If the Syrian Dictator Must Go… Why Not the Dictators in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain?

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, SYRIA IN CONTEXT, 3 Jun 2013

Washington’s Blog – TRANSCEND Media Service

If We Are “Fighting for Democracy”, Then Why Are We Arming and Financially Supporting Dictatorships Throughout the Middle East?

Western and Israeli leaders call Syrian leader Assad a dictator.

Fair enough. He and his father have ruled Syria since 1971.

But what about Saudi Arabia? The Saudi royal monarchy has been ruling that region for hundreds of years.

Wikipedia notes:

Due to its authoritarian and theocratic rule, the House of Saud has attracted much criticism during its rule of Saudi Arabia. Its opponents generally refer to the Saudi monarchy as totalitarians or dictators.

There have been numerous incidents of demonstrations and other forms of resistance against the House of Saud.

***

All surviving males (including Utaybi himself) were beheaded publicly in four cities of Saudi Arabia.

While the Saudi royal family pushes the most strict and fundamentalist form Islam, the Saudi royal family’s debauchery and corruption is legendary. The monarchs – while pushing strict Wahabism as the official state religion – don’t practice it.

Similarly, Qatar has been ruled by one family monarchy for over 150 years:

Qatar has been ruled as an absolute and hereditary emirate by the Al Thani family since the mid-19th century.

CBS News includes Qatar on its list of “The world’s enduring dictators“, noting:

Like many of its neighbors, the controversial host of the 2022 World Cup in soccer is accused of many human rights abuses when it comes to its foreign workers, like setting them up in squalid labor camps separate from society, confiscating their passports upon arrival, and giving them a general lack of rights. That said, Amnesty International reports only sporadic instances of torture and abuse by state security forces. As for Sheikh Hamad’s dictatorial bona fides, The New York Times writes: “While Qatar calls for democracy outside its borders, democracy here is provisional at best. While there are municipal elections, and women can vote in them, the country has a Parliament building but no Parliament — or any other political institution, for that matter — that can challenge the royal family’s grip on power.”

Similarly, Bahrain has been ruled almost continuously by the Al Khalifa royal monarchy since 1820.

Bahrain also makes CBS News’ list of “world’s enduring dictators”. CBS noted in 2011:

Uprisings in the late 1990s as well as right now have been fueled as much by resentment from the repressed, poor Shiite majority against their privileged Sunni rulers as anything else. In both uprisings, accusations against the government of gross human rights violations and protester murders have been plentiful. At least 11 demonstrators have been killed so far this year. Most recently, Bahraini security forces stand accused of indiscriminate abduction and torture of dissidents.

Things have gotten worse since then. Three-time Emmy award winning CNN reporter Amber Lyon reported on her first-hand experience of the systematic torture and murder of peaceful protesters by the government of Bahrain. But she was fired by CNN for doing so … while CNN accepted payment from the Bahraini monarchs to run a fluff propaganda piece about them.

Indeed, the U.S. government has supplied substantial military support to the Saudi, Qatari and Bahraini dictators.

The U.S. Federal Reserve also bailed out the Arab Banking Corporation of Bahrain.

Why is the U.S. backing the dictators in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain?

Because the U.S. backs the Sunni Muslims against the Shias. The leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain are Sunni Muslims … while the leaders in Syria, Iran and Lebanon are Shia Muslims.

Yup … the U.S. is involved in a religious war – between the two factions of Islam (and is actually backing the most violent elements) – as part of a geopolitical strategy to exert control over the natural gas market.

Indeed, the U.S. is liberally backing Al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood (both Sunni) terrorists in their fight against Shia Muslims …

… And in their fight against Christians and atheists.

Go to Original – wasingtonsblog.com

Share this article: email mastodon facebook 🔗 copy link

DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Comments are closed.