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The Saudi Sunni Lobby (or should we say the Wahabi Lobby?)

Reader comment on item: Islam and Islamism in the Modern World
in response to reader comment: Islamic Lobby

Submitted by Martin H Katchen (United States), Feb 6, 2013 at 22:53

I agree, Daniel. Ali Baba looks very superfically at lobbying in the United States if he focuses on only one issue, that of relations between the United States and Israel. The potency of Saudi Arabia's lobbying ability can be shown in the fact that after the American exit from Vietnam, Saudi Arabia was able to convince American policymakers that the United States could retain it's preeminence in the world if Saudi Arabia would leverage it's market share in OPEC to define the price of oil in US dollars and deposit Saudi oil revenue in New York banks, thus protecting the US dollar as the world reserve currency(and making Saudi Arabia one of the top holders of US debt). In return, the United States had to undertake to protect the House of Saud and Saudi Arabia from enemies, foreign and domestic.

This is a special relationship on the order of that between the United States and Great Britain and it gives and has given Saudi Arabia and it[s allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council a lot of leeway in it's actions in the world. It has, among other things, given the Saudis weapons systems such as AWACS that Israel dosen't even get. It got members of the Saudi and Bin Laden Family diplomatic immunity, safe passage out of the United States and freedom from the inconvenience of having to answer awkward questions from federal investigators on 9/11 when all other planes were grounded. It got the Saudis a free hand to export Wahabi ideology into Afghanistan in the 1980s which got Osama bin Laden trained in terrorism in the first place, probably in order to prevent these young Saudi salafists from making trouble at home. It got the Saudis for 30 years a guaranteed share of the US oil market by discouraging Americans from exploring for oil in the US, allegedly for environmental reasons. And presently, the Saudi Relationship may be preventing American policymakers from responding effectively to Saudi-Qatari backed Salafists seizing control of the Syrian revolt against the Assad Regime and if Peter Copley's current report is correct and the Qataris are backing AQIM in Mali, may complicate America's decision to give more than logistical support to the fight against AQIM in that country.

All of which makes the Saudi Lobby much more pervasive, if lower profile in US financial and policy circles and the financial consequences (if not necessarily the electoral consequences) of crossing it far more severe than that of the Israel Lobby.

Submitting....

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Reader comments (35) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1The Dark Ages of Islamic countries [273 words]AlexandrosFeb 28, 2013 11:08203934
They wont accept the facts and the logic. [123 words]AtheistFeb 14, 2013 02:18203484
1It is about grabbing more land [122 words]PrashantFeb 13, 2013 09:07203448
Advocating a Betrayal of Conservatism? [280 words]Ali BabaFeb 5, 2013 16:25203214
2More gems from our dear Ali Baba [294 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 6, 2013 07:37203214
Fact check please [278 words]Ali BabaFeb 7, 2013 19:58203214
1Scripture comparison is simplistic and narrow [162 words]saraFeb 7, 2013 20:20203214
Facts ARE always simplistic [101 words]Ali BabaFeb 7, 2013 22:15203214
Does the goalpost shift for Islam? [184 words]Ali BabaFeb 7, 2013 22:33203214
3Our dear Ali Baba is saying that Islam is violent and as if we did not know [937 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 8, 2013 06:52203214
1Our dear Ali Baba quotes the Bible to prove a point which means that he disagrees with Allah astaghfirullah [129 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 8, 2013 06:59203214
Dhimmi makes a good point [41 words]Ali BabaFeb 9, 2013 00:24203214
3Our dear Ali Baba is saying that Islam is violent and as if we did not know part two [765 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 9, 2013 06:20203214
Certainly... [177 words]Ali BabaFeb 10, 2013 03:45203214
3Teaching one tablighee at a time [1710 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 10, 2013 08:02203214
2Lost tablighees [381 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 11, 2013 07:17203214
More simple facts [141 words]JeffFeb 15, 2013 13:34203214
A few corrections [158 words]Ali BabaFeb 16, 2013 17:56203214
Sharia law [131 words]stanley bFeb 16, 2013 18:20203214
1Our dear Ali Baba says that anyone who is fasting during Ramadan in Tennessee will end in jail for 15 years! [497 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 17, 2013 08:10203214
Let us have a deal our dear Ali Baba al-tablighee [173 words]dhimmi no moreFeb 17, 2013 09:25203214
A few more corrections [268 words]JeffFeb 17, 2013 11:02203214
... FELLOW MUSLIMS & ALL [28 words]Nur el Masih Ben HaqFeb 18, 2013 22:48203214
8Oppose the islamists ! Always ! [97 words]Phil GreendFeb 4, 2013 18:57203167
1Authentic and authoritative commentary. [47 words]Beverly McCaffreyFeb 4, 2013 18:53203166
America's distorted view of Islam and the Saudi Sunni Lobby [776 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Martin H KatchenFeb 4, 2013 15:01203156
1Islamic Lobby [91 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Ali BabaFeb 6, 2013 12:34203156
1The Saudi Sunni Lobby (or should we say the Wahabi Lobby?) [415 words]Martin H KatchenFeb 6, 2013 22:53203156
Learning curve [77 words]William EastFeb 4, 2013 13:42203154
Secularism will NOT solve the problem [192 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Rabbi Yeshayahu HollanderFeb 4, 2013 09:21203139
Islam and Islamism in The Modern World [98 words]JudithFeb 4, 2013 00:18203123
Aid to Egypt [47 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Jack WaltersFeb 3, 2013 23:17203117
3More to the story than reported here! [765 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
GKFeb 3, 2013 17:13203102
1As much as I respect Bernard Lewis, I think his comment was hyperbole. Certainly history refutes him. [718 words]GKFeb 3, 2013 23:39203102
Bernard Lewis's hyperbole [427 words]Martin H. KatchenFeb 5, 2013 00:26203102

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