Diplomatic Dick: The Peacemaker?

Dick Cheney met with the Saudis a short while ago. He visited Saudi Arabia in order to get the Saudis to become more involved in sorting out ongoing and increasing problems in Iraq. He was hoping that the Saudis would be able to exert influence over the Sunni insurgents, even though Al Qaeda (a Sunni organization) is all for overthrowing the Saudi royal family and evicting the USA, both it's military and commercial interests, from that country. So the Saudis have a very fine line to tread, if they choose to do so, in Iraq.

Iran, which has also called for the overthrow of the Saudi royal house in the past, are the middle-eastern nation currently exerting the most influence in Iraq. Saudi Arabia also supported Saddam Hussein's Sunni led government in it's long and deadly war of attrition with Iran. So now Dick Cheney, knowing full well that Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two most powerful countries in the region, and are also divided by the same sectarianism that is fuelling the civil war in Iraq, has decided that the best way to diffuse the Iraqi situation is to pit these two regional superpowers against each other.

Last week a report by a Saudi diplomat hinted that Saudi Arabia would support the Sunni minority in Iraq with funding and weaponry should the sectarian war escalate. The Saudi government quickly offered a denial, but the warning to Iran was quite clear.

It is all a bit confusing. The USA is leaning towards the Shiite majority in it's efforts to effect a peaceful settlement of the conflict. But Iran, the Shiite superpower in the region, which is developing diplomatic ties with the Iraqi government, and supports the shiite militias, is considered to be interfering with the internal affairs of a sovereign nation by the American government. This is the American government that led an invasion, in violation of international law, of that same sovereign nation in order to effect a regime change. The Sunni insurgency, including Al Qaeda, which supports neither the Shiite majority led Iraqi government nor the American occupation forces, is now being told they can expect help and support from the Saudis. The Saudis, busy pumping oil and managing their investments, have kept themselves, until now, out of becoming involved in the Iraqi situation. But, now that Dick Cheney has gone and played diplomat, they seem to have dealt themselves a hand in a deadly game that could well see the whole, oil rich, region descend into sectarian chaos.

And the war goes on..and on...and on.