Centerfield

Good. Unfortunately, such progress is uneven.

Last month, an attack on contractors at the Saudi oil facility in Yanbu killed six Westerners, two of them Americans. Senior Saudi officials told the world al-Qaida terrorists were to blame and al-Qaida claimed responsibility.

But tape obtained by NBC News reveals that, inside Saudi Arabia, on Saudi television, Crown Prince Abdullah told a strikingly different story about who was to blame.

NBC News translated Abdullah's remarks from Arabic: “Zionism is behind it. It has become clear now. It has become clear to us. I don’t say, I mean... It is not 100 percent, but 95 percent that the Zionist hands are behind what happened.”. . .

Prince Nayef, the Saudi Interior Minister said, “Al-Qaida is backed by Israel and Zionism.”

Prince Nayef, the Saudi Interior Minister said, “Al-Qaida is backed by Israel and Zionism.

LOL. I'm pretty sure something just jumped the shark here. This remark should be relentlessly publicized to the fullest extent possible.

I am even drawn to speculate whether we should promote the notion that Al-quaeda is a zionist plot. Talk about petard-hoisting. This makes my day.

I am even drawn to speculate whether we should promote the notion that Al-quaeda is a zionist plot. Talk about petard-hoisting. This makes my day.

The problem is that there is a significant percentage of the world's population that will believe this statement, regardless of whether or not any evidence is ever presented or not to back up the claim. Look at what flew through the Middle East after 9/11--and there were a few extremists in this country who echoed the sentiments--that the entire thing was a Zionist plot. The hatred is so deep it defies reason.

Extremism is not an intellectual stronghold.

Exactly! But a problem for who? A problem for Jews that people who already reflexively hate them are attributing one more thing they don't like to zionist conspiracy? I doubt it?

But a problem for Al-quaeda and its supporters that a few people doubt AQ's sincerity and leave AQ defending itself from the very irrational conspiracy theory that has fueled their rise?

Come on now, that's magically delicious!

The House of Saud is noticably less than coherent. Given the massive number of princes and their rivalries, you can find a Saudi prince somewhere who will say just about anything.

Right. so why not give the useful idiot of our choosing an opportune stage?

Do we have reliable media in the Middle East that will report something along these lines? Al-Jezeera sure isn't going to publicize this.

You kidding, Abel? This is exactly the sort of thing al-Jazeera loves to report. Just out of context, and not in English.

Lol...that was why the "reliable" was thrown in. They'll claim it was a Zionist plot, of course. I don't see them listing both comments side by side. Do you see them allowing something that might imply that Bin Laden is on the Israeli payroll?