It's well known that now-King Salman al Saud's shady history includes raising $250 million for Al Qaeda (in Bosnia), the Taliban, and other ultra-conservative Muslim forces. Perhaps less remembered is that Saudi Arabia warned the US in November 2006 that it would fund Sunnis in Iraq if the US pulled out, as part of its cold war with Iran, and that these Salafi (Wahhabi) Sunnis might also attack US troops. This was the conception of ISIS, announced in no less an outlet than The Washington Post, by no less an insider than Nawaf Obaid -- at the time the security advisor to Prince Turki al-Faisal, then-Saudi Ambassador to the USA.
Obaid (now a self-funded 'Fellow' at Harvard) wrote in his op-ed:
In February 2003, Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, warned President Bush that he would be "solving one problem and creating five more" if he removed Saddam Hussein by force. One hopes he won't make the same mistake again by ignoring the counsel of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who said in a speech last month that "since America came into Iraq uninvited, it should not leave Iraq uninvited." If it does, one of the first consequences will be massive Saudi intervention to stop Iranian-backed Shiite militias from butchering Iraqi Sunnis.
[D]omestic [Saudi] pressure to intervene is intense. Major Saudi tribal confederations, which have extremely close historical and communal ties with their counterparts in Iraq, are demanding action. They are supported by a new generation of Saudi royals in strategic government positions who are eager to see the kingdom play a more muscular role in the region.
King Abdullah blocked these requests. But with his illness and death, and a ruthless new branch of the Saud clan now ruling the Kingdom with an iron fist, the evil of Saudi Arabia is being unleashed across the Middle East and elsewhere, through its funding of ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh, Al Nusra, Al Qaeda, and other (competing, conflicting) groups.
(King Salman has consolidated power for his branch of the family. Considerable power is vested in his nephew Muhammad bin Nayef, Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, and chairman of the new Council for Political and Security Affairs. Salman also installed his 30 year-old (!) son, Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, as Minister of Defense, and as deputy crown prince, second deputy prime minister, chief of the royal court, and chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. Already under Abdullah "liberal thinking" was outlawed as a terrorist crime against the state, with the treatment of liberal bloggers like Raif Badawi the proof of this savagery. Under Salman it has gotten worse.)
Obaid continued [below the orange فن الخط] :
As the economic powerhouse of the Middle East, the birthplace of Islam and the de facto leader of the world's Sunni community (which comprises 85 percent of all Muslims), Saudi Arabia has both the means and the religious responsibility to intervene.
The Saudi leadership is preparing to substantially revise its Iraq policy. Options now include providing Sunni military leaders (primarily ex-Baathist members of the former Iraqi officer corps, who make up the backbone of the insurgency) with ... funding, arms and logistical support. Another possibility includes the establishment of new Sunni brigades to combat the Iranian-backed militias.
Yep, guess who has been funding Sunni extremists in Iraq, now spread into Syria, Libya, and elsewhere? You got it: Saudis. (And to a lesser extent, conservative Qataris and Kuwaitis.)
Finally, Abdullah may decide to strangle Iranian funding of the militias through oil policy. If Saudi Arabia boosted production and cut the price of oil in half, the kingdom could still finance its current spending. But it would be devastating to Iran, which is facing economic difficulties even with today's high prices. The result would be to limit Tehran's ability to continue funneling hundreds of millions each year to Shiite militias in Iraq and elsewhere.
Cut oil prices in half, sound familiar? This was broadcast nine years ago. Now it's reality.
To be sure, Saudi engagement in Iraq carries great risks -- it could spark a regional war. So be it: The consequences of inaction are far worse.
Welcome to ISIS and continued violence throughout the Middle East. Don't like it? You know who to blame: Saudi Arabia -- and the Cheney-Bush Administration.
Dick Cheney, King Abdullah al Saud, Papa George Bush I, Colin Powell, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, August 2005.
P.S. Some more background on the rather odd Naif Obaid, from a critic, is here.