Saudi Prince Threatens the US & Israel

[SF-TX]

Prince Turki al Faisal threatens Jihad against Israel if the US doesn't 'abandon' Israel.

...Former U.S. President George W. Bush's administration had left a "sickening legacy" in the Middle East, Turki wrote, singling out the Iraq war.

The Bush administration had also contributed to the "slaughter of innocents" in Gaza, said Turki, who currently holds no official government position in the world's top crude oil exporter.

"If the U.S. wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and keep its strategic alliances intact -- especially its 'special relationship' with Saudi Arabia -- it will have to drastically revise its policies vis-a-vis Israel and Palestine," Turki wrote. He said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had written to Saudi King Abdullah last week urging Saudi Arabia to lead a "jihad," or holy war, against Israel.

This call for jihad would, if pursued, create "unprecedented chaos and bloodshed" in the region, said Turki.

"So far, the kingdom has resisted these calls, but every day this restraint becomes more difficult to maintain," he said.

Turki urged Obama to condemn what he called "Israel's atrocities" against the Palestinians...

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...50M0XF20090123

...The prince’s article recalls the letters that King Abdullah, as crown prince, sent to George W. Bush in 2001, warning that the kingdom would review relations with the US unless the administration adopted a forceful push for Middle East peace.

The letters rang alarm bells in Washington but were soon overshadowed by the September 11 attacks, which involved a group of Saudis. It was only after Riyadh launched its own campaign against terrorism two years later and started addressing the root causes of radicalism that ties with the US improved again.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/651ad470-e...nclick_check=1