Our Disfunctional Relationship With The Saudis

Last Thursday I posted an article about a Saudi national who had been declared a ‘person of interest’ then later a ‘witness’ in the Boston bombings and was scheduled to be deported as a national security threat and then was unscheduled to be deported as a national security threat (rightwinggranny.com). Talk about having a good lawyer!

Glenn Beck at The Blaze added a whole new dimension to the story today. The bottom line is that the Saudi is either on his way out of the country today or will be leaving shortly for Saudi Arabia. How did all this happen and why is it important?

Highlights from the article:

  • A Saudi national originally identified as a “person of interest” in the Boston Marathon bombing was set to be deported under section 212 3B — “Security and related grounds” — “Terrorist activities” after the bombing
  • As the story gained traction, TheBlaze’s Chief Content Officer Joel Cheatwood received word that the government may not deport the Saudi national, originally identified as Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi
  • Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano refused to answer questions on the subject when confronted by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) on Capitol Hill.
  • An ICE official said a different Saudi national is in custody, but is “in no way” connected to the bombings.
  • A congressional source, however, says that the file on Alharbi was created, that he was “linked” in some way to the Boston bombings (though it is unclear how), and that documents showing all this have been sent to Congress.
  • Key congressmen of the Committee on Homeland Security request a classified briefing with Napolitano
  • Fox News’ Todd Starnes reports that Alharbi was allegedly flagged on a terrorist watch list and granted a student visa without being properly vetted.  Sources close to the investigation also told him the Saudi is still set for deportation.
  • New information provided to TheBlaze reveals Alharbi’s file was altered early Wednesday evening to disassociate him from the initial charges
  • Sources say the Saudi’s student visa specifically allows him to go to school in Findlay, Ohio, though he appears to have an apartment in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Sources tell us this will most likely now be kicked from the DHS to the DOJ and labeled an ongoing investigation that can no longer be discussed.

The article continues:

“We are not sure who actually tagged him as a ’212 3B,’ but we know it is very difficult to charge someone with this — it has to be almost certain,” Beck explained.  “It is the equivalent in civil society of charging someone with premeditated murder and seeking the death penalty — it is not thrown around lightly.”

Beck continued, noting that after Secretary of State John Kerry met with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud on Tuesday, the FBI began backtracking on the Saudi national from suspect, to person of interest, to witness, to victim, to nobody.

Then, on Wednesday, President Obama had a “chance” encounter with Saudi Foreign Minister Saud and Saudi Ambassador Adel al-Jubeir.

“Wednesday at 5:35 p.m. the file is altered,” Beck said.  “This is unheard of, this is impossible in the timeline due to the severity of the charge….You don’t one day put a 212 3B charge against somebody with deportation, and then the next day take it off.  It would require too much to do it.”

He didn’t mention the fact that Michelle Obama visited this Saudi in the hospital in Boston (she did not visit any other bombing victims).

So what is this about? Glenn Beck looks at it as part of the agreement we have with the Saudis to maintain stability in the Middle East. There is probably a lot of truth in that, but there is one more part. The American dollar is used to trade oil. The Saudis are one of the world’s largest exporters of oil, so they have a fairly strong voice in OPEC. The fact that oil is traded in American dollars stabilizes the value of the American dollar somewhat (despite various QE’s done by the U. S. Treasury) and helps the American economy. One reason that gasoline is so expensive at the pump is that the value of the American dollar has been so undermined by the QE’s, but that’s another story.

I would like to go back to the idea that the Saudis help preserve stability in the Middle East. That is probably true, but at some point we need to examine the price of that stability. We have backed some rather nasty people in the Middle East in order to maintain that stability. At one point we sided with Saddam Hussein against Iran, we supported Hosni Mubarak, and we showed some level of support to Muammar Gaddafi at various times. None of these men were champions of either democracy or free speech. However, Christians in their countries were safer with them in charge than they are with the new leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Stability isn’t all it is cracked up to be. At some point we need to stand for freedom and democracy. Our alliance with the Saudis does not show a support of either freedom or democracy–Bibles are banned in Saudi Arabia, women are second class citizens, and Christian Churches cannot be built.  It’s time to rethink our Middle East policy. We have allied ourselves with tyrants during more than one administration.

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