Sit back and watch the fireworks of words, as neither side is that suicidal.

What we are watching is a replay (albeit, scaled-down) of the USA-USSR cold war of the '60s. Both sides know that if either pulls the trigger, they will all meet in the Great Beyond close to simultaneously.

The Saudis are no fools. They sit like the net in a tennis match - in between both players - and know that if a short round doesn't get them, the fallout will.

When both sides rattle their sabers, they have learned that they can turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker who will throw more "peace" money (whether in public or behind-the-scenes) at the supposed combatants. That game showed itself well as the US "contribution towards lasting peace" as part of the "Camp David Accords" and has been a constant nibble/bite at the USA ever since.

If they want to kill each other, the USA being not of the region and at the other the other side of the planet, should stop trying to be the busybody in a neighborhood spat. As I look at the map, there's a few dozen other countries - including the entire European Union - with a greater vested interest in what happens there between these spitting roosters crowing at each other.

Time to be on the sidelines, watching the goings-on from a distance....