I Wanna Rock Your Saudi: The Kingdom's Double Standard
"All governments that support terror are complicit in a war against civilization."
-President George W. Bush, September 23rd, 2003
Whether he's drunk on something more than ideology, or simply absentminded (let's go with the latter), President Bush seems to be conveniently glossing over a rather glaring absence of consistency between what is said and what is done.
The corruption, radicalization, and throwback barbarism that takes place inside the borders of Saudi Arabia dwarfs that of pre-invasion Iraq, and is approaching that of post-Ahmadinejad Iran. Though unlike Shia Iran, the Kingdom's state religion is Wahhabism, an expansionist branch of Islam which emerged only 250 years ago. Wahhabism is one of the most brutal sects of Islam, and the Saudi-Wahhabi movement has been known for violently defeating and subjugating non-Wahhabi peoples of the Arabian Peninsula since well before the establishment of the current Saudi state.
But that's just ancient history. Saudi Arabia must be a sensible country at this point, not run by Bedouins and thugs, effortlessly gliding into the prosperity and standards of the 21st century. Right?
Let's just say, it's not Kansas. Women are secluded and veiled in kind of gender apartheid, while polygamy is as legal as it is practiced, which is regularly among Saudi elite. There is no religious freedom in the Kingdom for any faiths other than Islam, and Saudi textbooks have been found to contain material teaching that Jews were the "descendants of apes and pigs."
Above: Not an Oprah-approved book in sight.
Saudi media is made up of state-run and private-but-publicly-subsidized elements. With this torrent of government-controlled media flows the most blistering anti-Semitic and anti-American propaganda in the Arab world. The only freedom of the press is the freedom to choose the best way to express hatred of the West.
There's something to be understood before going forward: Your money is Saudi money.
Saudi Oil exports make up 44% of the country's GDP, and the Kingdom is America's 3rd largest provider of crude oil. Our money is Saudi money, and Saudi money is where it all starts. Al-Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgency would hardly exist without Saudi funding and membership. In fact, Saudis are responsible for the majority of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia is the nerve center and womb of radical Islam. Our money pays for it, their home grown terrorists carry it out, and the kingdom's miserable masses are amused or indifferent.
Now it's time for "Guess Which One Doesn't Belong:"
A. Mohamed Atta
B. Satam al-Suqami
C. Jamie Lynn Spears
D. Abdulaziz al-Omari
Time's up. If you chose C, you're right. Jamie Lynn has never flown an airplane in her life. You must have realized that the other three people (along with 12 other Saudi nationals) all flew commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Bonus points if you didn't know who Jamie Lynn Spears was.
So, if Bush thinks that governments who support terror are complicit in a war against civilization, what's so different about the Saudis? Why have we aligned ourselves with a murderous theocracy?
Above: Our friends the Saudis. Condi, is that you back there?
We are bound to the Saudis in an administration-spanning pseudo-alliance; that is to say a "you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours" arrangement, with one side scratching your back and one side self-detonating around the world.
What do the Saudis do for us, besides finance our destruction? What do we do for the Saudis to deserve any of this? What in God's name is in the middle of this precipitous relationship?
Oil.
The hippie's favorite scapegoat has found new legitimacy. It should be obvious that the Saudis keep the oil flowing to the United States and the rest of the West. Every time you fill up your car with gas that began as Saudi crude (statistically, one in every five times you fill up) you're offering your contribution to a government with half an economy earmarked for "military spending."
But you're not seeing the real price of Saudi crude. The ever-changing digits at the gas station don't include an additional expense – thousands of Americans murdered at home and around the world.
Does Bush even read his speeches before opening his mouth?
This is the cost of being dependent on foreign oil. It seems hopeless, and it shouldn't be, but with the political establishment as poisoned as it is, and with Americans lacking anything resembling a common national initiative, hopeless might be the word.
We could start by building more gasoline refineries in the United States. We haven't built a new refinery in over 25 years, and refining gasoline domestically will reduce the amount of gasoline we are forced to import, lowering costs.
Nuclear power is also a viable option, and I would recommend examining the success France has had with the majority of its energy coming from nuclear power. Environmentalists stand in the way of drilling for oil reserves in ANWR. The same goes for the coast of Florida and the Gulf. You wouldn't want to see the property value of your condo go down, would you?
Responding to the brainwashed-bumper-sticker cries of "No Blood For Oil," the Bush Doctrine seems to be saying "Well hold on...exactly how much oil are we talking about here?" The Kingdom keeps the oil flowing, and we promise to overlook their human rights atrocities, virulent hatred of Israel, and support for terror around the globe. Our duplicitous and suicidal enabler, Saudi Arabia presents as much a case for energy independence as anything that leaves Al Gore's attention-starved lips.
-President George W. Bush, September 23rd, 2003
Whether he's drunk on something more than ideology, or simply absentminded (let's go with the latter), President Bush seems to be conveniently glossing over a rather glaring absence of consistency between what is said and what is done.
The corruption, radicalization, and throwback barbarism that takes place inside the borders of Saudi Arabia dwarfs that of pre-invasion Iraq, and is approaching that of post-Ahmadinejad Iran. Though unlike Shia Iran, the Kingdom's state religion is Wahhabism, an expansionist branch of Islam which emerged only 250 years ago. Wahhabism is one of the most brutal sects of Islam, and the Saudi-Wahhabi movement has been known for violently defeating and subjugating non-Wahhabi peoples of the Arabian Peninsula since well before the establishment of the current Saudi state.
But that's just ancient history. Saudi Arabia must be a sensible country at this point, not run by Bedouins and thugs, effortlessly gliding into the prosperity and standards of the 21st century. Right?
Let's just say, it's not Kansas. Women are secluded and veiled in kind of gender apartheid, while polygamy is as legal as it is practiced, which is regularly among Saudi elite. There is no religious freedom in the Kingdom for any faiths other than Islam, and Saudi textbooks have been found to contain material teaching that Jews were the "descendants of apes and pigs."
Above: Not an Oprah-approved book in sight. Saudi media is made up of state-run and private-but-publicly-subsidized elements. With this torrent of government-controlled media flows the most blistering anti-Semitic and anti-American propaganda in the Arab world. The only freedom of the press is the freedom to choose the best way to express hatred of the West.
There's something to be understood before going forward: Your money is Saudi money.
Saudi Oil exports make up 44% of the country's GDP, and the Kingdom is America's 3rd largest provider of crude oil. Our money is Saudi money, and Saudi money is where it all starts. Al-Qaeda and the Iraqi insurgency would hardly exist without Saudi funding and membership. In fact, Saudis are responsible for the majority of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq.
Saudi Arabia is the nerve center and womb of radical Islam. Our money pays for it, their home grown terrorists carry it out, and the kingdom's miserable masses are amused or indifferent.
Now it's time for "Guess Which One Doesn't Belong:"
A. Mohamed Atta
B. Satam al-Suqami
C. Jamie Lynn Spears
D. Abdulaziz al-Omari
Time's up. If you chose C, you're right. Jamie Lynn has never flown an airplane in her life. You must have realized that the other three people (along with 12 other Saudi nationals) all flew commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Bonus points if you didn't know who Jamie Lynn Spears was.
So, if Bush thinks that governments who support terror are complicit in a war against civilization, what's so different about the Saudis? Why have we aligned ourselves with a murderous theocracy?
Above: Our friends the Saudis. Condi, is that you back there?We are bound to the Saudis in an administration-spanning pseudo-alliance; that is to say a "you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours" arrangement, with one side scratching your back and one side self-detonating around the world.
What do the Saudis do for us, besides finance our destruction? What do we do for the Saudis to deserve any of this? What in God's name is in the middle of this precipitous relationship?
Oil.
The hippie's favorite scapegoat has found new legitimacy. It should be obvious that the Saudis keep the oil flowing to the United States and the rest of the West. Every time you fill up your car with gas that began as Saudi crude (statistically, one in every five times you fill up) you're offering your contribution to a government with half an economy earmarked for "military spending."
But you're not seeing the real price of Saudi crude. The ever-changing digits at the gas station don't include an additional expense – thousands of Americans murdered at home and around the world.
Does Bush even read his speeches before opening his mouth?
This is the cost of being dependent on foreign oil. It seems hopeless, and it shouldn't be, but with the political establishment as poisoned as it is, and with Americans lacking anything resembling a common national initiative, hopeless might be the word.
We could start by building more gasoline refineries in the United States. We haven't built a new refinery in over 25 years, and refining gasoline domestically will reduce the amount of gasoline we are forced to import, lowering costs.
Nuclear power is also a viable option, and I would recommend examining the success France has had with the majority of its energy coming from nuclear power. Environmentalists stand in the way of drilling for oil reserves in ANWR. The same goes for the coast of Florida and the Gulf. You wouldn't want to see the property value of your condo go down, would you?
Responding to the brainwashed-bumper-sticker cries of "No Blood For Oil," the Bush Doctrine seems to be saying "Well hold on...exactly how much oil are we talking about here?" The Kingdom keeps the oil flowing, and we promise to overlook their human rights atrocities, virulent hatred of Israel, and support for terror around the globe. Our duplicitous and suicidal enabler, Saudi Arabia presents as much a case for energy independence as anything that leaves Al Gore's attention-starved lips.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
These articles are excellent Christopher. You're well-informed and well-spoken, and your nonabrasive conversational approach with just the right amount of wit will have people thinking about the points you're making, regardless of their political beliefs. That's nearly impossible to achieve.
Have you thought about sending out a couple of your articles to magazines and newspapers? You should at least give them a shot at getting published. top
Monday, February 18, 2008
Your article is very interested, however very one sided. You speak about the corruption that is involved with Saudi Arabia and oil, which for the most part is true. What throws me is that you mention nuclear energy and the drilling in Alaska and you speak about it as if it is a feasible option. I hope you understand that nuclear energy is a dangerous and unhealthy option. Also, do you how many animals,plants, and native people's civilizations will pretty much die off? As of right now we really do not have another option besides oil in the middle east as our main source of energy. I really hope in the future that we switch to something more environmentally friendly.
As far as Obama's stance on the matter, wouldn't it be scary if a real possible candidate for the presidency wanted us to be dependent on a form of energy that would eventually hurt us in the long run. If you did your research you'd know that he is also for environmentally friendly sources of energy.
Do more research,be more unbiased and I think you'd see things a lot more clearly.
Have a nice day. top
Thursday, February 28, 2008
^He's unjustly prejudiced against brown caribou. top