Categories
Television

Saudi Arabia Uncovered

It’s one of the most secretive and repressive societies on the face of the earth. Welcome to Saudi Arabia. The totalitarian nature of the Saudi regime is graphically exposed in Saudi Arabia Uncovered, a British documentary now available on the Netflix streaming network. The footage was shot by Saudi dissidents and British photographers with hidden […]

Categories
Arts

Desert Diplomat

In the spring of 2001, George W. Bush, the then president of the United States, asked his friend, Robert W. Jordan, a Dallas lawyer, to be America’s 25th ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a major U.S. ally in the Middle East and an active participant in regional developments, its autocratic system of government and its intolerance of […]

Categories
Middle East

Schizophrenic Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a schizophrenic state oscillating between pragmatism and extremism. Supposedly “moderate,” Saudi Arabia helps keep oil prices in check and expresses a readiness to sign a peace accord with Israel if the Israeli government fully accepts the Arab League peace plan, which was unveiled in 2002 and again in 2007. As the price […]

Categories
Middle East

Saudi Arabia’s Ties With United States Seriously Strained

Concerned by the serious strains clouding its strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia, the United States is striving to patch up yawning differences with its oil-rich Arab ally over key regional issues. Late last week, U.S. President Barack Obama visited Riyadh, the Saudi capital, in an attempt to improve relations. It was his second trip to […]