A Trap Avoided

I am still seeing criticism, usually for its own sake and usually from the disgruntled Left, that Bush should have attacked Saudi Arabia instead of Iraq. Whenever I do, I count my lucky stars that such critics were not in power on the fateful day. SA will be dealt with last, and for good reason

Consider: AQ was/is an international organization, with devotees from many countries. Statistically, this ought to have been reflected in the makeup of the hijackers. But it was not. They were Saudi and this was deliberate.

Why? Because AQ wanted the US to attack SA in retaliation. This would ensure that AQ's two biggest rivals would then be at war, with AQ prepared to swoop in and pick up the pieces.

The ground would have been fertile. Attacking SA means attacking Mecca and Medina, and that would indeed have started a true holy war, one where AQ on its home turf would have a huge advantage, throughout the ME.

This is still the case today. The House of Saud must indeed be pressured and/or toppled one day, just not yet, not till the endgame. The other ME countries must become true democracies first. After that, the House Of Saud can be dealt with as an isolated relic.

Bush correctly eschewed a very dangerous decision, one where the casualties on both sides would have measured in the millions, or something worse that rhymes with millions, and lasted for generations.

Even today, over three years later and with 20-20 hindsight, many of the knee-jerk critics still fail to see that 9-11 was not just an attack, it was equally a trap. Fortunately, they weren't in charge when it mattered.