Saudi Arabia has agreed to an American request to provide a base to train what Washington and its allies call 'moderate' elements within the Syrian insurgency. 'I think the major purpose of Secretary of State Kerry's conversations. is directed at having [the Saudis] shift their overseas aid to another group of terrorists, mainly the socalled 'moderates' in Syria in order to overthrow the Bashar alAssad government,' said James Petras, emeritus professor of sociology at Binghamton University, New York, in an interview on Thursday. 'I think the visit [by Kerry] to Saudi Arabia is a way of bringing them onboard in this new move by President Obama to directly intervene militarily not only against ISIS but particularly against the national government in Syria,' Petras emphasized. Petras, who is the author of sixty five books, said, 'The Saudis have a long history of supporting the Wahhabis and other extremist terrorist groups and I think the temp now is shift their overseas interventions in a direction that accommodates the US war now being extended to Syria.' more... See more text