With Friends Like These. . .

 

Saudi Arabia is the best friend the United States has in the Arab world. And it has oil.

 

President Obama plans to meet June 3 in Riyadh with King Abdullah. The two leaders last met April 2, and the White House said of that meeting:

 

“The President met with King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia today in London. The leaders reaffirmed the long-standing, strong relationship between the two countries. They discussed international cooperation regarding the global economy, regional political and security issues, and cooperation against terrorism. The President reiterated his appreciation for Saudi Arabia's leadership in promoting the Arab Peace Initiative. He and King Abdullah agreed to continue close consultations on a range of bilateral and regional issues.”

 

It’s not known whether consultations were involved before Saudi Arabia on May 29 beheaded a man convicted of two murders and then put his body on public display in a “crucifixion.” By count of The Associated Press, that’s 35 beheadings so far this year, which suggests 2009 is behind the pace set in 2008, with 102 beheadings.

 

The beheadings are done in public with a sword, but CNN’s reporting assures us that the crucifixion isn’t like the image at the heart of Christianity. No crosses involved – the head is just sewed back on and the body displayed on a pole or a tree.

 

All of which upsets many, including Amnesty International, but Saudi Arabia is the best friend the United States has in the Arab world. And it has oil.

 

In March a Saudi court sentenced the 75-year-old Syrian widow of a Saudi man to prison and 40 lashes because she had asked a couple of men unrelated to her to bring her five loaves of bread. The men were also sentenced, the crime of all three being “illegal mingling.”

 

For a 75-year-old, 40 lashes is life-threatening, but after all, the woman is single and she was talking with men who weren’t her relatives. A Saudi high court refused to ratify the sentence in May and sent it back to the lower court, where the outcome remains in doubt.

 

That an elderly widow and two men could be sentenced to anything over five loaves of bread troubles many, but it may not come up during the June 3 meeting between President Obama and King Abdullah. Saudi Arabia is the best friend the United States has in the Arab world. And it has oil.

 

And it is also in Saudi Arabia that women aren’t allowed to drive. And it’s permitted for a husband to slap a wife who spends too much, a judge ruled recently. That judge is part of a judiciary that twice ruled against an eight-year-old girl trying to divorce her 47-year-old husband, before finally relenting after international criticism. And Saudi Arabia is where amputation of hands and feet is in the lists of punishments. And  stoning.

 

But that probably won’t come up on June 3 between President Obama and King Abdullah because Saudi Arabia is the best friend the United States has in the Arab world. And it has oil.

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