What to do about Saudi Arabia:

In the words of Popeye the sailor "I can't stands no more."

In reviewing recent events in the world, I happened to stuble upon an article in the Orlando Sentinel (Note: this requires a FREE registration) about a major drug related trial involving a Saudi Prince.

According to prosecutors, Saudi Prince Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz Al-Shaalan (not in direct line of succession to the Saudi throne) participated in a plot to smuggle 2 tons of cocaine to Paris, France. According to the DEA the scheme was to utilize the Prince's diplomatic status, which allowed him to avoid baggage inspection and other routine security precautions at the airport, and his plane in order to smuggle the drugs past the authorities. The DEA was alerted to this plot by Juan Gabriel Usuga Norena who was arrested in 2000 and agreed to assist the government in drug related investigations. For more on this story, please refer to the links above.

Oh Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi's have a long standing tradition of funding terrorism. Some key members of the Saudi royal family, who also serve in high level government posts, were named as defendants in a lawsuit brought by th families of 9-11 victims. And, although the judge in this case decided that these men were not able to be sued (due to diplomatic status and immunity), there is still, as far as I know, significant evidence pointing towards their involvement in terrorism, if not ultimate responsibility for it.

For example, consider the recent Freedom House report analyzing the literary content of some American Mosques (NOTE: This link will open a PDF document). This report documents the contents of the bookshelves in 15 of America's more prominent mosques coming from the radical Saudi interpretation of Islam, known as wahabism. The findings are, to say the least, startling; and to be perfectly honest, enraging. For example, American Muslims who choose to pick up, or are directed by religious authorities to consult, some of the Saudi produced and sanctioned literature in the Mosque will be told, through religious edicts known as fatwahs, that friendship with a non-Muslim (an infidel, un-believer, kufir) is forbidden; that greeting a non-Muslim first is forbidden; that living in a non-Muslim land, except in the pursuit of converts or in the pursuit of advantage (intelligence, resources, wealth) to be used in the eventual jihad (holy war) against the non-Muslims, is forbidden; anyone who is considered an apostate (including Muslims who, by embracing non-Muslims, exhibit a lack of belief - read as moderate, tolerant Muslims) is marked for death; and the list continues. One item of specific interest in light of the drug trial that just began, is the permission granted by at least some of the Saudi sponsored fatwahs analyzed in the report to engage in virtually any activity (barring apostasy or actions linked to it) in order to prepare or fund jihad. After reading even half of this report, let alone the entire 95 pages, one can hardly remain in doubt as to where men like Osama bin Laden get their ideas from.

Indeed, even member of the US government recognize that the radicalism being espoused by the Saudi religious establishment and spread through use of Saudi royal funds is an enormous roadblock in winning the War on Terror. On March 11 "Fifteen Senators of both parties, led by Sens. Susan Collins and Charles Schumer, sent a letter to Secretary of State Rice about Saudi Arabia's violations of religious freedom and the continued export of extremist teachings from Saudi Arabia." The letter may be viewed (via link provided) in PDF form.

So the question remains, what to do about Saudi Arabia? This remains an open question for 2 reasons in my opinion: 1) Without Saudi assistance, there is little chance of winning the War on Terror. That is, without the Saudi government (meaning the royal family) stepping up reofrms in the kingdom, clamping down on the unreasonably virulent tone of its radical and militant clerical establishment, we seem to be looking at a long and pitched battle of both ideology and arms; 2) In attacking or diminishing the power of the Saudi government, the West risks placing Iran at the fore, bringing an even more sinister enemy to the helm of the Islamic world. This would be exacerbated by the possible sectarian strife that might engulf the Islamic world if, after having years of Sunni militancy, is suddenly replaced by Shiite militancy. This, though, is pure speculation.

Still, something must be done, and must be done soon. Any suggestions? I am open to suggestions.

~JDS