And He's Bush's Friend ...

Well, isn't this interesting ...The King (means there is a monarchy and not a democracy) of Saudi Arabia has called our occupation of Iraq illegitimate.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, one of the United States' closest Arab allies, called the American presence in Iraq "illegitimate" on Wednesday as he opened a two-day summit here of the Arab League.

The characterization came amid growing signs that Saudi Arabia is distancing itself from Bush administration policies in the region.

The octogenarian monarch, swathed in traditional robes and speaking in a pained voice, also characterized as "unjust" the U.S.-led financial embargo of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and urged its end in the wake of an agreement between Hamas and the moderate Fatah party to form a unity government.

Abdullah also criticized Arab leaders for infighting, which he said had caused nations to drift "further from unity than they were at the time of the founding of the Arab League," the 22-member body created in 1945.

Abdullah described a region awash with blood and beset by turmoil - from the sectarian battlegrounds of Iraq and Lebanon to the unresolved crisis in Sudan's Darfur region to brewing showdowns in Somalia and the Palestinian territories.

"In beloved Iraq, blood is shed among our brothers while there is an illegitimate foreign occupation and a hateful sectarianism that is threatening to develop into a civil war," the king said.

Abdullah neglected to mention the troubles in his own kingdom, where authorities are struggling to contain a radical Islamist movement and are cracking down on pro-reform activists.

"The real blame should be directed at us, the leaders of the Arab nation," Abdullah said. "Our constant disagreements and rejection of unity have made the Arab nation lose confidence in our sincerity and lose hope."

The king's remarks come at a time when Saudi Arabia is angling to bill itself as a regional power able to rein in warring factions and assert its authority in the face of a growing Iranian influence in the Middle East.

They told us there would be a domino effect of democracy spreading throughout the world. All I see are non-democratic nations being empowered even more. Imagine that!