Beating Around the Bush

I find the following piece very interesting. It´s just conjecture, but still, doesn´t it have a ring of truth to it:

Did the president secure Osama Bin Laden’s safety with a kiss? Ever since CIA chief Porter Goss admitted to Time magazine three weeks ago that he has “an excellent idea” where the top terrorist is hiding, but can’t go after him because of “sanctuaries in sovereign states and fair play,” the chatter among Capitol Hill Democrats is that Osama Bin Laden remains at large because he’s hiding in Bush’s blind spot: Saudi Arabia.

“Sanctuaries in sovereign nations and fair play? These have never been things that this administration has been concerned about,” one Democratic congressman tells Radar, requesting anonymity. “There is a lot of evidence from what Goss has said publicly, and our President’s relationship with the Saudi Royal family, that warrants an investigation into where he’s actually hiding, including Saudi Arabia. The Democrats don’t want to appear too hysterical with this, so we’re taking our time to find out the facts.”

If the man responsible for killing 3,000 Americans is in Saudi Arabia it presents a unique problem for the petrol-rich president, the congressman points out. “Who can forget the kiss between Bush and [Saudi Crown] Prince Abdullah two months ago when they sat down to talk about ‘oil prices?’ Well, since then, oil prices have skyrocketed to 60 bucks a barrel! The Saudis literally have the President by the balls.”

Since one of Bin Laden’s stated goals is the overthrow of the House of Saud, it’s unlikely the royal family is sheltering him, but the glut of radical Wahabbists in the kingdom who would happily take him in makes the scenario a distinct possibility, the congressman said. Moreover, Bush knows that going into Saudi Arabia for Bin Laden would almost certainly spark a civil war and global oil crisis. “If he was in Pakistan and the Pakistanis knew it than they would be obligated to arrest him immediately, and they would. But if he made it back to Saudi Arabia, and the administration knows this, than they have a real problem with the Saudis and with the American people.”

Source: Radar Magazine Online, 07/06/05