A word about the Saudis, for Rick Santorum's benefit

In the November 2011 Republican presidential debate I quoted from in the previous post Rick Santorum said:

So we can't be indecisive about whether Pakistan is our friend. They must be our friend. And we must engage them as friends, get over the difficulties we have, as we did with Saudi Arabia with respect to the events of 9/11. The terrorists came from Saudi Arabia. And we said, 'You know what? It's important for us to maintain that relationship, in spite of those difficulties.'

From a (U.K) Telegraph report dated December 5, 2010 (note the year) headlined, Wikileaks: Saudis chief funders of al Qaeda

[...] "It has been an ongoing challenge to persuade Saudi officials to treat terrorist financing emanating from Saudi Arabia as a strategic priority," read a cable from Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, dated Dec 30, 2009.

"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," added the document.[...]

It would be splitting hairs to term the donors private citizens, given that the Saudi clan is the country's ruler.

So if Santorum wasn't so poorly informed or studiously dense it would indicate a kind of madness to wish that Pakistan became a friend to America in the way the Saudis are friends to the USA. But just for the record the Saudis are not America's friend.