10
Reasons Trump Should Not Strengthen U.S.-Saudi Ties | By Medea Benjamin |
Common Dreams
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
US President Donald Trump and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed
bin Salman at the White House. (Photo: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
Donald Trump has selected Saudi Arabia as the destination for
his first trip abroad, strengthening U.S. ties to a regime that is fueling the
very extremism, intolerance and violence that the US government purports to
eradicate. Here’s 10 reasons why the United States should not be closely allied
with the Saudi kingdom.
1.
The Saudis export an extremist interpretation
of Islam, Wahhabism, around the globe. Over the past three
decades, Saudi Arabia has spent about $4 billion per year on
mosques, madrassas, preachers, students, and textbooks to spread Wahhabism and
anti-Western sentiment. Let's not forget that 15 of the 19 fanatical hijackers
who carried out the 9/11 attacks were Saudis, as was Osama
bin Laden himself.
2.
The Saudis fund terrorism worldwide. A
Wikileaks-revealed 2009 cable quotes then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying,
"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding
to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide … More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia
remains a critical financial support base for al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar
e-Tayyiba and other terrorist groups." In Syria the Saudis are supporting
the most extreme sectarian forces. And while the Saudi
government condemns ISIS, many experts, including 9/11 Commission Report lead
author Senator Bob Graham, believe that ISIS is a product of
Saudi ideals, Saudi money and Saudi organizational support.
3.
The government represses religious
minorities. Trump says he is promoting tolerance, but this theocratic
Sunni regime is based on repressing the Shia minority and non-Muslims. It is
the only country in the world to ban all churches, and atheism is a capital
offense. Year after year, the U.S. government’s own Commission on International
Religious Freedom says Saudi Arabia commits “systematic,
ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
4.
Free speech and free association are
forbidden in the kingdom. Criticizing the Saudi regime can lead
to flogging, long jail sentences or even beheading. Tragic examples are Raif Badawi,
languishing in prison for blogging; attorney Waleed Abulkhair, serving a 15-year sentence
for defending human rights; and Ali al-Nimr, arrested as a minor and now
on death row for nonviolent dissent.
5.
The regime is the most misogynist,
gender-segregated country in the world. Women are not even allowed
to drive and must live under a guardianship system that gives men
authority over the most important decisions in their lives.
6.
There is no political freedom in Saudi
Arabia. While most of the world’s monarchies have evolved to
lessen the role of royalty, Saudi Arabia remains one of the world’s last absolute monarchies.The Saud family picks
the king, who then has ultimate authority in virtually every aspect of
government. There are no national elections and political parties are banned,
as are unions and most civic organizations.
7.
They have engaged in a catastrophic war in
Yemen. In March 2015, the Saudis launched a bombing campaign in
Yemen that has targeted schools, hospitals, markets, weddings and funerals. The
war has resulted in acute malnutrition and disease, leaving a Yemeni child
dying every 10 minutes. Instead of supporting the bombing, the US government
should be pushing a ceasefire and negotiations.
8.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution
rates in the world. Scores of people are killed each year after being
convicted of various nonviolent charges that range from adultery, apostasy, drug
use and sorcery. The executions are usually carried out by public beheading.
9.
The Kingdom primarily functions on the backs
of mistreated foreign laborers. Of the nation’s 30 million
people, some 10 million are foreigners. Workers from poor nations seek economic
gains within Saudi Arabia, but are often lured under false pretenses and then
not allowed to leave the country without permission from their employer. Female
migrant workers, treated like indentured servants, often face
physical and sexual abuse.
10. Saudi
Arabia helps maintain the world’s destructive dependence on oil. Saudi
Arabia is the largest exporter of oil in the world. With its vast potential for
solar energy, Saudi Arabia could lead the world in renewable energy. Instead,
the economy remains almost entirely dependent on oil and on the international
level, Saudi Arabia works with the United States to oppose global climate
agreements that would affect oil profits.
If the Trump administration truly wants to find a way out of the
wars in the Middle East and make the United States safer from terrorists, it
would do well to stop arming, aiding and abetting the ruthless Saudi regime.
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"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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