JOHN HAWKINS HAS AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL PIPES ON HIS SITE. Who says bloggers can’t do “real” journalism? Excerpt:

The key thing to understand about US/Saudi relations at this point is that it’s a very private affair. The American electorate, think tanks, Congress, lobbyists, and others have had no say over it. It’s been a very cliquish affair for decades now. The change in the last year has been the opening of the relationship. The President has invited the Saudi ambassador to visit him at his Crawford Ranch as a way of saying, “we’re sticking with you.” It’s a clear response to the vehement anti-Saudi feeling. . . . Saudi Arabia is our rival, not an enemy, not a friend, a rival.

There’s much more, including a statement that the Oslo Accords set back prospects for peace by decades, and a discussion of the likely fallout from deposing Saddam Hussein.