The US is all over itself with praise for the recently dead Saudi king……at what point is a ruling family that subscribes to punishment like beheading or stoning or lashes worthy of a contest to honor it? Or a society that does not allow women much lee way….in essence keeps them as 2nd class citizens.
I realize that this is more about geopolitics than the truth……the US has never been one for the truth if it gets in the way of BS foreign policy……
To what purpose is this competition?
Sorry, but I have a large problem with type of pure BS and propaganda……
Defense.gov News Article: Dempsey Sponsors Essay Competition to Honor Saudi King.
Well said!
Thanx and I appreciate the visit….please come often…..chuq
There have always been those among us – authoritarian types – who do not truly appreciate democracy and in fact despise it because they see too much freedom as a destabilizing factor to their world view. It was the authoritarians who helped many Nazi’s evade capture after WWII or who used them to teach them about the techniques they used to control people or extract information from their enemies. The Saudi royal family runs their country with an iron fist and the authoritarian appreciates this form of governance over the ability of a plurality to decide with their vote.
Many of these people now no longer see China and Russia as the enemy since the only difference that existed between them and the former communist states is that they now pretty much rejected communism for capitalism. Despotic regimes seem to be okay to them as long as they favor the concept of free markets or at least accommodate those capitalists who make them rich using local resources.
So true…the free market can explain away lots of democratic abuses….I will be writing on dictators and a piece I found on intervention….should take me a couple of days….