They prefer to continue their covert support of Sunni rebels.



-Laelth

Praise Allah they declined! (I think it's far more likely they couldn't find anyone who wanted the job).

How bout that!

saw no problem with the US all these years protecting Israel from UN sanction but see a problem when Russia and China protects their ally Syria. Funny how a supposedly anti any religion but Islam country would take that stance, they are the people that have anti Semitic cartoons on state funded TV.

Please provide a link to their offensive cartoons. Thank you.

It isn't just Saudi Arabia, its all over the Arab media. http://www.spiegel.de/international/the-cartoon-wars-middle-eastern-media-awash-in-anti-semitism-a-400161.html

You have convinced me that all of my ancestors were evil anti-Semities.
Please correct the Wiki entry. I would tell off my grandmother but she was born in 1896 and passed on.

In which a word, in spite of current (and even historical) usage is interpreted to necessarily have the meaning that its etymology "says" it "should" have.

"Anti-Semitic" has never included "anti-Arab"--except in the views of a few people who are fond of this fallacy and a few others who would love to redefine the word, sometimes for fairly obvious reasons. It's always meant "anti-Jewish,"

Note that the Ethiopians and Somalis are also "Semites".

You segue into a whole-part fallacy. If some Arabs are anti-Semitic, then it can only be concluded that all Arabs are. English has some wiggle room in its bare nominals when it comes to interpretation, something that DU and headline writers take full advantage of. "Economists say X" is true if the generic, prototypical economist; if a small number of economists; or if all economists worth talking about say X. Usually "some number" is intended by the news article, but "all, or nearly all" is what's inferred. Same here. "Arabs do X" means perhaps "the generic Arab," or perhaps "some Arabs", or perhaps "all or nearly all Arabs." It takes a good ear and a fair dollop of good will to hear the difference and figure out what's mean. As soon as I/P, race relations, or even partisanship gets involved the good will vanishes and it's more important to show that the speaker or writer has a particular viewpoint, rather than to discover his viewpoint.

that a cynical interpretation of this refusal is absolutely warranted but personally I am not qualified to make one other than there are too many hot issues that are lose/lose for Saudi Arabia especially at home should they be drawn into more open responsibility AND having to deal the rest of the council. Getting drawn into another very open and problematic forum on ME issues might be just impossible with their current involvement and own home dangers.

When their oil runs out, and it is running out, the people of that country are well and truly fucked.

All the 'princes' will end up in Geneva or London with their billions, never looking back even once, leaving a husk of a country behind as their means to buy off the population from revolting diminish.

I'm sure if they look hard enough they can find some sand to pound...instead of abusing women, gays and minorities.