DOVEBLOGGERS: DON'T TOUCH THE THE HOLY OIL FIELDS

Hauser cites to this semi-coherent screed against the neocons, who have led the admirable effort to reexamine our so-called alliance with Saudi Arabia - the financial and ideological fount of radical Islamist terror.

Now the warbloggers are all happy that the Defense Policy Board, headed by Richard Perle, is considering their crazy ideas to humiliate Islam by occupying the country with the Islamic holy places.

This sentence, of course, gives the misleading impression that the hawks are in some sense advocating for American troops to march into Mecca and plunk the Stars and Stripes in the center of the Qaba. The Washington Post article cited by the doveblogger however said something radically different.

Murawiec said in his briefing that the United States should demand that Riyadh stop funding fundamentalist Islamic outlets around the world, stop all anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli statements in the country, and "prosecute or isolate those involved in the terror chain, including in the Saudi intelligence services."

If the Saudis refused to comply, the briefing continued, Saudi oil fields and overseas financial assets should be "targeted," although exactly how was not specified.

The report concludes by linking regime change in Iraq to altering Saudi behavior. This view, popular among some neoconservative thinkers, is that once a U.S. invasion has removed Hussein from power, a friendly successor regime would become a major exporter of oil to the West. That oil would diminish U.S. dependence on Saudi energy exports, and so -- in this view -- permit the U.S. government finally to confront the House of Saud for supporting terrorism.

First, its pretty clear that the motivation behind seizing the Saudi oilfields has nothing to do with "humiliating Islam," and everything to do with starving terrorist organizations of funds. It's quite simple - the U.S. wants to be able to purchase oil without enriching the people who are trying to kill Americans. Second, the oil fields and the Hejaz (the province that contains Mecca & Medina) are on opposite sides of the Arabian peninsula - the Arabian Gulf Coast is no more "holy" than Kuwait or Oman. Third, the dovebloggers give way too much credence to the Saudi claim to being the "guardian" of the Holy Places. They achieved this position by conquering Mecca in the 1920s. There are millions of non-Wahhabi Muslims who would be happy to have a more tolerant Islamic regime in charge of supervising the Hajj.

After 9/11, the truly crazy idea would be NOT to reevaluate our relationship with Saudi Arabia, and continue allow the toxic combination of oil and radical Islam spread flames of terror throughout the world.

UPDATE:
Having read the infamous anti-Saudi slide presentation thanks to Slate, it is clear that at least the most radical anti-Saudis want to threaten them with losing their "custodianship" of the Holy Places as well as their oil fields. However, while backing a plan to reestablish Hashemite rule over Hejaz would clearly be aimed at humialating the Saudis, and humiliating Wahhabis, it in no way, shape, or form is an attempt to humiliate Islam. Dovebloggers are making a critical mistake, equal to those of the most bigoted hawks if they equate "Islam" with the perverted Wahhabist strain that the Saudis promote.