Another key reason for the US invasion of Iraq was it allowed them to remove the majority of ground troops from Saudi territory and relocate them into Iraq. One of the key US policies when it comes to the Persian Gulf is to ensure the continuance of the House of Saud's rule. Since Operation Desert Storm, the heavy presence of US troops within Saudi borders was a problem - it stirred up trouble with the disenfranchised Saudi underclasses and provided the 'f*ndamentalists' with ample fuel with which to stir up the passions of angry young m*slim men. Not a situation congruent with the US plan to develop and expand Saudi oil production to meet burgeoning US (and global) oil demand in the early decades of the 21st century...
Just imagine for a minute what would happen to the world economy should Saudi Arabia undergo as Islamic Revolution similar to Iran in 1979!!! I wonder what (if anything) may come of the recent crash on the Saudi market? Potential flow on effects to the economy as a whole could well prove dramatic should the grip of the House of Saud on the country come under threat....
