...or is GWB's farewell tour not moving fast enough?

"If we don't kiss some Saudi ass over there we'll have to do it over here."
So reads the gospel according to George W. Bush.

Just so we all understand:

-the United States was attacked by nineteen men on September 11, 2001.

-eighteen of those men were Saudis.

-the President is attempting, by force-of-arms, to impose democracy on Iraq.

-Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. The King is no fan of individual freedoms.

The logical reaction to these facts would be:

1)Send the Saudis a smart-bomb candygram.

2)Move heaven and earth to break America's dependence on foreign/Saudi oil, then send them a smart-bomb candygram.

3)Clear brush in Crawford, Tx until Jan 20, 2009.

4) Agree to sell the Saudis $123 million in high tech weapons.

One suspects that Genius George's next foreign policy coup will be to sell high-speed humvees to the tribes of Darfur so the rapists can cover more ground.

Please tell me on what planet it makes any sense to sell munitions to a country that is most threatened by any American success in their region? It is true that, as long as America maintains the umbilical cord between Aramco and their suburban garages, we need to make nice. However, that doesn't mean that we provide the Saudis with the dynamite to blow the region up. Our "friends" the Israelis must be thrilled. More guns for the Arabs has always been on of their mottoes.

Why can't George and King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz just talk about areas of common interest? For example, they could discuss the most efficient method to execute prisoners. I believe the Saudis use a rusty rapier. That should please Judge Scalia. Then there's always the subject of torture. The Bush Administration has been outsourcing the brutal mistreatment of prisoners to Saudi Arabia for some time. They could re-negotiate the contract to include healthcare for the torturers.

They could chat about how to keep the population of their countries asleep while you run the country any way you like. Both appear to be experts. King Abdullah might even give George a few pointers on how to handle the press. (see also, rusty rapiers).

What remains clear is that the only thing worse than Bush foreign policy is Bush foreign policy on the road. American travel to Europe will certainly be down this summer. We are all too ashamed.

We can only hope that the price of oil rises so high that Air Force One becomes too expensive to fly... except from Washington to Crawford...one way. At that point the Saudis will have done the American people a great service.