While I’m sure it’s a lot more complicated, and perhaps others with more foreign policy/Middle East expertise than me can comment, I noted two related stories this morn, one in the NYT and one in WaPo that I think are big time indicators with big time negative repercussions for BushCo. In the NYT, we learn Saudi King Abdullah has publicly condemned the US occupation of Iraq in this story [1].

``In beloved Iraq, blood flows between brothers in the shadow of illegitimate foreign occupation and hateful sectarianism, threatening a civil war,'' he (Abdullah) added.

Jim Hoagland’s column in WaPo says Abdullah cancelled a state dinner to be held in his honor at the White House in April. Find it here [2].

Abdullah's bowing out of the April 17 event is, in fact, one more warning sign that the Bush administration's downward spiral at home is undermining its ability to achieve its policy objectives abroad.

It looks to me like the Saudis are turning their back on Bush, Rice, Cheney and the US and, if I’m not mistaken, turning your back on someone is a total insult in Arab culture. This seems to be a really big development to me.

Oh yeah. Hoagland notes Bush BFF King Abdullah of Jordan also cancelled a state dinner visit slated for September. An emerging pattern it would seem.

Cernig at NewsHog [3] has more. ~eds.