Further to the point

In yesterday afternoon's essay regarding the need for a regional Mid-East summit, including Iran and Syria, I wrote,

Whether we stay or go, there needs to be some degree of transparency between the decision making of regional powers, lest Iraq become the battleground of a wider Sunni-Shia conflict pitting the Iranians against our oil-rich Sunni clients.

This morning, The New York Times' Helene Cooper reported the following,

Saudi Arabia has told the Bush administration that it might provide financial backing to Iraqi Sunnis in any war against Iraq’s Shiites if the United States pulls its troops out of Iraq, according to American and Arab diplomats.