Humanity over Greed

U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East is failing. ISIS is terrorizing large swaths of Iraq and Syria. The Syrian Civil War has been raging for three years. Over 4.5 million people have been displaced. Israel and Palestine are far from peace.

“We make enemies in the people. We also take away the people’s right to self-determination.”

One of the biggest foreign policy failures has been the support of tyrannical dictators. On that list is the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and the entire House of Saud. Saudi Arabia is consistently on “Freedom House’s” “Worst of the Worst” list of human rights violators. The government is an absolute monarchy. The government enforces a type of “shariah” that’s so bad it’s un-Islamic. The laws are there so the government can make more money. For example, most women can’t drive. But women who work for Saudi Aramco can. Foreign military forces weren’t allowed on Saudi soil. The law was overturned when Saudi Arabia needed U.S. forces during the First Gulf War. Women are third class citizens. A quarter of the population lives under the poverty line. Most of the wealth is controlled by the Saud family. The list of human rights violations is long and extensive. Yet, Saudi Arabia is considered one of America’s closest allies in the Middle East.

American support of the Saudi dictator is just one of many examples of the U.S. backing authoritarian regimes. We also supported Hosni Mubarak, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and perhaps most infamously Saddam Hussein. We support these dictators so we can get oil and they can keep quiet about Israel.

America, supposedly the greatest country on Earth, should be the beacon of hope and democracy. But supporting tyrannical governments supports despair and oppression. We make enemies in the people. We also take away the people’s right to self-determination. By putting U.S. economic interests ahead of humanitarian interests, we damage our long term interests and make enemies.

Now that a new king has taken the throne in Saudi Arabia, it is a good time to re-evaluate our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Now is a good time to force the Saudi government to improve its human rights and to make its government more inclusive.President Barack Obama is in the twilight of his presidency. He has already shown with Cuba that he is willing to make foreign policy changes. Now it’s time to take that change to the Middle East. ♥