“He may be an S.O.B., but he’s our S.O.B.” That maxim, sometimes attributed to President Franklin Roosevelt, has frequently served as a credo for U.S. foreign policy. During the Cold War, the United States made common cause with too many dictators to count. A partial list includes: Fulgencio Batista, Anastasio Somoza, Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese […]
Saudi Arabia
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
About Saudia Arabia
Area 2,149,690 sq km: All of it land, no water. Thus it’s mostly sandy desert. It’s about 1/5 the size of the United States. It has 2,640 km of coastline. People Population: 28,571,770 (July 2017) 37 percent are immigrants 83.8 percent are in urban areas Arabic is the official language Religion Muslim is the official […]
advertisement
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The US needs Saudi Arabia, and vice versa
After the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, there have been many calls for reexamining the U.S.-Saudi relationship, even for imposing sanctions. As an economist, I understand there are diplomatic fine points to this relationship that lie beyond my expertise, but still: It is worth reviewing the economic and exchange-based reasons why U.S.-Saudi relations have been so […]
Posted inPerspective, sj-web
The myth of the modernizing dictator
Many Americans have an odd fascination with the idea of the reforming autocrat, the strongman who can “modernize” and lead his nation out of its backward and benighted past. This was the hope for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, a hope now somewhat diminished by the hit he appears to have ordered […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Turkish president: Saudis plotted writer's killing for days
ISTANBUL (AP) — Saudi Arabia must identify those who ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and turn over the suspects for trial, the Turkish president said Tuesday in remarks that carefully ratcheted up pressure on a country that is a source of investment for Turkey, but also a rival for influence in the Middle […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
How not to modernize Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON — If, as appears increasingly likely, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, then he has joined Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un among the ranks of rogue leaders who assassinate their critics on foreign soil. The only difference is that the Russian president and North Korean leader […]
Posted inSchools & Education, The Franklin Journal
Dhoha Bediwi looks forward to sharing her country’s culture while in Maine
FARMINGTON — Dhoha Bediwi, a junior from Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia, has always wanted to try new things. She will do that over the next nine months while an exchange student at Mt. Blue High School. “Change is a good thing. It can make us learn about life. I always wanted to live ‘The American Dream’ […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Trump is now invested in a risky Saudi strategy
LONDON — Donald Trump gave a speech this past week grading his Asia trip. Not surprisingly, he thought it was a “tremendous success.” “Our great country is respected again in Asia,” he tweeted. All recent polling data from the region suggests the opposite. A core focus of Trump’s trip was Japan and South Korea, but […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Iranian threats may spur Saudi-Israeli alliance
The Iranian-sponsored November 4 ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, continues to roil the Middle East — and it should. Recently I wrote that missile attack signaled an escalation in the simmering regional war between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Shia Islamic revolutionary regime. Their proxy war in Yemen would become more […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
The Saudi Arabia-Iran war escalates
On November 4, a U.S.-made Patriot missile intercepted an Iranian-manufactured Burkan H-2 short-range ballistic missile as its warhead plunged toward the international airport outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital. Though the missile was launched from Yemen, with good reason Saudi leaders called the attack an act of “aggression” by Iran. A human rights organization said the […]