It is only a matter of time before the United States launches some sort of attack on Iraq as an attempt to overthrow Saddam Hussein in order to make this world safe from his weapons of mass destruction.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney have both made it clear that something is going to be done.

One of the problems facing this operation is finding support from our so-called allies.

Russia said it would not support an American invasion of Iraq. The two countries are currently working out massive trade deals and Russia simply has too much money invested in Iraq.

Other allies, such as Germany, have also rejected the idea, claiming the United States has not presented enough evidence that Saddam is making or possesses weapons of mass destruction.

Without support from some of our major allies, we have mistakenly looked to certain countries in the Middle East to stand beside us against Iraq.

The biggest mistake we have made is considering the evil monarchy of Saudi Arabia to be a friend of the United States. This country should be placed on the same level as Iraq, Iran and the Taliban. To consider the Saudis as friends or allies is a joke.

Just look at a few policies the kingdom has towards the United States.

U.S. diplomats are forbidden to visit Mecca, Islam’s most holy city. This holds true even for diplomats who are Muslim. The Saudis have told us they do not support any invasion of Iraq and no Saudi land will be used to launch such an attack.

They have also done little to help ease tension in the region. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a huge problem in the Mideast, but the Saudis think it is the root cause to the problems in the Arab world.

But what Saudi Arabia ignores is the real problem, the fact that the only democracy in the region is Israel. It is an area dominated by monarchy, dictatorships and corruption. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest problems in that part of the world.

Aside from being too sympathetic to Yasser Arafat, the Saudis have been giving money to the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. They claim they are trying to help out fellow Muslims in times of struggle after losing a loved one. But who do you think raised their sons and daughters to think it is noble to murder innocent people to promote their cause? When the Saudis give money to these families they don’t encourage the bombings to stop. They do the opposite, endorsing that way of life.

Homicide bombings are not the only form of terror the Saudis seem to support. The Washington Post reported on Aug. 6 that a briefing was given to Pentagon advisory board describing Saudi Arabia as an enemy rather than an ally.

According to the briefing, “The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader.”

How about September 11?

Over 900 relatives of victims from that day are suing the Saudi royal family, Saudi banks and Islamic charities for $1 trillion.

The suit claims Saudi Arabian princes paid Osama bin Laden and the Taliban $200 million to spare targets in the kingdom.

The money was used to fund al-Qaida terror training in Afghanistan. According to an article on www.foxnews.com, a deal was made between the parties during two meetings in the late 1990s. It was also agreed that the Saudi government would block extradition of al-Qaida suspects nor would they help to attempt to dismantle training camps in Afghanistan.

All this, plus a terrible human rights record and our government considers this terrorist nation a friend.

What happened to Bush’s policy of you are either with us or against us in the war on terrorism?

By the looks of it, Saudi Arabia is against us.

Zach Calef

is a junior in apparel merchandising, design and production from

Cedar Rapids.