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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/opinion/11TUE1.html
Terrorism in Saudi Arabia
(New York Times) - Crown Prince Abdullah and his successors will have to be prodded by others, including Washington, to take the drastic steps needed to keep the world's leading oil producer from descending into violent turmoil and to check the rising power of international terrorist groups like al-Qaeda. America has a huge interest in the struggle for Saudi Arabia's future, and the idea of an Osama bin Laden in control of one-fourth of the world's known oil reserves would be a nightmare come true. Meanwhile, the extended royal family, which numbers in the thousands, lives in opulence, flouting the puritanical precepts of Wahhabi Islam and draining funds that could be used to create a more modern, diversified economy. As President Bush rightly noted, Americans cannot be made safer by excusing misgovernment in countries like Saudi Arabia.