er, al qaeda is just as much a threat to the saudi royal family as it is to the us, and there's a long history of tension between the wahhabi sects and the royals.
in addition, the sunni gulf states (including saudi) are already twitchy about the prospect of a shiite iran with a military that's only second to israel's in the region.
giving the saudi's weapons/training seems a pragmatic move -- and it's been us policy since the 1930's. there's nothing new here.
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