A case study in disingenuousness - Bushco and Saudi Arabia

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the headline itself is disingenuous, but, hey... it's the nyt...

A Saudi Prince Tied to Bush Is Sounding Off-Key

they just don't GET it...? aw, c'mon... you MUST be kidding...

Prince Bandar has mentored Mr. Bush and his father through three wars and the broader campaign against terrorism, reliably delivering — sometimes in the Oval Office — his nation’s support for crucial Middle East initiatives dependent on the regional legitimacy the Saudis could bring, as well as timely warnings of Saudi regional priorities that might put it into apparent conflict with the United States. Even after his 22-year term as Saudi ambassador ended in 2005, he still seemed the insider’s insider. But now, current and former Bush administration officials are wondering if the longtime reliance on him has begun to outlive its usefulness.

Bush administration officials have been scratching their heads over steps taken by Prince Bandar’s uncle, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, that have surprised them by going against the American playbook, after receiving assurances to the contrary from Prince Bandar during secret trips he made to Washington.

well, let 'em "scratch their heads" all they want... if they can't figure it out, they're dumber than advertised... even the nyt at least has a clue...

Since the Iraq war and the attendant plummeting of America’s image in the Muslim world, King Abdullah has been striving to set a more independent and less pro-American course, American and Arab officials said. And that has steered America’s relationship with its staunchest Arab ally into uncharted waters. Prince Bandar, they say, may no longer be able to serve as an unerring beacon of Saudi intent.

“The problem is that Bandar has been pursuing a policy that was music to the ears of the Bush administration, but was not what King Abdullah had in mind at all,” said Martin S. Indyk, a former United States ambassador to Israel who is now head of the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy.

it's crystal clear... any middle east state that chooses to continue to stand foursquare behind bushco is going to have severe credibility problems, and, in fact, the same can be said of most countries around the world... there isn't a head of state anywhere that isn't trying to find ways to put some distance between his or her country and george bush in a way that doesn't earn a free pass to bush's "axis of evil..." meanwhile, prince bandar will keep kissing the bush family's ass out of respect for a myriad of convoluted behind-the-scenes ties that aren't visible to use mere mortals...

scratch away, fellers...

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