NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - One of my first responsibilities on this broadcast is to bring you answers to questions. That's what journalists do. And to bring you some perspective to the day's news events. That's what older journalists do.

But tonight, as happens occasionally, I have more questions than answers about one particular news development.

It's about Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government today said it would not allow the United States to use Saudi soil to attack Iraq.

The President and Congress haven't decided whether to attack, but the Saudi position does make one wonder what their reaction would be should Saddam Hussein use weapons of mass destruction against the West. Would they then consider the use of Saudi soil?

Secretary of State Powell yesterday called the Saudis to remind them we consider them great allies and friends ... there is no doubt at all that we're great customers. The United States buys almost $15 billion of oil from the Saudis each year. They export about $55 billion each year to the world.

Now, I'm not saying that oil plays any part in the double talk that sometimes passes for diplomacy in the Middle East. I'm just wondering about being allies and friends, when the Saudis also champion a religion that is not only authoritarian, but the foundation of the violence that we're now fighting in a global war against radical Islamist terrorists. But the United States doesn't officially call them radical Islamists, of course ... they're just faceless, ideologically neutral, apparently ecumenical terrorists.

And some politicians in this country are picking up the mantra that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be well on its way to resolution before President Bush and Congress consider an attack against the regime of Saddam Hussein. They're worried about the region being destabilized.

But how will the Israeli-Palestinian conflict be worsened or resolved for that matter by an attack on Iraq? Isn't the issue of an attack against Iraq based on the fear that Saddam would use weapons of mass destruction? That would be pretty destabilizing too I bet.

I'm just wondering what happened to all the straight talk following September 11th? Maybe oil does play a part here. I'll have to figure that out.