Saudi Arabia will attempt to do the right thing and overthrow Assad and resist Iran:
The West's policies on Iran and Syria are a "dangerous gamble" and Saudi Arabia is prepared to act on its own to safeguard security in the region, a top Saudi diplomat said.
"We believe that many of the West’s policies on both Iran and Syria risk the stability and security of the Middle East," the Saudi ambassador to Britain, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, wrote in a commentary in the New York Times.
"This is a dangerous gamble, about which we cannot remain silent, and will not stand idly by," he wrote.
While I am relieved that Saudi Arabia will attempt to overcome our own-goal in the Syria debacle unfolding, this is an excellent example of why "leading from behind" is just failing to lead. And if we won't lead, others will lead--perhaps in ways our administration doesn't want.
On Iran, Saudi action could really be contrary to our interests. Like say, Saudi Arabia going nuclear in response to a belief that our deal isn't going to slow down Iran one bit from their nuclear objective.
Like I've said, leading from behind is nice work--if you can get it. But our diplomacy just isn't smart enough to get others to carry the burden and pay the price of carrying out our foreign policy without us taking part.
"Smart diplomacy" rejected leadership abroad, pivoted to "leading from behind," and now comes to rest at "watching from the sidelines" while our enemies play the game to win and our allies play without us (and wonder just why they bother to have us as an "ally" if we do nothing).
We're walking around the world stage, stepping on rakes, and our leaders think they deserve applause.
