>>I think the Saudi royal family probably worries constantly about being overthrown by fundamentalists, even with Israel around. To me it almost seems inevitable.
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>With cheap oil still in the ground, the US won't let an Islamic coup happen. When the cheap oil runs in in 20-30 years and the US loses interest, and I can see the radicals taking over.


Our record on preventing Islamic coups hasn't been too hot. We propped up the Shah of Iran for quite a while but it's been nearly 30 years since he was overthrown. Since them Islamic fundamentalism has been on the rise around the globe and I can't think of one place we have deterred it. Even in Iraq, where we are up to our eyeballs, the long-suppressed Shia are much more powerful than they were before we invaded, and oil exports are way down.

It's time everyone lost the illusion that the U.S. can go around fixing everything to serve our interests. We no longer have that kind of power.