United States partners with terrorists ... who is the real “Evil Doer”?

by Mary MacElveen

VHeadline.com guest commentarist Mary MacElveen writes: A statement made by Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman in relation to Saudi Arabia, truly boggles the mind where he said, “As the world’s largest producer and as the world’s largest consumer, our two countries have a special relationship." He then went onto say “We are, at least in certain respects, partners" ... he made these statements earlier in the year with his Saudi counterpart Ali al-Naimi.

As we all know those terrorists who flew planes into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon came from Saudi Arabia.

Are we partners with terrorists?

* I thought we were fighting “evil doers” and here this Energy Secretary states we have a special relationship?

Yet for necessity sake because we need their oil we pay homage to these Saudi leaders. With the passing of King Fahd on which the NY Times states that he was a close American ally for 23 years, I find it interesting that an ally of ours would be the source of the terror launched against us back on September 11, 2001.

This is what I find very interesting ... Bush has not attended one single military funeral of any soldier who has died in both Afghanistan and Iraq, but chose to send a high level representation of our government to Saudi Arabia to pay their respects to King Fahd!

I am sure that the families of the many soldiers who died this past week would find great comfort in that. He has even had many of these Saudi leaders to his ranch in Texas where he is now spending another long vacation.

This self-righteous president chose to send a high level representation of our government when he sent, in his place, Vice President Dick Cheney and former President Bush along with former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Where is such a high level representation when it comes to the many soldiers who died this past week?

According to Jean-Francois Seznec, a professor at Columbia University’s Middle East Institute: "We cannot be enemies with everybody ... we need their oil desperately."

I would like to challenge this thinking as the United States has marginalized Venezuela where by some of our policies we are treating them as the enemy. In a previous article I wrote for VHeadline.com, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stated this as a back handed slap towards President Chavez: “Nations that promote democracy, good governance and free trade, and those that do not. Washington is eager to have good relations with all nations ... provided that they agree on those core concepts.”

Well, to this I add, that President Chavez does indeed promote free but most of all fair trade with partnering countries.

Is Washington eager to have good relations with other countries such as Venezuela especially when a Republican congressman named Connie Mack of Florida is openly hostile to Venezuela?

How does Saudi Arabia agree with our core concepts if the very terrorists who attacked us came from their country?

Here is what truly angers me as I read the NY Time article: “last April, when Crown Prince Abdullah — who succeeded his half brother, Fahd, on Monday as king — visited Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. As a sign of public diplomacy, and personal bonds, they kissed on the cheek and held hands.”

I thought that Bush wanted to confront the “evil doers”?

I guess as politicians reinvent themselves ... they often reinvent who the evil doers are.

In this country we allow a small group of anti-Castro Cuban Americans to determine our handling of Venezuela. I want to again remind my readers that it was Castro who gave free medical care to thousands of Venezuelans.

Would the Saudi leaders reciprocate in kind towards the millions of Americans who go without health care in this country?

* No, their country harbors terrorists whose sole purpose is to attack us and the freedoms we hold dear.

Yes, our country has become an oil junkie.

Even with the high price of oil, we consume more of it each day where we are not seriously looking into alternative energy sources. But, this clearly shows the duplicity of this government when they will treat one country’s leader as a friend to democracy, yet allow a congressman from Florida to treat another country’s leader as the enemy of the people.

Should we set our sights on Venezuela and her leader President Hugo Chavez in the future: Will we claim that she is amongst the “evil doers”?

We must remember they did not attack us on September 11, 2001.

Mary MacElveen
xmjmac@optonline.net

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=44754