Al Gore to Saudis: You Poor, Poor Babies

When not pontificating stupidly about global warming, the former Vice President Al Gore is pontificating stupidly about Iraq or terrorism, or who knows what. Now he's offering condolences to Saudis for their terrible treatment at the hands of the United States:

Former Vice President Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment.

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

I can't imagine why we would pay a little closer attention to Saudis, since they only made up 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers. Maybe if it was 16 or 17 we could justify our abuses.

Every day I thank God that we elect our presidents by electoral college, and not popular vote.

UPDATE: The event at which Gore spoke was partially sponsored by Osama bin Laden's family:

The Saudi Arabia seminar that was addressed by former Vice President Al Gore over the weekend in a speech that criticized the U.S. for being too tough on Arabs was sponsored, in part, by Osama bin Laden's family.

On Saturday, the state-run Saudi news outlet Arab News reported that the Jeddah Economic Forum, where Gore spoke, was funded by "Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Saudi Binladin Group, Gulf One Investment Bank, Saudi Basic Industries Corp." and an array of other big companies with ties to the Middle East.

The Saudi BinLadin Group - which is Saudi Arabia's largest construction company - is run by Osama bin Laden's brothers and cousins. Jeddah, the site of the forum attended by Gore, is Osama bin Laden's hometown.