Trusting Saudi Arabia to combat terrorists and extremists and “drive them out,” as President Trump called on the kingdom and other Arab and Muslim nations to do in his Riyadh speech, is akin to forging an alliance with the Ku Klux Klan to combat racism and anti-Semitism. Saudi Arabia has for years promoted the very […]
Saudi Arabia
Posted inOp-Eds
Middle East peace comes through Saudi Arabia
“Whom the gods would destroy, they first tempt to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.” — Irving Kristol WASHINGTON — The quixotic American pursuit of Middle East peace is a perennial. It invariably fails, yet every administration feels compelled to give it a try. The Trump administration is no different. It will fail as well. To be […]
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America has now signed up for Saudi Arabia foreign policy
WASHINGTON — The recent bombing in Manchester was another gruesome reminder that the threat from radical Islamic terrorism is ongoing. And President Trump’s journey to the Middle East illustrated yet again how the country central to the spread of this terrorism, Saudi Arabia, has managed to evade and deflect any responsibility for it. In fact, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
U.S. House passes Sept. 11 bill to allow families to sue Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON — Approval of a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia puts Congress on a collision course with President Barack Obama on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks. The House passed the legislation Friday by voice vote, about four months after […]
Posted inOp-Eds, sj-web
Questions remain about Sept. 11 Saudi role
Formerly classified, 28 pages of a probe into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are a mystery no longer. Their release 14 years after Congress made the rest of its report public was supposed to end suspicions of an official Saudi role in the horror. It did not. Nearly 15 years has passed since terrorists weaponized […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Saudi Arabia: Keep the devil you know
NEW YORK — Should the United States cut off its ties to Saudi Arabia? I’ve been a critic of Saudi Arabia for decades, but with all the problems, I think America is better off with the alliance than without. Congress might soon pass a bill that would allow individual Americans — relatives of those who […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Obama names former UMS chancellor to be next ambassador to Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON — Former University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph W. Westphal was nominated Wednesday by President Barack Obama to be the next U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Westphal was among five nominees announced Wednesday in a White House statement. “I am grateful these accomplished individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I’m confident they […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Day after election, Saudi Arabia rejects seat on UN Security Council
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Just hours after winning a coveted place on the U.N. Security Council for the first time, Saudi Arabia did a stunning about-face Friday and rejected the seat, denouncing the body for failing to resolve world conflicts such as the Syrian civil war. The unprecedented move at the United Nations appeared largely […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Activist: Women still can’t drive in Saudi Arabia, but ‘things are changing’
LEWISTON — There’s a New England connection to the woman who received worldwide attention in 2011 for being being jailed for driving in Saudi Arabia, a country where it is illegal for women to drive. Activist Manal al-Sharif spoke to a packed Bates College audience Wednesday night. She’s been named by Time magazine one of […]