And it is the Saudis who now, in improbable alliance with Binyamin Netanyahu's Israel, lobby most forcefully against any American nuclear deal, or broader western rapprochement, with Shia Iran, their sworn enemy.
It then took me 10 years to be in a position to help found Citizens UK as a sister training institute and organising alliance, but from 1989 onwards Ed became my trainer, critic, mentor and friend.
One project considered by Bin Laden, reported in the Guardian last month, was the creation of a grand alliance of militant groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan under the umbrella of al-Qaida.
"He presented an opinion that [the bank] would be better off targeting an alliance with a player such as Rabobank if it was serious such about pursuing such a major acquisition," Kelly wrote.
The chief executives of multinational companies such as Unilever, Celtel and Tata have joined together to form the non-profit 'B Team' alliance.
Miliband knew in advance his attendance was a risk, that he could be left isolated by the alliance of leftwing leaders as the beacon for stale Westminster politics and austerity policies.
He described how governors in one school "wanted to replace the head with a Muslim head"; in another that "staff and governors were in an alliance to destabilise the head"; and in another school he described events as a "bloodless coup".
Just as the Tea Party has turned Congress into a paralysed, self-hating institution, an alliance of anti-European Union parties could give Europe its own version of "gridlock" if they win enough of the popular vote in next year's European elections.
One possible response: dismantle or at least shrink the eurozone to such an extent that rules become credible (even though advocates of a "neuro", a northern eurozone, tend to forget that "northern" chancellor Gerhard Schröder, in alliance with France and Italy, was instrumental in first weakening the rules in 2005).
"I am heartened to see corporate leadership in this area," said Amjad Abdulla of the Maldives, chief negotiator for the alliance in Bonn.
"While the government of Yemen appreciates foreign governments' concern for the safety of their citizens, the evacuation of embassy staff serves the interests of extremists and undermines exceptional co-operation between Yemen and the international alliance against terrorism.
