Having spent the last two months in US hospitals and recovering abroad – and the last three weeks trembling with the winds of regional change – Saudi King Abdullah returns home with an open hand:
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has announced increased benefits for his citizens, as he returned after months abroad getting medical treatment.
There will be extra funds for housing, studying abroad and social security, according to state television.
King Abdullah has been away from the country for three months, during which time mass protests have changed the political landscape of the Middle East.
There have been few demonstrations in Saudi Arabia.
No, of course not. Pillar of stability, and that.
Probably for the best, Saudi attitudes being what they are. Still, pity a people that can be bought.
“Still, pity a people that can be bought.”
Unfortunately, that describes a growing majority of our own citizenry.
+1
Yes, the category of those who could be accurately truly described as “useful idiots” has been shown to be expanded considerably with the election of the Obamassiah.
-1. Wrong (on the economic grading scale). The Saudis are being bought with money they HAVE. We are being bought with money we don’t have.
LOL (if it wasn’t so depressing) VERY Good Point!
Excellent point G-Man, and the Unions/Dems will continue the process if we let them.
LOL! I stand corrected on that point.
I would counter, however, that the people in question do not understand the distinction – and probably wouldn’t care even if they did.
I have a difficult time working up any amount of pity for the Saudi people. It’d be a lot easier to work up targeting data, frankly. They and their regime are a very large part of the problems we and the Islamic world have.
When my husband was writing the official history of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company for them, he got to know several other Americans who also worked for them. One of the men told of an experience that shocked him. He was in one of the office buildings when some vans pulled up in front, and the people occupying the buildings were told to come outside. As they stood there, tarpaulins were spread on the ground and several prisoners were pulled out of the vans. They were made to kneel on the tarps and then they were beheaded. The police placed the bodies back in the vans, gathered up the bloody tarps and took off.
Now that *is* bloody-minded.
Marianne
Marianne: Good point: They obviously have the know-how to deal with pirates and some others who deserve justice. Problem is that their official version of the “religion of peace” would justify quite a bit more justice, and more broadly, than they are likely to dish out. They are definitely of a mixed bag, but mostly nuts.
Their rapidly growing highly inbred population is a time bomb.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/01/world/saudi-arabia-awakes-to-the-perils-of-inbreeding.html
Marriage among blood relatives was common on the frontier in this country. That pretty much ended as the population densified. There are still several states that allow marriage of first cousins, but I’ve yet to meet anyone in that boat. There has been enough knowledge about the problems spread in this country that people understand the risks.
Tribal cultures still have the problem, however, and the Arab culture is one of the worst in that regard, although it is seen from the Maghreb through the “Stans.” Tribal power is a serious thing and cousin marriage tends to keep things concentrated. Unless the Saudi crown outlaws cousin marriage, I doubt it will end anytime soon.
I also wonder if they were to outlaw it, if that might be viewed as a cause to try to overthrow the crown. I doubt, seriously, that Abdullah intends to run that experiment.
It worked for Ashkenazi Jews (Tay-Sachs and all). But then it’s only worthwhile with the right selection pressures. Otherwise there is no upside, except keeping money in the family. (In the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt, they married their sisters. Ewww…)
Jews were pretty much forced to marry inside their group of co-religionists as intermarriage was frowned on by both the Jewish leadership and the Gentiles themselves. They pretty much had the frontier situation forced on them by the politico-religious climate they lived in.
Tay-Sachs is still a problem for that group, and probably will be for many generations.
I’m working for a company that has been helping the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) “modernize” for over 35 years (I’ve been here for 2 years). The mindset of many here is that they are “Saudi”, therefore everything should be given to them, for little to nothing – the entitlement culture is alive and well here. Work for many Saudis is only for 4-6 hours per day (except for Wednesday – if they are working after 1300, then something is wrong)…many employees complain about having to go home to “their family” starting at 1100. To find a Saudi working an eight hour day is rare (I’m lucky to work with one that has a Western work ethic).
Nepotism is also prevalent in the company (the company is a joint US/Saudi company) – most hiring is done based on “Abdullah being a brother/son/nephew/cousin of employee Hassan, who’s got the blessing of a family connection within the SANG to “pull strings” for them. Many don’t met the job descriptions for their jobs – many of the Translators can’t even hold a conversation in English.
Menial jobs are done by “OFW’s”, who do jobs that pay less than SR500 per month (around $150.00)- and live in compounds that are squatters camps for years, if not decades. Workers and maids are abused by employers – some even murdered (this makes the papers here almost daily) and little is done by local authorities or the embassies to stop the abuses or the “slave trade” that is going on here.
Power is split between the King (SANG), Crown Prince (Defense) and Prince Naif (Minister of Interior) – all three are 80+ years old, and have shifted some of the day to day power to their sons late last year. Both the King and Crown Prince have had serious health issues, and Naif is conservative in his views (he for more restrictions on freedoms). If protests were to go down, MOI will be at the front for keeping order. SANG is nothing but a modern day Ikhwan (religious army) with units set up along tribal lines, and woefully unprepared to protect the Kingdom from external threats or to support the people after natural/man-made disasters (Google “Jeddah flooding”). Defense has all the nice “toys” but the Saudi mindset of “inshallah” when it comes to training or maintenance is prevalent. If we did not step in during Desert Shield/Desert Storm when we did, Saddam would have been in Riyadh within a week – if you want to invade the KSA, do it after 1300 on a Wednesday…the Saudis may be ready by the following Sunday, at best.
Add to his mix is the 30% Shiite population (most in the East, closer to Bahrain) that perceive themselves as being discriminated upon, and a notable population that is from Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan and other Arab states that “fight” terrorism. Unemployment here for young Saudis is close to 20%, and there is a increase in crime, especially towards Westerners. Thrown in the fatwas from the Imams and the strict enforcement of Sharia law by the Ha’ia and Mutawa’s (religious police) and you can see that there is “perfect storm” brewing here.
There is a call for demonstrations here on 11 March – there have been “protests” in the East this week – if it happens, I expect that the reaction of the MOI will be swift and deadly. If they fail to intervene, and the King and his family is forced from the throne, then Saudi Arabia will fall apart and split along tribal lines once again.
Oh, if only Feisal and Lawrence had had their way! Sigh!
T. E. Lawrence famously said that given a company of tanks and his accustomed escort, he could sort those Wahhabbis out.
Fence ‘em in long enough, and they will sort themselves out. Maybe they could televise it as a reality show. Not for the young or squeamish, I’m sure.