Dayuhan---would you not agree that the interests of the Saudis now match those of AQ in Syria---namely confronting Shia fundamentalism in the name of Shia containment? Really reread the Sept 2013 AQ General Guidance to the Jihad and AQs references to the "near enemy".

Second question would be --if true then what drove that merging of interests?

Third question would be if in fact they have merged their short term interests-and both being of a fundamentalist Sunni direction (one Salaist- one Wahhabist) has AQ pulled a 180 turn and is now not viewing SA as the "near enemy" as they did under UBL?

Combat against a perceived common "near enemy" does make strange bedfellows that can have long term impacts that we in the US have not yet fully understood while we tap dance in our Syrian policies.

Lastly what will be the perception impact on the greater Arab population be if both AQ and the Saudi in fact stopped Assad in Syria and the US and Europe just stood by while thousands of Arabs were killed and wounded and millions forced to flee Syria?

That is the inherent question that you side step.