Saudis Planning to 'Clean up' al Qaeda in Anbar

A Saudi intelligence official told ABC News that if his government decided, as King Abdullah has threatened, to help the Sunni community defend itself against Shia militias in Iraq, they would start by "cleaning up" the volatile Anbar province of its al Qaeda networks.

"We will clean up Anbar village by village because we don't want them to have a rear base in Iraq to attack Saudi Arabia," says the source, who adds that Saudi intelligence has already laid out extensive networks in Anbar province, where a Sunni insurgency has gained a stronghold.

The Saudi security services share tribal affiliations with tribes from Yemen to Syria. They make extensive use of these links to exchange information, lay down intelligence networks and monitor the activities of al Qaeda in the region.  ...

Saudi intel official to ABC News: We’ll kick Al Qaeda’s ass in Anbar
Allahpundit

His actual words were “clean up.” And by “clean up,” he might very well have meant “equip, fund, and supply”:

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If the Saudis end up in Iraq, it won’t be because they’re worried about AQ. They’ll be there to counter Iran. In which case, why waste perfectly good Sunni jihadis? They’re better off making a deal with them to provide them with materiel in return for their agreeing not to target Saudi personnel and limit their attacks to Shiite targets. There are signs that the Saudis are leaning towards confrontation, too: I haven’t written about it, but the resignation of Prince Turki as ambassador to the U.S. apparently has to do in part with his dovish posture towards Iran. Prince Bandar, who used to be the ambassador and retains considerable influence (especially with Bush), has allegedly made clear that his wing of the royal family is okay with the U.S. hitting Iran. Turki resented being undercut and prefers a more cautious approach.

And what are the Shiites up to? ...