Defending Democracy to the Last Drop of Oil Eric Margolis
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001lcRgn0mYlJEH_n36lJ8x0_I8dNHamv5eLOWu136YV2Y0 khJRYhnH5BcOvDrCbI4Ozs0AXETLnmQ6tFK6cuJlemBceo0-Afsxft-kmGofqBmnArb1pgz7OpCj H0ECClGXdyrQK6RTCzUS_369QYEVuKis3xWYc4HVuESsZ3lmoV7MoKLo0guN6U-jP5BXAj7HjB0I DyLYMYgFFHBVxzAbbNA1IUiIMUGRi-Eqrnixj0OweKkEBtiBAsZbL3m_tDJJ&c=b5YJq4pti3BkI F5zF90l0heb6_4k0jvHKGZ1WxR9VY9c_hNOehlVqQ==&ch=PtKD8xfO829d0U5TykKbuSoqHNqiC xFnlV6CvqwqJAKQRIbliDP5yg==> http://ericmargolis.com/2016/04/defending-democracy-to-the-last-drop-of-oil/ ... The Saudis, who are also petrified of Iran, threw a fit, threatening to pull $750 billion of investments from the US. Other leaders of the Gulf sheikdoms sided with the Saudis but rather more discreetly. Ignoring the stinging snub he had just suffered, Obama assured the Saudis and Gulf monarchs that the US would defend them against all military threats - in effect, reasserting their role as western protectorates. So much for promoting democracy ... The US-backed and supplied Saudi war against dirt-poor Yemen has shown its military to be incompetent and heedless of civilian casualties. The Saudis run the risk of becoming stuck in a protracted guerilla war in Yemen's wild mountains. The US, Britain and France maintain discreet military bases in the kingdom and Gulf coast.
