Dead Subtle

The softness and subtlety of Britain's diplomacy towards Saudi Arabia has brought results so soft and subtle that only the empty suit at the Ministry for Wogs, Frogs and Huns can detect them. The perfectly sane mullahs of Saud appear to be proceeding as scheduled with the executions of three juveniles, the youngest of whom was fifteen at the time of his arrest. Doubtless the improvement is thanks in large part to Whitehall's expressions of mild disappointment at the judicial massacre of forty-seven people early this month. The empty suit has touted the cases as examples of what can be achieved by sucking up to the right sort of Islamic fundamentalists; and for once it appears hard to disagree.