General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Saudi-Sized Cracks in the 9/11 Wall of Silence - redacted Bush report. [View all]cheapdate
(3,811 posts)The United States-Saudi relationship is based primarily on that fact. It's not a normal or a healthy relationship. We have little else in common with the people or culture of the country. They have lots of oil. We need lots of oil. It's more like a junkie-dealer relationship than a normal country-to-country exchange. The Saudi's have had an extraordinarily difficult time of keeping their own internal conflicts contained. It occasionally boils over in dramatic fashion. There are large ultra-conservative and fundamentalist elements of the population. The royal family are more or less "pragmatists". It is a situation that often teeters on the brink of instability.
There are without a doubt members of the ruling class who were and are supportive the goals of al Qaeda. I'd be extremely surprised if any of them were ever extradited to the United States for trial.
On edit : It would be interesting to see the unredacted documents. A better informed public can make better decisions about what policies to support or oppose. However, given all of the other pressing demands in this country, there are other places where I'd rather see strenuous efforts for transparency applied than on this issue. That's just me. I could be wrong.