Will a president ever have the guts to call out Saudi Arabia on human rights?
By Taskr36
@Taskr36 (13963)
United States
March 10, 2009 11:59am CST
Let me start by making it clear, this is NOT a slam on Obama. Every president since I've been alive has been a complete and utter coward when dealing with Saudi Arabia. We already know it's because they have ridiculous amounts of oil and are more amicable towards us than Iran and Venezuela.
Today I read a horrible article about a 75 year old woman in Saudi Arabia who's been sentenced to 40 lashes and 4 months in prison. Her crime? She had her nephew and a friend bring her five loaves of bread. How is this a crime you ask? Her nephew and his friend are not part of her "immediate" family. In Saudi Arabia no woman is allow to meet with a man who is not a member of her immediate family. The woman is a widow who often asks others to help get her things from the store since her husband passed away. Women aren't allowed to drive there so she can't really go herself.
Now I'm sure most of you have heard about atrocities like this. There was even that woman a while back who was raped, and treated like a criminal for it. No president has EVER done anything about this and they have always treated Saudi Arabia like such a wonderful country.
Ok, that was quite the rant. Does anyone think we'll ever get a president who can stand up for human rights there? I'm sure Obama won't, but is there anyone who thinks he will?
2 people like this
4 responses
@Krisneil (577)
• Philippines
11 Mar 09
I think no one could ever condemn Saudi Arabia.. Why?? That is the law of their country and some sort of their culture.. No one has the right to condemn them. Weell If you go there you should obey, When arabian people go to other part of the world they should obey the rules of the place. respect the culture.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
11 Mar 09
I should go there? No, I don't think so. I don't want to spend a single dime in a country that treats women that way. If I went there I might say "Hello" to some woman and accidentally subject her to torture. I suppose I'd get arrested as well since this woman's nephew was arrested for being a good person and bringing her bread.
Do you actually condone what happened. Do you think it's ok to torture and imprison an elderly woman for receiving a few loaves of bread from her nephew? Since it's illegal for her to drive she's a prisoner in her own home and can't leave the country.
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
11 Mar 09
Taskr, do answer your main question: NO. Atleast until we find an alternative to oil, we will always have to bow down to them. This is the country that taught the vast majority of terrorist on 9/11, and we nothing at all to them. Instead we defend them (even though they don't want us there, unless someone is trying to attack them) and put our own men and women in harms way doing so.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
11 Mar 09
If we would use our new highly non intrusive technology to drill our own oil, we could. It's very sad for us to go along with these atrocities. How sad those two cases are, and I'm sure there are so many more! How horrifically unfair. Forty lashes are going to kill the 75 year old woman. And for what? If she was "allowed" to go to the market, maybe she could make her way there.. I guess she has the right to not eat. I heard about the raped woman a while ago. I do believe that everything that goes around comes around, which sometimes is the only comfort we can get right now about some of these horrors.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
10 Mar 09
We have already seen that Obama is willing to ignore the harsh stances to human rights of China, Cuba, Venezuela and other nations... what makes anyone think he'll be different with Saudi Arabia.
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
10 Mar 09
Well Hillary Clinton made it abundantly clear that human rights mean nothing when it comes to foreign relations and that was with China. They'll care even less when it comes to a nation that we import oil from. I'm just wondering if we'll EVER have a president with the guts to call out Saudi Arabia on their abysmal record.
We get hammered in the U.S. for how we treat brutal terrorists and yet they get a free pass on torturing a 75 year old widow for having her nephew bring her a few loaves of bread.
