Posted on 05/16/2003 1:34:34 AM PDT by sarcasm
It is long past time we said so: The central guilty party in this week's massacre in Saudi Arabia - and many that took place in other countries - is painfully easy to identify, but almost never is. He is Crown Prince Abdullah, the ruler of Saudi Arabia.
Under the crown prince's monarchical dictatorship, he and his vast family gave at least a half-billion dollars, probably more, to Al Qaeda, that coalition of terrorist gangs that likes to put itself forward as so strong and magically wise that it alone can kill all its political, military and religious enemies.
The crown prince has given Al Qaeda not just money, but armor, training and safe haven. He has lied repeatedly about his intent to fight terrorism. And he has ignored warnings about imminent terrorist attacks, including the latest one in Saudi Arabia.
Legally and morally, Abdullah is guilty of making possible murders committed singly or en masse by Al Qaeda and all the gangs that are part of it, or long to be.
He blusters out a few sentences now and then about how one day he will destroy the terrorists in his country. He proclaims that the terrorists will not shake one hair on the body of Saudi Arabia. But neither bravado nor the passage of time diminishes the guilt of the crown family and its army of servitors.
Neither do they end the terrorization of the people of Saudi Arabia and the foreigners who are unlucky or foolish enough to live there. Unless they are practitioners of the Wahhabi sect of Islam, they are not considered acceptable, true Muslims and cannot worship in public. If Saudis or resident foreigners practice Christianity openly, they are committing a crime deserving the lash and prison. If they are suspected of trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, the punishment can be death.
Next to oil, the biggest industry of Saudi Arabia is promoting loathing of other peoples and religion. Dore Gold, former Israeli UN ambassador, has selected a painfully accurate title for his new book about Saudi Arabia: "Hatred's Kingdom."
In it, he reports that every part of Saudi society and government tries to smother all religions and sects except the approved branch of Islam. It comes close to round-the-clock religious propaganda, and it is carried to most parts of the world, particularly Africa, Asia and the Middle East. More horrid, the textbooks given to school children emit a stench of hatred against all religions but Wahhabism.
As I was writing this column, I received an E-mail from Memri, the organization that opens the minds of those who cannot read Arabic by distributing almost daily translations of Arabic newspapers and government pronouncements. This one announced that the religious police have put up a warning sign for consumers: "Barbie Doll is Jewish."
Crown Prince Abdullah has at least three mouths for dealing with diplomats. No. 1 is the good-guy mouth. No. 2 is for replying to foreigners who have come looking for oil and military contracts. No. 3 is for promising again that one day he will take real action against the terrorists. I doubt there is a diplomat in the country who believes a word from any of the mouths.
Mideast countries will continue to use oil for blackmail - especially Saudi Arabia, which acts as if no other country has oil - until President Bush shows he meant what he said Sept. 20, 2001: "We will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. ... From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime."
Now, here is a daydream: The next time the President speaks to Abdullah, he will include these sentences: "We talk with one mouth. So must you. Not for a month, but as long as civilized conduct demands. One more lie, and it's three strikes, if you get my drift."
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