News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 1, 2016: Obama’s America is a challenge for me every week – deciding which of Obama’s PROGRESSIVE failures to feature.
For example this episode features both Saudi Arabia and Obama’s failed prisoner release promise. Both make excellent subjects – but I must choose one of them.
Here is the larger problem. You should see the long list of episodes I have started than switched to something “better” that came along at the last moment and I never get back to the other story because so much new material is appearing every week about Barack Obama’s many new failures.
It’s my burden. Let me not burden you with it. Enough; let’s move on.
I’m going with Saudi Arabia and “maybe” next week prisoner release …
So let me begin by wondering what President Obama watches at night on those super 4G giant plasma screens I am sure he has upstairs in the living quarters? The question is, did he watch Front Line on PBS Tuesday night?
President Obama certainly should have so he is finally adequately informed about the REAL Saudi Arabia, not the one he works so hard to please no matter what the Whacky Republicans say. In their minds, America cannot do enough to support ruthless dictators all over the globe.
The Republicans should be happy Obama does plenty for these goons – the Saud family – that lords it over Saudi Arabia named in their “honor” – where they steal most of the vast oil wealth for themselves and their cronies.
The Republicans complain President Obama does not show them enough love. President Obama simply treats them as allies, selling them lots of American weapons, apologizing to them for his Iran deal, ignoring the REAL Saudi Arabia and yes once again visiting Saudi Arabia on April 21st to yet again proclaim America’s alliance with the Saudi monarchs.
This is WHY President Obama, more than anyone else in America, should have been watching Front Line on Tuesday evening and their new episode “Saudi Arabia Uncovered.” So he could finally uncover the truth =!
Here are some excerpts from the PBS article about the episode …
“Forty-seven. That’s how many people the government of Saudi Arabia executed on terror charges in a single day at the start of 2016, in the kingdom’s largest wave of executions in more than three decades.”
“That bloody day — which included the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a controversial Shia cleric and opponent of the Saudi government – sent shock waves around the region and the world, prompting fresh scrutiny of the oil-rich kingdom, long a U.S. ally.”
“With undercover footage, on-the-ground reporting, and unique access to al-Nimr’s family (his 21-year-old nephew Ali is now on death row for his alleged role in anti-government protests as a teenager), the documentary shows a side of Saudi Arabia rarely seen by the outside world: enormous wealth and modernity alongside stark poverty, public violence, and restrictions on women, such as the prohibition of driving.”
YES, even women driving a car here in the 21st century is FORBIDDEN!
More from this week’s media ‘partner’ PBS …
“Though Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter and King Salman, the royal family, and their inner circle are among the wealthiest people in the world, the global crash in oil prices has hit the Saudi economy hard: As undercover footage obtained by FRONTLINE illustrates, as much as a quarter of the population is estimated to live in poverty.”
ENCORE …..
“King Salman, the royal family, and their inner circle are among the wealthiest people in the world …. as much as a quarter of the population is estimated to live in poverty.”
“All the people are angry, but the problem is that they can’t speak. Everyone is scared of being imprisoned,” says an activist named Yasser who filmed for FRONTLINE. “If the truth comes out it will be the beginning of the end for [the regime].”
IF THE TRUTH COMES OUT … did you hear that President Obama?
“The undercover footage filmed by Yasser’s network of activists documents public violence against women, reveals brutal conditions inside a Saudi prison, and captures scenes of protest in the Shia-dominated east of the country after the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Saudi Arabia Uncovered also shows the kingdom’s notorious religious police – the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice – patrolling streets and shopping malls to enforce their strict form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, and how children are taught in school that Christians, Jews and Shia Muslims are the enemy.”
ENCORE ….
“The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice – patrolling streets and shopping malls to enforce their strict form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, and how children are taught in school that Christians, Jews and Shia Muslims are the enemy.”
And this ….
“Along the way, the film follows key figures leading efforts to make change in Saudi Arabia: Raif Badawi, a blogger who was imprisoned and sentenced to 1,000 lashes for posts critical of the government and Islam”
There is much, much more but I think this is enough here.
So whether or not President Obama watched this documentary, here for all practical purposes is his response also from PBS …
“ On April 21, Obama will return to the kingdom for a summit with Arab leaders….
In advance of the trip, FRONTLINE asked two experts — “Vali Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and Gary Sick, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University and a former member of the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan — what they expect to be on the agenda for Obama’s trip.” Here’s what they told us:
“These discussions will be about: 1) The balance of power with Iran, 2) What’s next for Syria? 3) An end to the war in Yemen, and 4) Saudi leadership in the fight against ISIS.”
Do you see ANYTHING about all the abuses in the PBS Front Line documentary and that the Saud family are brutal dictators? NO!
It’s all about America’s “strategic” (sic) relationship with the Saud billionaire and keeping them happy enough with the United States.
Here is my advice to President Obama for FREE. It is what a great LEADER would do, which of course means President Obama will not.
President Obama should bring a copy of “Saudi Arabia Uncovered” with him and insist on playing it for them at their first meeting. And get them to address every single one of these abuses.
IF they do, then move on to … 1) The balance of power with Iran, 2) What’s next for Syria? 3) An end to the war in Yemen, and 4) Saudi leadership in the fight against ISIS.
IF they will not … get on Air Force One and leave.
But don’t bet Obama will!
