US and Saudi Arabia, in a state of denial

Friedman makes some excellent points in this article about the current state of denial both in the US and Saudi Arabia. With an education system that promotes blind hatred for Jews and Westerners, it should be no surprise that "outsiders" were singled out last week in the attack in Khobar. Could US policy be a little more balanced in the Middle East? Sure, but you do not see Israelis teaching hatred to their children in school. The blind hatred of Jews and Westerners in the Middle East may have helped local governments maintain power in the short run, but now that it is coming back to haunt them, they better do something quickly. And these are supposed to be our friends?

Meanwhile, the Big Oil crowd in the US continues to live in denial about our dependence on the Middle East, Saudi Arabia in particular, for oil. Weren't we supposed to learn a lesson from the gas crisis in the 70s? I don't know if we would be "a lot less dependent" on oil as Friedman suggests, but we would be further down the line than we are today instead of being back on our knees like we were thirty years ago. Taking a look at our oil relationships in West Africa, we may very well be on our knees in the future because our oil buddies there are doing a fine job of lining their pockets and screwing the local populations. When are we going to learn?