Transcript
  • 8/17/2019 Europeans Warn America of Civilizational Jihad

    1/4

    David Cameron

    Saudi Arabia-UK relations: Is this realpolitik or greedy nihilism?

    By Shane Crouher 

    !tober "#$ "%&' &%:%% ()*

    &+ 

    Sa

    udi Arabia,s King Abdullah ./ meets British 0rime )inister David Cameron on

     1anuary &+$ "%&" in .iyadh$ Saudi Arabia23ahad Shadeed450A-0ool4(etty Images

    Saudi Arabia has issued a veiled threat to the British establishment amid gro6ing

    onern about the Arab state,s grubby human rights reord2 *he latest 6ave o7

    British ritiism o7 Saudi Arabia 6as sparked a7ter it emerged that a "&-year-old

    Saudi man$ Ali )ohammed al-8imr$ 7aes beheading and rui9ion in publi2

    At age $ al-8imr 6as tortured into on7essing to trumped up harges a7ter

    taking part in a protest2 *he nephe6 o7 a voal Shia leri and ativist$ he has

    been inarerated sine2

    Aross the politial spetrum there has been voal unease at the ongoing osy

    relationship bet6een the British and Saudi governments2 Despite the latter,s

    http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/topics/david-cameronhttp://www.ibtimes.co.uk/reporters/shane-croucherhttps://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibtimes.co.uk%2Fsaudi-arabia-uk-relations-this-realpolitik-greedy-nihilism-1525791&display=popuphttp://www.ibtimes.co.uk/reporters/shane-croucherhttps://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibtimes.co.uk%2Fsaudi-arabia-uk-relations-this-realpolitik-greedy-nihilism-1525791&display=popuphttp://www.ibtimes.co.uk/topics/david-cameron

  • 8/17/2019 Europeans Warn America of Civilizational Jihad

    2/4

    notorious human rights abuses$ the desert,s blak$ slimy rihes are 6orth more

    than the lives o7 ordinary Saudis2

    Keep ;uiet about ho6 6e run things in .iyadh - the beheadings$ the torture$ the

    ivil rights abuses$ and so on -- or 6e 6ill take our oil money and lavish it

    else6here2

    As 6ell as al-8imr 6as the ase o7 a British grand7ather 6ho lived in Saudi Arabia

    and had been imprisoned 7or bre6ing his o6n alohol at home2 Karl Andree$ #

  • 8/17/2019 Europeans Warn America of Civilizational Jihad

    3/4

    6e eport - leaving a trade balane in our 7avour2 In "%&"bn

    6orth o7 goods and servies 7rom the Saudis2

    As the Saudi soiety gro6s$ and gro6s riher$ there are a number o7

    opportunities 7or British 9rms to apitalise on$ be it in7rastruture$ retail$

    eduation$ health2 And they may get speial pre7erene i7 the relationship staysspeial2

     *he Saudis pump money into Eondon2 Some o7 it goes on property in the most

    epensive entral and 6est Eondon post odes$ suh as Knightsbridge2 And some

    o7 it is lavished in the luury shopping distrits2

    A7ter Fid$ many 6ealthy Saudis - oil-enrihed plutorat prinelings - ok to

    Eondon,s 6est end to splash out on lothes$ ars and =e6ellery2 Aording to

    5orldpay$ a payment proessing 9rm$ Saudis spend on average >&2"H per

    transation in the UK2 *hat puts them in third plae 7or )iddle Fast spenders$

    behind the UAF in seond at >"#'2$ and Jatar in 9rst at >

  • 8/17/2019 Europeans Warn America of Civilizational Jihad

    4/4

    least one th6arted plot to attak Britain that relied on Saudi intelligene - saving

    hundreds o7 lives2

     *he Saudis$ he insisted$ are an important ally in the )iddle Fast in the 9ght

    against terrorism$ an ally that helps to keep the UK sa7e2 And his priority is the

    seurity o7 Britons$ 6hih means having diplomati and ommerial relationships6ith states 6hose systems 6e 7undamentally disagree 6ith2

    But 6hile the Saudi regime is sharing intelligene 6ith the UK$ some o7 its

    itiens are sharing their 6ealth 6ith the 6orld,s terrorists$ in partiular the

    nightmarish Islami State Isis/2

    *oday$ Saudi itiens ontinue to represent a signi9ant 7unding soure 7or Sunni

    groups operating in Syria$ said a "%&< note by *he 5ashington Institute

    thinktank2 Arab (ul7 donors as a 6hole - o7 6hih Saudis are believed to be the

    most haritable - have 7unnelled hundreds o7 millions o7 dollars to Syria in reent

    years$ inluding to Isis and other groups2 *here is support 7or Isis in Saudi Arabia$and the group diretly targets Saudis 6ith 7undraising ampaigns$ so .iyadh

    ould do muh more to limit private 7unding2

    Saudi Arabia,s most barbari punishments: 3rom ogging to eye-gougingIB*imes

    UK 

     *here is a ;uestion to be asked about all this: ho6 muh ompromise on British

    values is too muh? It is a ;uestion not =ust being applied to the Saudi

    relationship$ but also to the Chinese one in the 6ake o7 the state visit by

    0resident i 1inping2

     *he Saudi system is based on a hardline interpretation o7 Sharia la62 It is not

    going to hange that system anytime soon2 And it is unlikely that 6e an use our

    diplomati and ommerial inuene to muh eLet in terms o7 human rights

    abuses2

    So should 6e take a utilitarian vie6 and =ust ash in 7or our bene9t$ even i7 it

    means helping to legitimise an anti-demorati$ brutally repressive regimes

    6hih stand opposed to our values? Are 6e really happy to repeat the

    nauseating spetale o7 the hal7-masting o7 5estminster Abbey,s ag in

    de7erential respet 7or the 7resh adavers o7 Saudi kings$ =ust to keep thems6eet? *he government$ 6ide-eyed at the Saudi bank aount$ seems ontent

    enough2

    But there is realpolitik$ and then there is nihilism2 It is a 9ne line and one o7ten

    trod lumsily by the British government$ 6hih is happy to abandon liberal

    demorati priniples 7or the right prie tag2

    https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/saudi-funding-of-isishttps://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/saudi-funding-of-isishttp://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xi-jinping-visits-uk-george-osborne-promises-golden-decade-china-what-cost-1524890http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xi-jinping-visits-uk-george-osborne-promises-golden-decade-china-what-cost-1524890http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/king-abdullah-dead-anger-uk-flies-flags-half-mast-saudi-arabia-tyrant-1484886https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/saudi-funding-of-isishttps://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/saudi-funding-of-isishttp://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xi-jinping-visits-uk-george-osborne-promises-golden-decade-china-what-cost-1524890http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xi-jinping-visits-uk-george-osborne-promises-golden-decade-china-what-cost-1524890http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/king-abdullah-dead-anger-uk-flies-flags-half-mast-saudi-arabia-tyrant-1484886

Top Related