The United States is currently like a woman being courted by two undesirable deadbeats. These suitors are Saudi Arabia and Turkey, both of which wish to exclude the other from America's good graces.
Turkey is a problem due to the fact that the putative secularism of Ataturk is being abandoned by Erdogan, the current strongman. Trying to woo the United States, Turkey finally freed Pastor Brunson. In reality, Turkey's secularism followed an anything-but-secular ethnic cleansing of Armenians and Greeks. Turkey loathes Saudi Arabia for overtly being what it pretends not to be--an illiberal theocratic Muslim state.
Saudi Arabia, even before the torturous killing and dismemberment of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has always pretended to be an American ally while harboring Wahabism and brutally interposing itself in Yemen's civil war. Unfortunately, the Saudis have co-opted American politicians of both parties.
Neither Saudi Arabia nor Turkey is likely to become a true democracy, but Saudi Arabia is far more despotic than Turkey. As the world's only absolute monarchy, the Saudis are still as authoritarian as Egypt was under Mubarak. For some reason, our politicians have given the Saudi monarchy a pass from the opproprium they showed to Mubarak and his kind.
The United States should be skeptical of Turkey's attempts at blackening Saudi Arabia, yet at the same time we should stop selling military hardware to Saudi Arabia. The unbridled slaughter in Yemen should have caused this before the Khashoggi murder.
Turkey is a problem due to the fact that the putative secularism of Ataturk is being abandoned by Erdogan, the current strongman. Trying to woo the United States, Turkey finally freed Pastor Brunson. In reality, Turkey's secularism followed an anything-but-secular ethnic cleansing of Armenians and Greeks. Turkey loathes Saudi Arabia for overtly being what it pretends not to be--an illiberal theocratic Muslim state.
Saudi Arabia, even before the torturous killing and dismemberment of Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated journalist Jamal Khashoggi, has always pretended to be an American ally while harboring Wahabism and brutally interposing itself in Yemen's civil war. Unfortunately, the Saudis have co-opted American politicians of both parties.
Neither Saudi Arabia nor Turkey is likely to become a true democracy, but Saudi Arabia is far more despotic than Turkey. As the world's only absolute monarchy, the Saudis are still as authoritarian as Egypt was under Mubarak. For some reason, our politicians have given the Saudi monarchy a pass from the opproprium they showed to Mubarak and his kind.
The United States should be skeptical of Turkey's attempts at blackening Saudi Arabia, yet at the same time we should stop selling military hardware to Saudi Arabia. The unbridled slaughter in Yemen should have caused this before the Khashoggi murder.
No comments:
Post a Comment