CAN YOU SAY “HASHEMITE RESTORATION?” This guy can. I’m rather skeptical of his claims, but it’s interesting to see this idea floated at this particular moment. Not that it’s a new idea.

But the Hashemites will be busy with Mecca and Medina, won’t they?

UPDATE: Several people have emailed to say that the Mecca and Medina link, above, is broken. It works for me. But in case it’s not working for you, here’s the key part from an InstaPundit post of October 11, 2001:

SAUDI “STONEWALLING:” That’s the term used for Saudi non-cooperation — they still haven’t frozen Osama bin Laden’s assets! — and it’s deeply troubling. The Saudis are used to playing this double game, but these aren’t normal times, and they are placing their position at risk with this stuff. The only explanation I can imagine is that some senior Saudis actively support bin Laden — which we’ve already seen demonstrated — and that they’re still trying to protect him. Uh, guys, if you’re on the other side, we could just always change the name to Yankee Arabia, you know. Then Tom Daschle could have his way on ANWR.

Of course, that would be an extreme step. But an oil-rich Saudi Arabia that supports people who are at war with the United States is completely intolerable. It can’t be allowed to stand, and it won’t be, for long. Would replacing the Saudi royal family with, say, Hashemites (who ruled before the Saudi takeover, and are the traditional overseers of Mecca and Medina) cause more problems? Maybe — but that won’t help the Saudis, who need to remember that what’s a potential problem for us is the end of the road for them. Hey, maybe that’s why King Abdullah, the last Hashemite ruler, is being so cooperative with the United States….

There’s more recent stuff on this — just enter “hashemite” in the search window. Note, however, that re-installing the Hashemites in their traditional roles as custodians of Mecca and Medina (something they did for centuries before the British acceded to the Saudi takeover in Arabia) is a distinct issue from restoring the much-shorter-lived Hashemite monarchy in Iraq. That latter might conceivably play a Juan-Carlos-like role in Iraq, though I’m at best an agnostic on the subject. The Hashemites, not surprisingly, seem to be somewhat more enthusiastic.

ANOTHER UPDATE: On the other hand, Iraqis may not be terribly enthusiastic about Jordanians.

THIS IS INTERESTING:

Saudi Arabia has arrested two Islamic suicide pilots who were preparing to fly two light aircraft into a packed British Airways (BA) jet, a British Sunday newspaper said, quoting a senior opposition politician.

The suspected suicide pilots were arrested in the last few weeks after they were found red-handed with aircraft loaded with explosives near Saudi Arabia’s main airport in the capital Riyadh, The Mail on Sunday said. . . .

Mercer claimed, according to the same source, that the Saudi authorities tried to cover up the incident near King Khalid International Airport and withheld information from authorities abroad.

Now there’s a shocking claim.