglasses <BR><BR>Newsworthiness:
<BR><BR>Crucial in any US-led attack on Iraq, the unstable monarchy is
clinging<BR>to power <BR><BR>The United States is facing the potential
nightmare that Saudi Arabia,<BR>its pivotal long-time ally in the Middle East,
may not support an attack<BR>on Saddam Hussein. Last Wednesday Saudi foreign
minister Prince Saud<BR>al-Faisal went further and told the United States its
forces would not<BR>be allowed to use its territory as a base in the event of
such a<BR>military campaign.<BR><BR>Meanwhile, the US had distanced itself
from a leaked think-tank<BR>recommendation that the United States `target'
Saudi oilfields and<BR>financial assets if the Arab kingdom doesn't do more to
fight terrorism. <BR><BR>The suggestion was made in a briefing to the Defense
Policy Board, a<BR>group of intellectuals and former senior officials which
advises the<BR>Pentagon<BR><BR>"Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks
our allies," the briefing<BR>said, describing Saudi as "the kernel of evil,
the prime mover, the most<BR>dangerous opponent" in the Middle East.
<BR><BR>Not only has all of this focused international attention on the
Kingdom<BR>of Saudi Arabia and the ruling Saudi elite, but it has also
highlighted<BR>the previously unanticipated scale and severity of domestic
unrest, and<BR>the fragility of the royal House of Saud. <BR><BR>Americans are
all too aware that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers<BR>were Saudi
nationals. A recent report presented to the Pentagon<BR>depicting Saudi Arabia
as an enemy of the US has forced President George<BR>W Bush and his
administration to re-evaluate its fair-weather friend and<BR>question US
dependence on the faltering regime. <BR><BR>continued<BR><A
href="http://www.sbpost.ie/story.jsp?story=WCContent;id-53303"
eudora="autourl">http://www.sbpost.ie/story.jsp?story=WCContent;id-53303</A><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>