Notice that "people close to the regime" shared their secrets with someone they know if an advocate of Saudi regime. This reminds me of those unnamed Hizbullah commanders who only confide in Zionist American correspondents in the Middle East: "People close to the regime have repeatedly told me that Mr. Assad and his inner circle recognize that the United States is the single greatest potential threat to their survival." I bet those people close to the regime also told him to please ask for more US bombing in the region.