Bush allegedly assures Saudis no war exit on his watch
 President Bush is said to have assured the government of Saudi Arabia that the US will not withdraw from Iraq in his presidency, according to a little-noticed remark in a column in Wednesday's Washington Post.
The assurance was reportedly made to quash the perception in the Arab world that the administration has lost control of the war and troops are on their way out no matter what, according to a column by David Ignatius.
“That gives us 18 months to plan,” one Saudi source told Ignatius.
Vice President Dick Cheney's tour of the Middle East this week includes a meeting with Saudi King Abdullah, where the two are expected to reaffirm the alliance between their two countries.
Saudi Arabia has helped the US by containing Iranian influence in the Middle East, but Abdullah has seemed to be distancing himself recently, as in his recent criticism of America’s “illegitimate” presence in Iraq, Ignatius says.
Abdullah is reportedly frustrated with the performance of Iraq’s government under Primer Minister Nouri al-Maliki and is quietly backing former interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who is close to building a large enough coalition of Sunnis, Kurds and Secular Shiites to take over. The Bush administration fears the upheaval that would come with another change in leadership and is unenthusiastic about Allawi.
FULL COLUMN CAN BE READ HERE
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