On Tuesday, when the Saudi Arabian ambassador went to Bush's Texas ranch, the meeting was described by an official as "unusual".
Since then, one learns that only heads of state are usually accorded the 'privilege' of meeting Bush at his ranch -- Putin was there fairly recently I seem to remember. Of course, the ambassador is a pretty important guy. He's the son the SA Defence Minister (apparently opposed to Crown Prince Abdullah's reformist programme for SA), but he's a rung or two down from being head of state! So this leads to two interpretations. Either relations between America and SA are especially cordial, or the meeting was a great deal more important than we might normally imagine. I still prefer to believe that Bush was telling the ambassador (Prince Bandar) that the Saudi royal family had better sort itself out in double-quick time . . or else the US administration will be maintaining the tension in Saudi Arabia to bursting point. Keith Hudson ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------ Keith Hudson, General Editor, Handlo Music, http://www.handlo.com 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath BA1 5HX, England Tel: +44 1225 312622; Fax: +44 1225 447727; mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________________________________________________
