 www.araustralia.org |
Alternative Radio (Aust.) PO Box 780 Morwell Victoria 3848 Australia tel. 61-3-5134-8556 mob. 61-413-597-828 inquiries@araustralia.org |
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www.araustralia.org |
Alternative Radio (Aust.) PO Box 780 Morwell Victoria 3848 Australia tel. 61-3-5134-8556 mob. 61-413-597-828 inquiries@araustralia.org |
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Saudi Arabia is a most unusual country. Its oil reserves are the largest in the world. It is run like a privately owned business operated by the Saud family. Hundreds of princes and their hanger ons preside over a nation without a constitution. Patriarchy, misogyny, oppression, censorship, religious intolerance characterise this feudal regime. Since Saudi Arabia functions as a virtual petrol pump for the big oil companies, the US turns a blind eye to what Amnesty International calls "gross human rights violations." Fundamentalists in the kingdom funded Islamic militant networks, jihadis and the Taliban in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. Many of these jihadis have now turned their guns on the princes in Riyadh and their allies in Washington.
As'ad AbuKhalil, a native of Lebanon, is a leading expert on the Middle East. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the prestigious American University of Beirut, and his Ph.D. from Georgetown University. He teaches at California State University at Stanislaus. He is the author of Bin Laden, Islam and America's New War on Terrorism. His latest book is The Battle for Saudi Arabia.
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