When the U.N. General Assembly voted on resolution A/RES/66/12 in late November, it passed easily with 106 votes. What was unusual about the otherwise routine vote was that several notable countries voted against it. The resolution, which was introduced by Saudi Arabia and co-sponsored by more than 50 nations including the U.S., was intended to condemn terrorism, specifically criticizing Iran’s alleged involvement in the plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. The text “encouraged Member States to take additional steps to prevent, on their territories, the planning, financing, …
U.S. authorities announced today that they disrupted an Iranian plan to commit a “significant terrorist act in the United States,” making it the forty-second thwarted terrorist attack against the homeland. The federal government has filed criminal charges against two Iranians with conspiracy to murder the Saudi ambassador to Washington and conspiracy to commit an act of international terrorism, among other charges. In addition to the assassination of the Saudi ambassador, the men planned bomb attacks on the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington. It us no surprise that the indictment …
Empowering and educating women in oppressive regimes around the world is one of the best ways to elevate freedom and democracy in those areas. The spark of a freedom movement has caught fire in one of the worst places for women in the world: Saudi Arabia. Manal Al-Sharif is the woman whose face is at the forefront of a new campaign to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia. Like the flurry of protests before it this year, the “Women2Drive” movement demonstrates a powerful thirst for freedom in a place …
Troops loyal to Libyan dictator Muammar Qadhafi’s regime continued their advance toward the rebel stronghold of Benghazi yesterday, as the Obama Administration scrambled to mount a response at the U.N. Security Council, where it now apparently favors a more muscular approach to the crisis. Today the Obama Administration is reportedly pushing for a Security Council resolution that would authorize a no-fly zone and air strikes against regime forces that threaten Libyan opposition forces. The Obama Administration has been widely criticized for ruling out military action unless it is first approved …
The March 11 “Day of Rage” demonstrations called for by political opponents of the Saudi monarchy did not materialize as anticipated. Turnout for the protests was sparse in the face of warnings from Saudi officials that laws prohibiting public demonstrations would be strictly enforced. On the day of the protest, the government ordered a massive police clampdown, mobilizing thousands of internal security forces in major cities to erect a web of checkpoints and mobile patrols. Perhaps more importantly, there was growing confusion over exactly who was calling for the “Day …
The Saudi Interior Ministry announced yesterday that it had uncovered a plot to attack Saudi oil facilities and arrested 113 suspected members of al-Qaeda. The 113 militants reportedly were organized into three cells and had been planning suicide attacks on oil and security facilities in Saudi Arabia’s oil-producing Eastern Province. Fifty two of the suspects were from Yemen, which has become the primary base for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula after many cells based in Saudi Arabia were uprooted in previous Saudi crackdowns. Al-Qaeda long has been focused on attacking …
The Obama Administration is ignoring news reports that Russia is planning to sign a contract with Saudi Arabia, in which the Kingdom will receive over US $2 billion in Russian arms and military technology. Most likely, the contract will be signed by the end of this year. Traditionally, the arms market of the Persian Gulf has been the hunting reserve of the American and European defense industries, which both provide up to 90 percent of the weapon needs of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirates. The current deal was facilitated …
