"RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah called on Wednesday for an end to the international blockade on the Palestinian people and told a summit of Arab leaders that sectarian violence was driving Iraq toward civil war....

King Abdullah stressed that Sunni-Shi'ite violence in Iraq threatened the stability of the oil-producing Gulf region.

'In beloved Iraq, blood flows between brothers in the shadow of illegitimate foreign occupation and hateful sectarianism, threatening a civil war,' he added."

"If Arab leaders recover trust in each other and regain their credibility, "the winds of hope will blow on the nation, and then, we will not allow forces from outside the region to determine the future of the region, and only the flag of Arabism will be raised on Arab soil," Abdullah said."

So now, Bush has lost not only the support of the majority of Americans, Congress, the international world community, but now also the Saudis.

"Saudi officials, led by Bandar, want to 'reconnect with the U.S., to have greater influence over Bush's policy, while at the same time engaging Iran,' said Rochdi Younsi, a Saudi Arabian analyst for the New York-based Eurasia Group. 'They realize that they will have to live with that emerging power next door.'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited King Abdullah on March 3.

Saudi Arabia is trying to 'work with the Iranians on all sorts of regional issues, especially the Palestinian and Lebanese crises,' Younsi said. 'In a nutshell, they are trying to avoid any U.S. military strike against Iran, while at the same time advocating a strict containment of Tehran.'

The U.A.E. President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, "reiterated that the UAE totally rejects the use of its land, air and territorial waters to attack any country. 'We have reiterated to our Iranian brothers in a letter delivered recently by the foreign minister that we are not a party to the conflict between Iran and the United States and that we shall never allow the use of our soil for any military, security or intelligence activities against them,' he said."...

On the UAE’s stance on Iran’s nuclear programme, Shaikh Khalifa said the Middle East region must be free from all weapons of mass destruction. “We have informed the Iranian leadership about this stance and we got from them assurances that the programme is for peaceful purposes. But the Iranian assurances need to be supported with guarantees that the nuclear programme is in conformity with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency....He also called on the United States and the West not to abandon diplomatic solution and resort to military option....

'No one demands the quick withdrawal of the American forces from Iraq,' he said. A phased withdrawal should go hand-in-hand with national political reconciliation and the building of Iraqi military and security forces. He reiterated the UAE would provide all support to ensure the success of this programme."

Meanwhile, "The White House insisted Wednesday that King Abdullah was wrong to say the US military presence in Iraq is an 'illegitimate foreign occupation.'

'The United States is in Iraq at the request of the Iraqis and under a United Nations mandate. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong,' said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

US State Department spokesman Tom Casey stressed that the Security Council had several times renewed its mandate for the US presence in Iraq. 'There is no question in our mind that our forces are there in a legal and legitimate capacity in every sense of the word,' Casey said."

Does "Yankee, go home" ring a bell with anyone?