Cheney's trip unspun

Wow. Quite a revelation in the WaPo. Cheney didn't go to Saudi seeking something, he was "basically summoned."

Saudi Arabia is so concerned about the damage that the conflict in Iraq is doing across the region that it basically summoned Vice President Cheney for talks over the weekend, according to U.S. officials and foreign diplomats. The visit was originally portrayed as U.S. outreach to its oil-rich Arab ally.

Let's check the sequence: Increasing discussion in the US (including reportedly the ISG,) that the way out of Iraq was for the US to talk to Iran and Syria. Cheney is "basically summoned" to meet with the king. He returns to talk with Bush immediately. Today,

Mr. Bush also had harsh words for Syria and Iran, and reiterated his stance that he does not intend to negotiate directly with them to enlist their help in ending the violence in Iraq. He said he would leave such talks to the government of Iraq, “a sovereign nation which is conducting its own foreign policy.”

(This Saudi meeting also comes amid rumors that the Bush administration is trying to "rehabilitate" the Baathists by working through al Dhari who is currently wanted in Iraq by the Maliki's Shia government.)