How the West Has Won Arabia, Against Democracy…………
“Obama's praise of Egypt's Hosni Mubarak as a man with whom one could do business demoralised Egyptian opposition groups, which have been struggling against the long-serving autocrat and his efforts to ensure that his son, Gamal Mubarak, succeeds him. The US is not the only guilty party. Europe has played a major role in retarding democratic reform in Libya and Saudi Arabia. Libya has become a Mecca for European leaders trying to win multi-billion dollar oil and investment deals. The rehabilitation of the Gaddafi regime has never included any push to ease political repression in Libya. An even more telling case is Saudi Arabia. No European leader risks antagonising the Saudis by raising the issue of democracy and human rights. Saudi women remain prohibited from driving cars, travelling on their own, and working or studying without the permission of a male relative. Saudi society, and those of some other Gulf States, lacks minimum levels of political freedom and participation. The status quo is excused by Arab regimes in the name of cultural specificity – the same pretext used by Western governments to justify their "value-free" policies toward these regimes. Add together all the trade-offs between the West and the Arab regimes, along with the Israeli and Islamist factor, and the conclusion at which one arrives is as inescapable as it is alarming: the West cannot afford democracy in the region…..…”
Nothing new, but a nice summary of how the West views the Middle East, and how the West actually cannot afford democracy in the region. He may be right there.
Cheers
mhg
Mon Email
Comments