Even in an era of climate change it is difficult to presume that this autumn, when the international peace conference is due, will produce a flowering of Israeli-Saudi relations. But when fantasizing about "Humus in Mecca," one mustn't criticize the major arms deal, worth $20 billion, that the United States and Saudi Arabia have reached, particularly when Israel is a main client in the deal. On the other hand, it is not gratuitous to dive into the depths of the American logic behind its Middle East policy.

The planned arms sale to Saudi Arabia would "help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al-Qaida, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice explained. Let us forget for the moment that Al-Qaida's underpinnings were in Saudi Arabia and that most of the September 11 terrorists held Saudi citizenship. Let us also ignore for the moment that expressions of hatred against Christians and Jews are still common in Saudi schools, and let us not mention the paradox that Saudi citizens, who will benefit from innovative American arms, have great difficulty getting into the United States, being automatically suspect. Let us close our eyes, concentrate hard, and talk only about strategy.

For example, what does a deal for sophisticated aircraft in Saudi Arabia have to do with calming the situation in Iraq? Saudi Arabia and Iraq share an 800-kilometer border, a border that is largely unsupervised and extremely porous, like the Syrian border, to the entry of terrorist elements from Saudi Arabia. It is also known that Saudi institutions bankroll Sunni political groups in Iraq, some of them terror-affiliated, and that Saudi Arabia has made it clear that it will not back the government of Nouri al-Maliki, who has Washington's support. But while Syria is hit with sanctions for similar activity, Saudi Arabia is courted as a client.