If true, how does this match up with the cutting of ties with the Taliban? What's going on? The leaders of Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Arab nations have lived for many years the soft, Western life made possible by oil wealth. The Taliban, like a sudden wind from the desert, is stirring fundamentalists in their own countries. These leaders know their heads will be first on the block if the fundamentalists stage an uprising.

Sounds to me like someone in Saudi Arabia is trying to cover his ass in every direction, unwilling to ally himself with either side, or be an enemy of either side. How long they can hold up this balancing act remains to be seen.