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| Arabia |
| Push the (Saudi) Princes |
| 2004-06-19 |
| [Preferably into the Gulf] YESTERDAYâS brutal murder of Paul Johnson was just the latest atrocity by terrorist Wahhabis â extremist acolytes of the hate cult thatâs rooted in the heart of the Saudi state. And the lessons are simple: * Terrorism terrorizes. Extremely vile terrorism that literally goes for the throat terrorizes most of all. Bombs go off and are forgotten in a week. The horrible deaths of Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg, and Paul M. Johnson, Jr. stick in our minds.The Saudi experiment in creating a "reactionary utopia" â in forcing millions of people to pretend that they are living in the seventh, rather than the 21st century now thatâs a perfect description â is less than 300 years old. though they pretend itâs been this way forever But it has always been backed up by the sword that appears on the Saudi flag, and by public beheadings. ... But those are technical lessons. What are the political lessons for Americans from this martyrdom of one of our own? First, the terror will continue. With the Coalition poised to hand over power in Iraq, the terrorists (and the Saudis) are terrified by the prospect of a successful, Shia-majority state on its way to democracy in the heart of the Arab world. Wahhabis â the Saudi rulers and the terrorists â hate Shia Muslims more than they hate Jews and Christians. The Saudi royals are worried about their own restive Shia minority â who form the majority in the Eastern Province, where the oil is... Hmmmm. Heh-heh. And the Saudi royals are more afraid of democratic dissenters than of the terrorists. Speaks volumes about our "friends," doesnât it? No surprise here. Exiled liberal Saudis â the only ones who can speak freely â believe the Saudi hardliners brought al Qaeda back into the kingdom as a warning to forward-looking Saudi subjects, and to external critics: If you try to force change in Saudi Arabia, you will get something worse. We cannot accept this blackmail â and the fear of something worse must not paralyze us. Saudi Arabia has the largest middle class in the Arab world, with many families owning satellite dishes and computers â but women canât drive. Can you imagine a bigger obstacle to a middle-class lifestyle? Ordinary, sane, normal Saudi subjects are heartily sick of Wahhabism. Saudi Arabia is now surrounded by a crescent of Arab and Muslim states that may not be very much like America, but they are normal enough that women can drive and people are not whipped in the streets for missing prayer times. Every Saudi subject looks at Kuwait, Qatar and Dubai and wonders when his country will catch up with the world. Uh, that would be not long after the Saudi "subjects" get rid of the Wahabis. In addition, something worse may not be conceivable, because the friends of al Qaeda already hold power in the kingdom. Al Qaeda & Co. have never directly targeted the Saudi rulers â they target the credibility of the Saudi state, but they cut the throats of American technicians and Filipino domestic servants. Thousands of Saudi princes and princesses roam the world, spending and partying. Not one has ever been attacked. That says a lot, doesnât it? When bin Laden rants, he rails against us, but calls on his Saudi followers to send petitions, not bombs, to the palaces... The kidnappings and murders will certainly continue, and it is immoral of us to ask our citizens, or foreigners of any description, to risk a brutal death just to keep Saudi helicopters flying or Saudi palaces clean. All foreigners in the kingdom should consider whether they want to put themselves on the line. The oil is no longer a meaningful pretext. A temporary rise in oil prices is a small sacrifice compared with the horrors inflicted by al Qaeda, from the â90s bombings in East Africa to the lonely death of Paul Johnson. President Bush should present non-negotiable demands to the Saudis: * Arrest and try the financiers of al Qaeda.Quiet diplomacy and pressure behind the scenes has not worked since 9/11, and it wonât work now. Itâs way past time to get tough with the desert rats who rule the Saudi kingdom. Stephen Schwartz is the author of "The Two Faces of Islam: Saudi Fundamentalism and Its Role in Terrorism." Preach it, brother! (Of course, your mileage may vary with the DemocRats. |
| Posted by:Barbara Skolaut |
| #7 Sorry, Mikey, I ain't buying it. For the past thirty years, Democrats have been viscerally opposed to any - and that means ANY - use of force that has the slightest taint of U.S. national interest, including basic self-defense. To them, Haiti good, Iraq bad; Bosnia good, Afghanistan bad; war run by Democrat good, war run by Republican DOUBLEPLUSbad!! |
| Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2004-06-19 10:08:24 PM |
| #6 Hi dog bites troll! We think alike have you ever thought that the faith based inviatives of the Bush Gore administration are depriving the Pali peoples of their health care and golf carts? |
| Posted by: Junifer 2004-06-19 7:31:34 PM |
| #5 En lieu of bullets for all, a gift to the House of Saud: http://www.pxdirect.com/inmate_u.htm |
| Posted by: Dog Bites Trolls 2004-06-19 3:35:48 PM |
| #4 Here's my link for Kerry's statement in #2. Barabara, your remark about the change of attitutude that takes place after a presidential candidate becomes president applies to Republicans too. I don't think there's much difference between Republicans and Democrats with regard to Saudi Arabia. I appreciated your posting the article from Stepen Schwartz, whose book I read and praise. Mr. Schwartz seems to me to be very liberal. I presume that he himself is a Democrat and probably a liberal Democrat. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-06-19 2:43:15 PM |
| #3 That's what Kerry says, Mike, but if God forbid he were elected, I expect he'd sing a different tune as long as we're so dependent on the Saudis for oil. I think, like so many other of his pronouncements of what he'd do if only he were president, he's all hat and no saddle. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-06-19 2:20:40 PM |
| #2 I'm sorry to pop your bubble, Barbara, but most Democrats strongly oppose Saudi Arabia too. Here's John Kerry's statement: We cannot continue this Administrationâs kid-glove approach to the supply and laundering of terrorist money. As President, I will impose tough financial sanctions against nations or banks that engage in money laundering or fail to act against it. I will launch a âname and shameâ campaign against those that are financing terror. And if they do not respond, they will be shut out of the U.S. financial system. The same goes for Saudi sponsorship of clerics who promote the ideology of Islamic terror. To put it simply, we will not do business as usual with Saudi Arabia. They must take concrete steps to stop their clerics from fueling the fires of Islamic extremism. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-06-19 12:43:45 PM |
| #1 Exiled liberal Saudis â the only ones who can speak freely â believe the Saudi hardliners brought al Qaeda back into the kingdom as a warning to forward-looking Saudi subjects, and to external critics: If you try to force change in Saudi Arabia, you will get something worse. In light of the old Arabic saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." the perverse notion that Saudi royals have imported al Qaeda as a disincentive to any further unrest is starting to take on increasing credibility. The ridiculous consistency with which al Qaeda's Should all of this prove true, it is only final proof of of the House of Saud's moral bankruptcy. Wahhabist and Salafist terrorism represents one of the most immediate threats to global stability and the Saudis have been instrumental in its spread. If it requires stripping away Arabia's oil fields to neutralize their continuing spread of this poisonous doctrine, so be it. The Saudis must be brought to account. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-19 12:26:06 PM |