I did a diary a last weekend about foreign press on the mess in Iraq. In preparing it, I noticed there was no Administration "spin" on Cheney's recent trip to Saudi Arabia. The one where they were going to have "comprehensive discussions" on Lebanon, Iraq, Iran & Palestinians - all in a matter of a few hours. Thanks to David Gergen on MSNBC a few minutes ago, it makes better sense now.
Cheney was summoned to Saudi Arabia.
Wouldn't it have been something to be a fly on the wall for that one? Also, BBC is reporting that EU nations knew they were hosting "black prisons" quite some time back. (Scroll to the end for that.)
Reported in the Washington Post by Robin Wright and Thomas E. Ricks, which is perhaps where Gergen got it, too:
Saudi Arabia is so concerned about the damage that the conflict in Iraq is doing across the region that it basically summoned Vice President Cheney for talks over the weekend, according to U.S. officials and foreign diplomats. The visit was originally portrayed as U.S. outreach to its oil-rich Arab ally.
What's that about? Power relations in the mid-East, what else? Asia Times Online has a good article by M K Bhadrakumar, worthy of a full read for those who follow these things closely:
Saudi Arabia has viewed with disquiet the rapid ascendancy of Iranian influence in Iraq since the US invasion. The reasons are several, but primarily the Shi'ite claim of political empowerment in the region haunts Riyadh, coupled with the prospect of Iran's seemingly unstoppable march as the premier regional power in the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East. The disquiet has turned into dismay as the incipient murmurs of a likely shift in the United States' strategy in Iraq have lately become audible, and given the likelihood of the shift involving a constructive engagement of the regimes in Tehran and Damascus by Washington.
Dubya and his crew are so over their heads in the intrigues and shifting alliances as the deterioration of conditions in Iraq approaches freefall. The best policy for the US? IMHO, it should be a major focus on alternative energy development. More important for national security than perhaps anything else at this point. Every day, I'm reminded how glad I am that Richard Pombo ® is going to be out in Congress from CA-11, and Jerry McNerney (D) in.
On top of all that, the BBC is reporting that EU nations knew all along about black prisons in their countries.
Many EU nations were aware that the CIA used their territory for the transfer or detention of terror suspects, a draft European parliament report says. ... The report echoed allegations made in June by the Council of Europe - Europe's leading human rights watchdog - that European states were complicit in illegal CIA operations as part of the US-led "war on terror".
...
The draft report says several EU governments were aware of the CIA's secret detention and transfer of terror suspects. It further accuses governments and top EU officials of failing to co-operate fully with the European parliament's investigation.
BTW, the new MSNBC format is growing on me. I'm glad that David Schuster is getting a little more front-and-center time. The Fox News alumnus has really been flourishing on going for actual, factual stories.