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Fourth of July a good time to consider the freedoms opposed by US allies in the Middle East

Rogue Valley

Rogue Valley

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The Hill | Fourth of July a good time to consider the freedoms opposed by US allies in the Middle East

Such a model of state “security” is likely living on borrowed time.

gap_binsalmanmohammed_120218getty.jpg

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) of Saudi Arabia. Torture, stoning, flogging, beheading, and dismemberment.

7/4/19
The Fourth of July — for all its pomp and patriotism — ought also to be a moment of self-reflection by U.S. policymakers struggling to develop a coherent strategy for the Middle East. They should consider the region’s constellation of autocratic rulers who suffocate dissent and any alternative vision of political, economic, religious, and social life. The torture, imprisonment, and murder of opposition party members, activists, journalists, and dissidents remains the favored tactic by various regimes wishing to stifle any semblance of opposition to their rule, one which has only increased both in its frequency and audacity in recent years. Throughout the region, even mild activism has become fraught. Blog about free speech or question religious norms in Saudi Arabia: 10-years and 1,000 lashes. Tweet about the death of Yemeni civilians at the hands of a Saudi-UAE led coalition and allegations of torture at Bahrain’s notorious Jaw prison: five-year sentence. Insult Turkish president Erdogan in the slightest manner - whether in text, speech, or song: prison. These are only some of the most high-profile cases and don’t include Iran, where if one advocates for environmental protections one will be named a “bio-terrorist” or labeled a foreign agent and end-up in Evin prison.

Autocrats of the region are banking on U.S. policymakers to allow the abuses to slide, rather than raising concerns about wrongful imprisonment and death of regional political activists and dissidents. This approach signals to the region’s autocracies that every case of repression — whether the victims be high-profile individuals, masses of everyday citizens, or even Americans — are manageable exceptions, singular matters to be addressed within the narrower context of a country’s own domestic environment and evaluated in the context of the country’s bi-lateral relationship with the United States. Absent any principled or consistent U.S. approach, individual countries can be assured that there will be limited and short-term impacts of any ritualized public hand-wringing. The failure of U.S. policymakers even to articulate a meaningful policy (not to mention address such a trend) means these countries will in fact be less stable and secure, and present threats to U.S. national interests as well as signify a missed opportunity to promote American values.
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Although autocratic rule and brutality function as intended in the short-term, they will not endure here in the Information Age and will invariably lead to more Arab Springs, and new governments that may very well resent past US ambivalence and its failure to champion democracy and human rights. Ignoring or tolerating the crimes of brutal ME regimes tarnishes the image of the US and neuters any high-moral-ground argument.
 
Rogue Valley said:
The Hill | Fourth of July a good time to consider the freedoms opposed by US allies in the Middle East

Such a model of state “security” is likely living on borrowed time.

gap_binsalmanmohammed_120218getty.jpg

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) of Saudi Arabia. Torture, stoning, flogging, beheading, and dismemberment.



Although autocratic rule and brutality function as intended in the short-term, they will not endure here in the Information Age and will invariably lead to more Arab Springs, and new governments that may very well resent past US ambivalence and its failure to champion democracy and human rights. Ignoring or tolerating the crimes of brutal ME regimes tarnishes the image of the US and neuters any high-moral-ground argument.
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Sadly, the USS High Moral Ground had sailed.
 
Need I point out that USA hypocrisy in that region is all due to the colossal profits made on petroleum.

The Saudis commit all manner of outrage... but they've got oil.

That's the morality which has come to govern USA policy in many respects, as our govt becomes more of a service agency for corporations than an agency of the will of the people.
 
Michel Montvert said:
Need I point out that USA hypocrisy in that region is all due to the colossal profits made on petroleum.

The Saudis commit all manner of outrage... but they've got oil.

That's the morality which has come to govern USA policy in many respects, as our govt becomes more of a service agency for corporations than an agency of the will of the people.
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Which is exacerbated with the corporatist GOP agenda and the transactional Trump administration.
 
Rogue Valley said:
The Hill | Fourth of July a good time to consider the freedoms opposed by US allies in the Middle East

Such a model of state “security” is likely living on borrowed time.

gap_binsalmanmohammed_120218getty.jpg

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) of Saudi Arabia. Torture, stoning, flogging, beheading, and dismemberment.



Although autocratic rule and brutality function as intended in the short-term, they will not endure here in the Information Age and will invariably lead to more Arab Springs, and new governments that may very well resent past US ambivalence and its failure to champion democracy and human rights. Ignoring or tolerating the crimes of brutal ME regimes tarnishes the image of the US and neuters any high-moral-ground argument.
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You don't even have a supporting citation. You don't have any sources at all. Zero, zippo, zilch, bubkis. Can't be much of a position if you can't support it with anything other than flapping lips.
 
stan1990 said:
You don't even have a supporting citation. You don't have any sources at all. Zero, zippo, zilch, bubkis. Can't be much of a position if you can't support it with anything other than flapping lips.
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You responded to a post that contained supporting citation....

Why lie?
 
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