Crown Prince Abdallah of Saudi Arabia has just given Britain�s Prime Minister Tony Blair a clean "shave"!  That was an idiom in colloquial Arabic, which means, in plain English, the Emir, as did President Bashar al-Assad of Syria a day earlier, told his uninvited and persistent "guest" to get lost!

As a part of his tour to convince Muslim leaders that America�s "anti-terrorist" crusade is not a holy war against Islam, Blair made a stop in Saudi Arabia, though he was told three weeks before to stay home.  Blair urged the Saudis to join the coalition effort to destroy Afghanistan and murder civilians who are not responsible for America�s problems.

Blair was lectured, in both Arab capitals, that Arabs are against coalition bombing of any Muslim or Third World country, and that the genocide war carried out against Afghanis is not an anti-terror campaign.  He was also told that the fight to free Arab land from Zionist occupation is a duty of every Muslim, and thus cannot be characterized as terrorism.

In their closing press conference in Damascus, young President Assad told Blair straight to his face, that the men and women of Hizbollah, Hamas, Jihad Islami, and others who are fighting to liberate Palestine are no less freedom fighters than the French, who were aided by the British and Americans in their struggle against the Germans over a half of a century ago. 

"We and I personally, differentiate between resistance and terrorism. Resistance is a social, religious and legal right that is safeguarded by UN resolutions," Assad said.

The Saudi style was a little bit different, but the message was the same.  Goodbye, Tony. There are no buyers.

Saudi King Fahd, bored and tired while listening to Blair�s pleas, asked for coffee to stay awake.  The British Prime Minister understood the king�s non-verbal communication.  He must talk to the Crown Prince; Abdallah is quite in charge.

Gone are the good old days when the sun didn�t set on the British Empire.  Britain today is cut to size.  The UK now sails in the shadow of the U.S. to stay afloat.  Blair did not make the visit as a representative of Britain, but as messenger and delivery boy for President Bush.

Prior to Blair, the Crown Prince also gave a "shave" to President Bush himself, the leader of the "free world" and the commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces, the mightiest and most destructive military power in the history of mankind.  The U.S. President summoned Abdallah to appear in Washington. 

Unlike Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other Middle Eastern kings, emirs and presidents, the Crown Prince declined, though he was across the U.S. border in an official visit to Canada.  He dared to say "NO," loud and clear, a new Saudi tone that Washington was not used to hearing!  The President ran to his father to intervene, but the former President too got a cold shoulder and a free "shave".

The Saudi rulers are sick and tired of broken promises; of being again and again lied to; of being used and taken advantage of; of being pushed around, blackmailed and embezzled; and of having to keep their subjects quiet and under control.

The so-called strategic ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have never been mutually beneficial.  In almost all instances, the Saudis had to give in to U.S. demands, which usually contradicted with the interests and well being of the kingdom, and were harmful to the Arab and Muslim causes.

Washington demanded that the Saudis bring the oil prices down; Riyadh inconvincibly pumped more oil.  Washington demanded that the Saudis pay the lion�s share for the expenditures of the Second Gulf War that lead to U.S. occupation of the Arab Gulf states; Riyadh complied and America made plenty of profit.  Washington demanded that the Saudis pay for the CIA-led war against the Soviets in Afghanistan; Riyadh paid almost $19 billion and did not stop paying. 

U.S. "creative" and endless demands went on and on and on!  Patience, however, has its limits, even among the Arabs.  The Saudis can take it no more!

Riyadh said "NO" to Washington�s "intelligent" sanctions against Iraq. The White House yielded.  The U.S. plan was finally dropped.

Riyadh said no to Washington�s intentions to use Emir Sultan�s base in Saudi Arabia as a command and control center from which the U.S. can also mount military strikes against Muslim Afghanistan.  Riyadh said no to U.S. efforts to smoke bin Laden out, unless the U.S. government presents convincing proof of his guilt.  Riyadh said no to joining the U.S. campaign to eradicate the Taliban, whom the Saudis had earlier helped to bring to power in accordance with U.S. wishes.

Riyadh said no to freezing the assets of individuals or groups accused of financing al-Qaida operations until the U.S. shows solid evidence of their Sept. 11 assault. 

The U.S. administration gave the green light for the New York Times and Washington Post to wage a dirty propaganda war against the Saudi family.  The Saudi media strongly hit back. Surprised and confused, Washington expressed its satisfaction with and understanding of the Saudi position.

Things finally seem to be slowly but steadily changing in the desert kingdom. Thanks to no-nonsense Crown Prince Abdallah!  He demanded respect, and all indications show that he got it.  Of course, he does not stand alone. Solidly behind him are the entire Saudi people, who have been demanding the pull-out and return home of Yankee troops to fight "terrorism" where they are most needed, in America.