To the Editor:
Re “What Price Profit in Saudi Arabia?” (editorial, April 25):
There is a far deeper issue involved in America’s most disastrous alliance than human rights violations, one that is widely skirted by the press: Saudi Arabia is the regime that has done more to incite Islamic extremism around the world than any other, and “a modicum of civilized behavior” cannot be expected from such a state.
This evasion flows from a collective national denial about the origins and nature of Muslim terrorism that has prevailed since 9/11. Far from being a phenomenon that is basic to Islam, or arose among nonstate actors, Muslim radicalism was inflamed with state-level support from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under American protection during the Cold War.
Our failure to confront this tragic fact and sever our ties with these subversive regimes has led us to the brink of military and political defeat in Afghanistan and the spread, rather than containment, of this very serious threat.
Until we are honest about our own complicity and resolve to align our actions with our values, ideals and real national interests, we will spend more energy targeting tangential forces than truly facing the heart of the matter head on.
Vanni Cappelli
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The writer is president of the Afghanistan Foreign Press Association.
Source: Read Full Article
Home » Analysis & Comment » Opinion | Getting Real About Saudi Extremism
Opinion | Getting Real About Saudi Extremism
To the Editor:
Re “What Price Profit in Saudi Arabia?” (editorial, April 25):
There is a far deeper issue involved in America’s most disastrous alliance than human rights violations, one that is widely skirted by the press: Saudi Arabia is the regime that has done more to incite Islamic extremism around the world than any other, and “a modicum of civilized behavior” cannot be expected from such a state.
This evasion flows from a collective national denial about the origins and nature of Muslim terrorism that has prevailed since 9/11. Far from being a phenomenon that is basic to Islam, or arose among nonstate actors, Muslim radicalism was inflamed with state-level support from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under American protection during the Cold War.
Our failure to confront this tragic fact and sever our ties with these subversive regimes has led us to the brink of military and political defeat in Afghanistan and the spread, rather than containment, of this very serious threat.
Until we are honest about our own complicity and resolve to align our actions with our values, ideals and real national interests, we will spend more energy targeting tangential forces than truly facing the heart of the matter head on.
Vanni Cappelli
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The writer is president of the Afghanistan Foreign Press Association.
Source: Read Full Article