Open Thread

12 Comments

1. 

   Omir the Storyteller on December 12, 2006 at 7:07 pm

   The Bavarian Illuminati, supported by the Servants of Cthulhu, have directed the Mafia, aided by the Goldfish Fanciers and the Boy Sprouts, to take over the Saudi Royal Family and add it to their power structure. The Prince is actually an emissary of the Rebublican Party, supported by Hollywood, the Hell’s Angels and the South American Nazis and controlled by the Gnomes of Zurich, and is going back to the Kingdom to direct the defense of this hostile takeover fnord.

   Any Illuminati players around here? My wife and I love it, but we won’t play it if it’s just the two of us. You can’t properly wheel, deal and backstab with only two players.

   • 

     Indianadem on December 12, 2006 at 7:19 pm

     “You can’t properly wheel, deal and backstab with only two players.”

     Heh – I’m getting plenty of that already in real life 😉

   • 

     froggywomp on December 12, 2006 at 11:35 pm

     I’ve heard of the game and I think I’d like it, but I’ve never had a chance to actually play…

2. 

   greatferm on December 12, 2006 at 8:10 pm

   Stratfor.com thinks is just a simple promotion.

   “Saudi sources in Riyadh recently said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, 75, is seriously ill and has been traveling to and from the United States for surgery. Turki al-Faisal, 61, would be the most likely candidate to replace Prince Saud in the event of his incapacitation, raising the likelihood that Prince Saud’s illness is the cause for al-Faisal’s resignation.”

   • 

     idredit on December 12, 2006 at 9:17 pm

     Steve Clemons knows the Ambassador and also finds this bad news, it may be back home politics but that “Prince Turki has been a significant ‘truth-teller’ to the Bush Administration”

     Imho, given the Prince’s  abrupt departure, Josh Marshall opines something is up.

     It is reported by Wapo via Thinkprogress, the Saudis summoned Cheney over the Thanksgiving weekend to receive their ultimatum on Iraq.

     not happy campers.

     • 

       blksista on December 12, 2006 at 9:29 pm

       because I had the same feeling that just that kind of thing was happening:

       We hate the Saudis and the Egyptians and all the rest of the standing Arab governments. But the Iraqi Shi’a were oppressed by Saddam. So they’ll like us. So we’ll set them up in control of Iraq. You might think that would empower the Iranians. But not really. The mullahs aren’t very powerful. And once the Iraqi Shi’a have a good thing going with us. The Iranians are going to want to get in on that too. So you’ll see a new government in Tehran. Plus, big parts of northern Saudi Arabia are Shi’a too. And that’s where a lot of the oil is. So they’ll probably want to break off and set up their own pro-US Shi’a state with tons of oil. So before you know it, we’ll have Iraq, Iran, and a big chunk of Saudi Arabia that is friendly to the US and has a ton of oil. And once that happens we can tell the Saudis to f$#% themselves once and for all.

       I think people should start counting how many Muslims are Shi’a and how many are Sunni, and figure out where the hell they are on the map.  These idiots want to play divide and conquer?  

       Wanna bet that the Saudi royals and Wahabists would make peace and invite bin Laden back home before that shyt would occur?  Crazier stuff has happened.

       • 

         idredit on December 12, 2006 at 10:22 pm

         I read a well sourced article that the Saudis had laid down the gauntlet that they will come to the aid of Iraqi Sunnis if the civil war is not resolved.

         They do read the leaks. In mid-November, it was let’s ‘Take sides’ and Unleash the Shiites – advocated by Cheney’s office.So, Cheney got summoned to Rihadyh days before the al-Maliki summit with Bush in Jordan.  After the summit it was floated to Salvadorize, marginalize al-Sadr, oust the PM al-Maliki, (so much for democracy) now the talk is send more troops.

         See the image. Bush dithers, can’t decide.  
         Saudis have us over a barrel of oil.

          

3. 

   Shalimar on December 12, 2006 at 8:32 pm

   My theory: The Saudi Ambassadors have been reading the Thousand and One Nights to Bush every evening to put him to sleep, and the current Ambassador is allowed to go home now that he has finally finished the entire story.  The next Ambassador will be someone with enough patience to teach Junior to read his own books, though it might be awhile before they find such a saint.

4. 

   chicago dyke on December 12, 2006 at 9:26 pm

   i read he also skipped town like this before…a couple of days in front of 911. corrente has more.

5. 

   Connecticut Man1 on December 12, 2006 at 9:30 pm

   Yes… It appears that Emanuel may have lied. BUT Remember this:

   Rep. Emanuel, as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was architect of the 2006 victory. He coveted the third-ranking post of majority whip, but that put Emanuel on a collision course with the Congressional Black Caucus’s candidate, Rep. James Clyburn. A ruinous competition was averted when Pelosi brokered a deal whereby Emanuel agreed to replace Clyburn as House Democratic Caucus chairman.

   We all speculated on this.

   Why did he back off? Do you wonder if maybe, just maybe, Emanuel knew this day of reckoning was coming? He wanted to distance himself from the DCCC. Take the demotion and get the fuck out of there. Regardless, this sort of political hackery cannot be tolerated from the Democratic party anymore than from the Republicans.

6. 

   KNUCKLEHEAD on December 12, 2006 at 10:43 pm

   Breaking now. Saudi WARNING
   The Saudis will back the Sunnis if the US backs out of Iraq.

7. 

   diane101 on December 12, 2006 at 10:56 pm

   Army Plans for a Wider Role in Securing Baghdad

   By MICHAEL R. GORDON and SABRINA TAVERNISE
   Published: December 13, 2006

   WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 — Iraq has presented the United States with a plan that calls for Iraqi troops to assume primary responsibility for security in Baghdad early next year. American troops would be shifted to the periphery of the capital.

   goes on to say

   Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security adviser, said in an interview that the plan was presented during the meeting in Amman, Jordan, on Nov. 30 between President Bush and Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.

   “I think it is extremely important they reduce their visibility and they reduce their presence,” Mr. Rubaie said of the American troops in Baghdad. “They should be in the suburbs within greater Baghdad.”