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[jfb]

Why isn't this the top story in every news outlet? "Saudi Arabia's leaders have made far-reaching decisions to prepare for an era of military disengagement from the United States, to enact what Saudi officials call the first significant democratic reforms at home, and to rein in the conservative clergy that has shared power in the kingdom."

For review, a few salient facts: The U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia is one of the primary motivating issues for bin Laden and al Qaeda, and may be either a cause of unrest or a stabilizing force depending on who you ask. The various tensions between the ruling family, the clergy, the public, the middle, upper, and lower classes, secularization and modernization vs fundamentalism--these are key factors in Middle Eastern politics and, you know, terrorism. 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the site of Islam's holiest sites, and the leading source of imported oil for the U.S.

So, you know, democratic reforms, military disengagement, and an attempt to rein in the clergy? That's big news. Well, at the moment it's just big hearsay (their government and ours both deny it... sort of), but it's hearsay worth mentioning.

Comments

[jfb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I see those points. Maybe I'm just tired of day after day of the headlines "Iraq still says it's cooperating", "U.N. still says Iraq is cooperating... enough", "U.S. still says Iraq isn't coopearting", and now the daily speculation about Columbia. Even if this is doomed or fake, at least it's something new (1963 aside).