Not Good

This is not good:

"In a serious rebuff to U.S. diplomacy, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has refused to receive Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the eve of a critical regional summit on the future of the war-ravaged country, Iraqi and other Arab officials said yesterday. The Saudi leader's decision reflects the growing tensions between the oil-rich regional giants, the deepening skepticism among Sunni leaders in the Middle East about Iraq's Shiite-dominated government, and Arab concern about the prospects of U.S. success in Iraq, the sources said. The Saudi snub also indicates that the Maliki government faces a creeping regional isolation unless it takes long-delayed actions, Arab officials warn. For the United States, the Saudi cold shoulder undermines hopes of healing regional tensions between Sunni- and Shiite-dominated governments and producing a new spirit of cooperation on Iraq ... "

Put together with the earlier story of Maliki purging those who combat Shiite militia's, it's understandable that the Saudi's are less than thrilled with the direction of the Iraq political situation. The regionalization of the Iraq conflict continues apace. You know that regional Saudi players are pumping money and arms into Iraq as quickly/effectively as Iran is sending in support to the Shiites. But strangely, the Bush administration never seems to worry about Saudi intervention in Iraq.