Saudis to Kerry: No Deal Was Cut with Bush on Oil

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States said on Wednesday Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry "can be assured" that his country did not cut a deal to hold down oil prices to boost President Bush's re-election bid.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan also denied he was told by Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld two months before the start of the Iraq war that Bush had decided to invade Iraq. Rather, he said, he was assured that any invasion would "finish" off President Saddam Hussein.

The Saudi ambassador was responding to allegations by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, author of a new book on Bush's preparations for the Iraq war -- "Plan of Attack."


http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=EYG0I1UKFAOAECRBAEOCFFA?type=topNews&storyID=4901081

Oh yeah, I believe the Saudis they have NOTHING to lose by lying, right?(sarcasm off)

[madmax]

1. Like I'd believe Bandar

blah blah blah :puke:

Goooooooooo Kerrrrry!!!!

[KansDem]

14. Yeah, Bandar, you'd better not lie to Kerry...

We now have a presidential candidate, who, when elected, just might sail a US naval boat up the Riyadh River and blast your terrorist supporting/funding ass out of the middle east:

MARGARET WARNER: They also criticized the Bush administration, particularly the FBI and CIA, for being reluctant to aggressively investigate the Saudi money trail.

SEN. JOHN McCAIN (R-NM): I believe our government has been very lax in our efforts to make the Saudis cooperate in a broad variety of ways and I think this has got to do with the long-term relationship that was probably important during the Cold War, keeping the price of oil down, etc.

MARGARET WARNER: And Senator Bob Graham warned that unless something is done, Saudi financing could end up funding future terrorist attacks.

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-Fla.): There are many, many unanswered questions on this, which some of which point backwards. And that is, what was the potential involvement of a foreign government with some, and maybe more, of the hijackers of September 11?

(more)
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec02/saudi_11-26.html

And no "House of Bush" to protect the "House of Saud."

edited to add this link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x1455003

[Robbien]

2. Bush just spit in the faces of all Arabs these last two weeks

And here are the Saudis being Bush's PR team.

No wonder Bush thinks he can do what ever he wants to do.

[yardwork]

3. It seems unlikely that the Saudis will lower the price of oil

before the election now. Unless * figures that Americans will have forgotten all about it by then (which is possibly, sad to say).

At the very least, Woodward's revelation prevented at least this "October surprise."

[ithacan]

4. "did not cut a deal" : Notice the careful wording

These guys are weasels. This means nothing. they probably had planned to do exactly that, though not by "cutting a deal"...

But hopefully this will be impossible for them to pull off now, with all this publicity.

We gotta shoot down each and every one of their potential october surprises one by one.

[daleo]

8. True, they don't have to "cut a deal"

"One hand washes the other".

[AlCzervik]

5. Yeah ok

No deal on the oil prices, nope you didnt see war plans and no no and no 16 of the 19 ighjackers did not come from your country!!! Nevermind that 3 of them came over on the Saudi Visa express program set up by the Bush administration.

[onehandle]

6. We don't negotiate with terrorists.

Don't waste your breath, Bandar.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

10. Unless the terrorists happen to have something we want

like Haitians, Iranians, Syrians, Saudis, Chechens, Afganhis, Kurds, Saddam, Huks, Salvadorians, Panamanians, Colombians, Cambodians, and any other number of drug-running, mass-murdering, money-laundering, ass-licking toadies we use for our evil ends-justifies-the-means lifestyle which will soon be poof gone, like the illusion it really is.

[loftycity]

7. Prince Bandar is married to 15 women ? They have learned

how to tell a lie. Oh, I'll see you on Tuesday, I promise, I'm just going home to take a short nap. Please-- these guys are professional liars.

[agincourt]

9. Bush is as popular,

as migraines, cancer , jock itch, and west nile virus in the middle east right now. I'm sure the Saudi leaders would want to admit to any insider deals.

[rocktivity]

11. There's an easy pay to prove you're right, Prince-y Boy!

LOWER THE GAST PRICES NOW!!!!

Of COURSE you cut a deal--that's WHY you raised the prices now, so you'll break even profit-wise!

:headbang:
rocknation

[NNN0LHI]

12. And fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were not Saudis either. Right?

[yolatengo]

13. trouble is..

how does one fight this politically?

I mean, a LOT of Americans will say:

"so what if they lower prices of oil for Bush? That's what we elected oilman
Bush FOR! My SUV needs AyRab Go Juice".

What's the liberal response?

"don't you SEE!?! the HIJACKERS were Saudi! They CONTINUE TO FUND
TERRORISTS! They WILL raise prices as soon as Bush is reelected! C'mon
people, Bush is totally in bed with these people TO OUR DETRIMENT!"

And Joe Suv Sixpack will say:

"all I see is really cheap gas for the first time in months. Bush said he'd
tell 'em to "turn on the spigot" and look, they ARE. What's Kerry gonna
do? He'll probably surrender to them he's so French".

"Kick their ass and take their gas" is MUCH simpler to stick in people's
heads. It's like the conversation I had today in my carpool. I STILL hear
people basically saying:

"who the f*ck CARES about Iran Contra? Some commies got offed. Some
raghead Iraqis got offed. People made money. Win win!"

The complexity of the extra-Constitutional activities, Reagan/Bush coverups,
pardons, hearings etc will NEVER trump "who cares, win win!" with many
people. If that's not true, WHY has there NEVER been ANY kind of backlash
and pain for the Saudis? If anything they are in a BETTER position because
of 9/11.

Bigby