Wednesday, December 13, 2006 at 2:02am
Saudis to back Sunnis if U.S. quits Iraq
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah warned Vice President Cheney that if the United States pulled out of Iraq then Saudi Arabia would back the Sunnis, according to a source.
A senior American official says that Abdullah read the "riot act" about the deteriorating situation in Iraq to the vice president when the two met a Nov. 25 in Riyadh and said that Abdullah was very tough on Cheney, CNN reported Wednesday.
Abdullah, according to the source, told Cheney that the Arabian Kingdom would be forced to step in and support "like-minded Sunni Arabs" if the situation in Iraq fell apart and the Sunni minority's safety in Iraq was in jeopardy.
But Abdullah did not mean to imply Saudi Arabia would support al Qaeda in Iraq, according to the source, but rather tribal groups. However, some of these tribal groups overlap with insurgents who are fighting Americans, the source conceded.
Lee Anne McBride, Cheney's spokeswoman, said, "The conversation with King Abdullah was confidential. The vice president briefed the president in detail upon his return. The reporting on the substance of the meeting is speculation."
A senior American official says that Abdullah read the "riot act" about the deteriorating situation in Iraq to the vice president when the two met a Nov. 25 in Riyadh and said that Abdullah was very tough on Cheney, CNN reported Wednesday.
Abdullah, according to the source, told Cheney that the Arabian Kingdom would be forced to step in and support "like-minded Sunni Arabs" if the situation in Iraq fell apart and the Sunni minority's safety in Iraq was in jeopardy.
But Abdullah did not mean to imply Saudi Arabia would support al Qaeda in Iraq, according to the source, but rather tribal groups. However, some of these tribal groups overlap with insurgents who are fighting Americans, the source conceded.
Lee Anne McBride, Cheney's spokeswoman, said, "The conversation with King Abdullah was confidential. The vice president briefed the president in detail upon his return. The reporting on the substance of the meeting is speculation."