April 27^th

Good old Pat Buchanan is holding forth in today’s paper. Pat is slamming the Saudi’s airstrikes against the Houthis’ takeover in Yemen. He asks, “What did the Houthis ever do to us?” The answer is nothing but Pat further claims that Iran isn’t arming the Houthis. If they aren’t then why are they sending ships convoyed by their naval vessels toward Yemen? We’ve dispatched the carrier Roosevelt and numerous escort vessels to challenge them. Pat wonders why we should care. A brief look at a map of the area quickly shows why we and the Saudi’s should care. Yemen controls the entrance to the Red Sea through which must come most all Saudi oil.

Unfortunately for the Saudi’s, a considerable number of defections from their incipient Yemen invasion force has been reported. It is also reported that, as of today, the Saudi’s have called off their air strikes. Maybe the report is accurate; maybe not.

What we do know is that although the Houthis are not terribly hostile toward us, ISIL is very hostile indeed, and ISIL is now penetrating into Yemen and killing Houthis. This, perhaps, is why Iran is stepping up and sending arms to the Houthis. They do not like ISIL at all. I’m sure that ISIL would love to close that strait leading into the Red Sea. They despise the Saudis almost as much as they despise Christians.

In spite of the drop in oil prices, oil is still what keeps the Saudi’s in cash. The Saudis can pump oil for as little as three dollars a barrel so they can make a huge profit with 40 or 50 dollar a barrel oil. The more they pump the more money they make and the quicker they can drive other producers, their competitors, out of business.

Keep in mind too that the Saudi government was implicated in the support of the 9/11 hijackers. A report by the Congressional committee charged to look into the matter has remained classified. Senator Bob Graham, then chairman of the Senate Select committee on Intelligence, has called for the report to be released and claims it will show Saudi involvement.

We have some interesting friends.