As our gaze moves from the serene technosexuality of the aerial refueling to the emaciated body of the innocent child it birthed, we shouldn't look away without thinking of the fate of this child if it survives. Severe early childhood malnutrition leads to stunted growth of the brain and vital organs, mental retardation, muscle weakness, compromised immune system, fragile bone structure and decaying teeth. What will the later lives of the millions of children on the "cusp of famine" be like?
The Saudi-American alliance is bizarre. Saudi Arabia vies with North Korea as one of the worst countries in the world--the antithesis of the values and ideals we claim to hold. It is a theocratic police state with no separation between government and the extreme Wahhabist version of Islam it imposes on its citizens.
It is an absolute monarchy run by a grossly wealthy clan that bestows the kingship on one member after another. Women are treated as men's chattel. There is widespread gender segregation in buildings and activities, women can't drive cars, and must dress like nuns of old.
There is no freedom of speech. Those who criticize the government are subject to barbaric penalties. For instance, 33-year old Raif Badawi was sentenced in 2014 to 1000 lashes and ten years in prison plus a fine of 1 million riyal ($267,000). The lashes were to be carried out over 20 weeks. His crime was blogging about free speech. The first 50 lashes were administered in front of a mosque in Jeddah on Jan. 9, 2015. The next instalment of 50 lashes has been delayed repeatedly because he is in poor health.
The modern Saudi state exists as a bargain between the royal family and Wahhabist clergy. In exchange for government enforcement of Wahhabism, a fundamentalist and intolerant form of Islam, as the official state religion, Wahhabi clerics agreed to proclaim the Saudi monarchy as the sole rightful defender of Islam . The Saudis have spent billions to establish Wahhabi mosques and schools (madrassas) around the Moslem world, including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia is a product of decades of cynical gamesmanship by our foreign- and defense-policy elite. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, American foreign policy fused with the Saudi desire to be Islam's champion against unbelievers such as godless communists. Wahhabi ideology and funds, together with American weapons and training, enabled passionate jihadists from the Saudi-supported madrassas to drive out the Soviets from Afghanistan. They also gave rise to Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
Of the 19 airplane hijackers responsible for 9/11, 15 were Saudi citizens. We weaponized Saudi religious extremism and it blew up in our faces. With friends like the Saudis, who needs enemies?
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