Times of London reports Blair hit by Saudi 'bribery' threat
SAUDI ARABIA is threatening to suspend diplomatic ties with Britain unless Downing Street intervenes to block an investigation into a £60m “slush fund” allegedly set up for some members of its royal family.
A senior Saudi diplomat in London has delivered an ultimatum to Tony Blair that unless the inquiry into an allegedly corrupt defence deal is dropped, diplomatic links between Britain and Saudi Arabia will be severed, a defence source has disclosed.
The Saudis, key allies in the Middle East, have also threatened to cut intelligence co-operation with Britain over Al-Qaeda.
Well, there you have it in a nutshell. This is what one writer called "Deep Politics"-- the politics of the big money boys in the government, the intelligence world, and big business, especially the military and oil world.
The article points out the UK has 10,000 jobs that involve Saudi backing they will lose, if they refuse to back off the investigation. Thing is, this blows up in everyone's face, not only Blair's. The average Saudi is going to see this sooner and later and realize that "if they have nothing to hide, why are they so desparate to block it."
In addition, the Saudi Royals have now proven they don't fear al-qaeda nearly as much as they fear being caught out in corruption, which makes you wonder just how committed they are to helping Bush/Blair's War on of Terror.