OUR ALLY AND VERY CLOSE PERSONAL FRIEND - AT 7:36 P.M. ET:  Can you believe this guy?  This is one of those people often described, by those with financial interests, as a friend of the United States.  Yeah, right.  From Australia's Sydney Morning Herald:

WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia's former ambassador to the US, Prince Turki al-Faisal, has criticised the Obama Administration for promoting energy independence, calling the campaign to curb oil consumption an affront to the kingdom.

''This 'energy independence' motto is political posturing at its worst - a concept that is unrealistic, misguided, and ultimately harmful to energy producing and consuming countries alike,'' the prince wrote in an article published on Foreign Policy magazine's website.

Prince Turki, a member of the Saudi royal family and a former director of Saudi intelligence and ambassador to Britain, called energy independence ''little more than code for arguing that the United States has a dangerous reliance'' on Saudi Arabia. The kingdom, the largest oil exporter, ''gets blamed for everything from global terrorism to high gasoline prices'', he said.

COMMENT:  Look, your highness, or oilness, or whatever it is - your religious schools produced a whole generation of extremists.  Most of the 9-11 murderers came from your country.  Your rollicking royal family was the guiding force behind the oil shocks of the 1970s.  You won't allow Christians or Jews to practice their religion on your soil.  Your kingdom is the major power in OPEC.  Understand why your photo isn't on the wall of every American household?

But don't sweat.  You have one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington.  You have former American diplomats on your payroll.  You own whole departments of Middle East studies in American universities.  Jimmy Carter adores you.  You'll get by.

August 26, 2009