- this is the way they appease their lands many murderous hyper-religious fundamentalists while they privately orchestrate a deal to assist without looking like they assisted.

Yes, the Saudi power elite have no love lost for Saddam. But because they have never had the cajones or came up with a savvy method to reform their educational system in a more western manner - they must live in fear, in gold plated luxury, while the squalid fanatics rage outside.

Do you think the Rand Corporation's presentation was not intentional and well timed? How many other Rand Corporation reports have you ever seen with such public news release - including the threatening phrase "seizure of oil fields".

This was the US game of bribery and blackmail. A political good cop/ bad cop.

The US... via Rand... blasts the Saudis - and says they should change or we seize their oil fields.

The Pentagon says no...we still really like the Saudis.

The Saudis see that the US is conditioning people with ideas like "seizing Saudi fields" and not-so-subtly threatening to turn against the Saudis if they don't help us.

So the Saudis release a public statement the next day to say we cannot use their land for an attack on Saddam - while privately wheeling and dealing an arrangement for assisting us....

...say for example like providing or selling very cheaply unlimited fuel to America from their holdings in convenient middle eastern ports...

...or perhaps orchestrating the usage of nearby airfields and Saudi holdings which are not on "their soil" but which they can exert influence upon.

However, this is all done clandestinely - so that their subjects are none the wiser. (which is already, in most instances, a given)

Yes the Saudi royal family are very fearful folk - and they know their subjects all too often buy into the fundamentalist rant "America is the Great Satan" - a routine perfected by the Ayatollah Khomeni back in '78.

Relax - everything will work out just fine.
Saddam is feeling the heat...and its only going to get hotter.

SDAI-Tech1