King Saud 1-26-2015

26, January 2015                           King Saud

Flags flying at half-mast; heads of State descending on Riyadh to honor King Saud who was arguably one of the greatest purveyors of terrorism in the world! President Obama praised Abdullah "as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond." What mind-boggling hypocrisy!

I wonder how Raif Badawi and his family would respond. Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, a 10 years prison term and a one million Saudi Riyal fine for his temerity in voicing his opposition to the government’s authoritarian rule. He is still suffering from enormous pain after his first 50 lashes. How would Saudi women respond who are forced to be completely subservient to their menfolk?

We sell billions in military weapons (some of which are routed to terrorists groups like ISIS) and provide them a military umbrella to ensure their continued rule.  In 2010, WikiLeaks published U.S. diplomatic cables which identified Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups. In 2011 Saudi tanks rolled into neighboring Bahrain to crush the pro-democracy movement accompanied by a deafening silence form Washington.

Like Israel, the Saudis relish the split between Congress and the White House and are eager to torpedo the rapprochement with Iran.  It is time we re-calibrate our much touted values that we flaunt so much to the world. Clearly our addiction to oil has trumped our concern for human right and the rule of law.