WORRIES IN THE GREAT PUMPER – AT 7:30 P.M. ET:  I was wondering when the media would get around to this.  Saudi Arabia is the Mideast's great pumper, the big enchilada, the name above the title.  And it's all because of the oil in the ground under the royal palace. 

I can't think of any other reason, can you?  I mean, we don't rush to our theaters to see Saudi movies.  Their new one,  "The Imam of Oz," did only so-so business.

But the Saudis are starting to shake over the revolts all around them.  And a shakin' Saudi is a thing to behold.  Given prices at the pump, we might take notice.  From The New York Times:

WASHINGTON — As pro-democracy uprisings spread across the Middle East, the rulers of Saudi Arabia — the region’s great bulwark of religious and political conservatism — are feeling increasingly isolated and concerned that the United States may no longer be a reliable backer, officials and diplomats say.

Saudi Arabia is far less vulnerable to democracy movements than other countries in the region, thanks to its vast oil wealth, its powerful religious establishment and the popularity of its king.

But the country’s rulers were shaken by the forced departure of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, a close and valued ally. They are anxiously monitoring the continuing protests in neighboring Bahrain and in Yemen, with which Saudi Arabia shares a porous 1,100-mile border. Those concerns come on top of long-festering worries about the situation in Iraq, where the toppling of Saddam Hussein has empowered Iran, Saudi Arabia’s great rival and nemesis.

And...

The Saudis tend to see any threat to the established order in the region as a gain for their nemesis Iran, and its allies Syria and Hezbollah. They have grown increasingly worried that the Obama administration is drifting away from this perspective and supporting movements for change whose outcome cannot be guaranteed. Those worries were heightened by the crisis in Egypt, where the Saudis felt that Mr. Mubarak should have been allowed to stay on and make a more “dignified” exit, Saudi officials say.

King Abdullah had at least two phone conversations with President Obama to convey his concerns in the weeks before Mr. Mubarak’s ouster, and the last conversation ended in sharp disagreement, according to officials familiar with the calls.

I have no brief for the Saudis, their regime, or their historic support for Islamic extremism, but they're learning the hard way that Barack Obama has no friends, just temporary helpers.  There's a big bus parked outside the White House, fueled with Saudi petroleum, and old King Abdullah might soon find himself under it.  Your Majesty, meet Reverend Wright.  He's the guy under the rear axle.

the Saudis are closely watching American diplomatic gestures toward Bahrain. Any wavering of American support for Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy, analysts say, would provoke a deep sense of betrayal, and could create an unprecedented rift in a partnership with the United States that has been a pillar of Saudi policy since 1945.

“Saudi Arabia has always had a fear of encirclement, whether with Communism or with Iranian influence,” said Rachel Bronson, an expert on Saudi Arabia at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “Bahrain to me is the tipping point for when this becomes really unsettling.”

Stand by for betrayal.

February 19, 2011