THE HOT JOINTS » Saudi Arabia

Video: Saudi Judge Says Husbands Can Slap Wives For Spending Too Much Money

Chris Jones — Tue, 12 May 2009 01:09:05 +0000

I know, you’re shocked.

Hypocrisy: Is The U.S. Helping The Saudis Go Nuclear?

Chris Jones — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:57:45 +0000

Hot Air is reporting that Condoleezza Rice was in Saudi Arabia last month promising the Saudis that America would help them develop a nuclear infrastructure, build nuclear reactors, and train nuclear engineers. Basically, everything the Iranians are doing that we want them stop doing.

I really hope there is some kind of context that I’m missing here, because this is the kind of thing that really makes America lose credibility. We can’t expect to be taken seriously when we complain that Iran sits on a lake of oil, and therefore has no need to develop nuclear power. Then at the same time start helping the Saudis to develop nuclear technology when they sit on an even bigger lake of oil.

Blogger Arrested In Saudi Arabia

Chris Jones — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 20:35:56 +0000

Fouad al-Farhan is one of the few bloggers in Saudi Arabia to actually use his real name. Not coincidentally, he’s also apparently the first blogger to be arrested in the Saudi Kingdom.

The Saudi English daily, Arab News, said al-Farhan had “violated non-security regulations.” The paper said the 32-year-old Jeddah resident was arrested at his office Dec. 10 and taken to his home where police conducted a search. There were no other details.

Following the arrest, al-Farhan’s friends who are now running his Web site, posted a letter allegedly from the blogger claiming he was told by an official there was an Interior Ministry order “to investigate me and they will pick me up anytime in the next two weeks.”

In it, he also said he believed Saudi authorities were after him because he “wrote about political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.”

Al-Farhan added that officials asked him to sign an apology but that he wasn’t ready to do that.

“An apology for what? Apologizing because I said the government is liar when it accused those people of supporting terrorism,” he said.

As for al-Farhan being certain as to who is or is not a terrorist I’m not so sure about, but obviously he should have the right to say it.

Blogging is actually a very popular activity in Saudi Arabia and the arrest of al-Farhan is widely perceived as a warning to other bloggers, which under the circumstances is probably a pretty accurate perception.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Monsour al-Turki said the blogger might be released on Wednesday but did not elaborate.

-Chris Jones

Battle Brewing In Congress Over Arms Sale To Saudi Arabia

Chris Jones — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 17:53:19 +0000

A plan to sell Saudi Arabia highly accurate JDAM guidance kits as part of a planned $20 billion dollar arms sale is being met with howls of protest in the Congress.

As many as 253 members of the 435-seat House of Representatives have signed bipartisan warnings to Bush about such a sale to Saudi Arabia, which they consider a threat to Israel.

Israel became the first foreign buyer of JDAMs in 2000. Since then, 18 countries have followed, according to Boeing’s Web site. However, Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East that possesses JDAM technology.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit is a low-cost guidance kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurately guided “smart” weapons. Since 1998, Boeing has produced more than 150,000 JDAM tail kits.

The JDAM kit consists of a new tail section that contains an Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System that:

Utilizes global positioning system (GPS) technology

Can be launched miles from a target

Relies on the navigation system to update its trajectory all the way to impact

Is used with MK-83/BLU-110, MK-84, BLU-109 and MK-82 warheads

The majority of bombs dropped by the U.S. in both Afghanistan and Iraq are JDAM equipped bombs. The precise nature of the weapon allows collateral damage to be kept to a minimum.

The JDAM sale would be part of a combined $20 billion in fresh U.S. arms sales to Gulf Arab states described by Washington as a strategic drive to counter Iran’s growing might.

In July, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described planned U.S. sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman as a counter to “the negative influences” of al Qaeda and Hezbollah as well as the countries Syria and Iran.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, a New York Democrat, said he and 35 other House members plan to introduce a measure aimed at blocking a JDAM sale “the minute Congress is officially notified.”

Saudi Arabia remains the top regional buyer of U.S. weapons, including Boeing F-15 fighter aircraft, United Technologies Corp Black Hawk helicopters, and General Dynamics Corp light armored vehicles, night-vision goggles, thermal weapons sights, and long-range radios.

More Than 5,600 Websites Link To Al-Qaeda

Chris Jones — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:57:20 +0000

According to Reuters, more than 5,600 websites are spreading Al-Qaeda’s extremist ideology worldwide, with more than 900 new ones appearing every year.

A Saudi researcher has identified the Internet as a key battlefield for militants who launched a campaign to topple the U.S.-allied ruling royal family in 2003.

Khaled al-Faram gave a presentation to the Information Technology and National Security conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The conference was organized by the Saudi intelligence agency to encourage the public to cooperate more with the government and share expertise on how to survey the Internet for militant activity.

He said it was difficult to track most of the sites, though hardcore al Qaeda sites often change addresses to avoid detection or start up again elsewhere once infiltrated.

“There are some 900 news sites appearing every year, and despite the retreat of some media outlets specifically run by al Qaeda, extremist Web sites are constantly on the rise.”

“The real battle with al Qaeda is no longer on the ground, but rather a media battle, and it is a real threat to national security,” Faram told Reuters.

“For al Qaeda media coverage is more important than the actual operations,” he said.

Saudi Prince To Buy “Flying Palace”

Chris Jones — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:39:44 +0000

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has ordered his own Airbus A380 which is the largest passenger plane on earth. The plane is said to be costing the Saudi billionaire more than $300 million and is being purchased and outfitted solely for his private comfort.

Airbus SAS hasn’t released a specific price tag for the VIP double-decker jet, with its football field-length wings, saying only that it would cost more than the aircraft’s list price of $320 million.

That doesn’t even include the money the prince will spend to custom fit the nearly 6,000-square foot plane to include whatever he wants. The options include private bedrooms, a movie theater or even a gym with a jacuzzi. He’ll also need a flight crew of about 15 to operate the luxury liner.

The Saudi Prince is the single largest individual shareholder of Citigroup Inc. and the thirteenth richest person in the world with a fortune estimated at around $20 billion.

As a member of the Saudi royal family, he benefits from the country’s vast oil wealth. But much of bin Talal’s huge fortune comes from his investment firm, the $25-billion Kingdom Holding Co., which has stakes in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., Fairmont Raffles Hotels International Inc., Time Warner Inc., Apple Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Walt Disney Co. to name a few major corporations.

Saudi King Heckled in Britain

Chris Jones — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:11:56 +0000

Demonstrators harassed Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah on Tuesday over the kingdom’s human rights practices and his comments that Britain has failed to do enough to stop terrorism.

Before Abdullah arrived on Monday for the first state visit by a Saudi king in two decades, he accused Britain of failing to act on intelligence that might have prevented the 2005 London transit bombings, triggering debate about the kingdom’s response to terrorism.

About 100 human rights and anti-arms trade activists shouted “Shame on you” at the Muslim leader as he made his way to Buckingham Palace in a royal carriage procession.

I think it would be fair to say that King Abdullah could have acted on intelligence to stop fifteen Saudi citizens from hijacking airplanes and killing 3,000 Americans, as long as we’re giving constructive criticism.

Before giving others advice about how to fight terrorism, the King should consider doing a little house cleaning in that kingdom of his. Saudi Arabia is the epicenter of Sunni extremism and continues to be a breeding ground for terrorists.

-Samantha Giles

THE HOT JOINTS » Saudi Arabia

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