Iran’s no
democratic paradise. But on many counts, Washington’s Saudi allies
are even worse. The Saudi royals crush dissent with an iron fist,
spread extremist ideology, and invade their neighbors with impunity.
Meanwhile,
the Saudi monarchy has used its military and financial might to
impose its will throughout the Middle East.
In 2011,
Saudi tanks invaded neighboring Bahrain and brutally crushed that
nation’s budding pro-democracy movement. Two years later, the
Saudis backed a coup in Egypt that killed over 1,000 people and saw
over 40,000 political dissidents thrown into squalid prisons.
In their
latest military intervention, the Saudis have used American-made
cluster bombs and F-15 fighter jets in a bombing campaign over Yemen
that’s killed and injured thousands of civilians and created a
severe humanitarian crisis.
All the
while, they’ve helped export an extremist interpretation of Islam
around the globe. Let’s not forget that 15 of the 19 hijackers who
carried out the 9/11 attacks were Saudis, as well as Osama bin Laden
himself.
Where’s
the Republican outrage over Saudi Arabia?
Despite all
these abuses, Saudi Arabia has been a key U.S. ally for decades. Why?
One reason
is oil: Saudi Arabia is the world’s second largest producer,
trailing only the United States itself.
Another is
the arms trade: The country is the largest purchaser of American-made
weapons. In 2010, the U.S. government concluded a $60.5 billion arms
deal with the Saudis — the largest in history. This means that for
years to come, U.S. weapons will be used by the Saudis to maintain
their repressive rule and impose their will on neighboring countries.
A third
reason, ironically, is Iran. Since 1979, Washington’s pursued a
policy of building up the Saudi military as a counterweight to Iran’s
revolutionary government.
For
Republican presidential candidates, this primary season is all about
vilifying Iran. While they beat up on the White House for making
peace with America’s enemies, maybe voters should ask them more
questions about America’s friends.
Read
full article:
Comments
Post a Comment