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Mass Saudi Executions Reflect |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| Most Arab League states are run by pro-Western despotic regimes - Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait and Egypt the worst of a bad lot. Palestinians get rhetorical support only, nothing meaningful done on their behalf. In March 2011, League members backed UN Resolution 1973 - prelude to US-led NATO war on Libya, a devastating conflict creating endless violence and chaos continuing unabated. Human rights abuses are commonplace throughout the region, democracy strictly verboten in most states. So are virtually all rights people in free societies take for granted. Most regional regimes harass, attack, brutalize, arrest, imprison and/or murder critics - protesting against political, economic and social injustice. They’re allied with Washington’s imperial agenda, supporting and using ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and Libya, a formula for endless violence and chaos - US-led Western interests and their own served at the expense of millions of exploited and abused people. In response to mass Saudi Saturday executions, including noted cleric Nimr al-Nimr, Washington barely noticed, State Department spokesman Admiral John Kirby issuing a meaningless, pro forma statement belying America’s appalling human rights record at home and abroad, saying: “We reaffirm our calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to respect and protect human rights, and to ensure fair and transparent judicial proceedings in all cases.” The kingdom is America’s top arms buyer, using heavy weapons it obtains to ally with Washington’s regional wars, brutalize its own people, as well as support ISIS and other terrorist groups. They can’t survive without outside political, economic and military support, mainly from America, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, other Gulf states and Israel. ISIS by far is the most successful and hugely dangerous of all terrorist groups in modern memory, operating as a state within the territory of countries it occupies, regularly attracting more recruits, flourishing because of powerful backers. Plentiful money is their mother’s milk. Without it and outside support, they’d wither to a minor annoyance, perhaps fade away altogether. Regimes like Saudi Arabia get away with horrendous human rights abuses because the world community, mainly US-led Western nations, take no actions against them - Riyadh committing state terror freely, repercussions minor at most and short-lived. Human rights groups blasted Sheikh Nimr’s execution. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “the blood of this innocent martyr which has been shed unjustly will leave its impacts, and the Saudi politicians will be punished by God’s revenge.” Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansarullah movement, Pakistan’s Shiite Assembly, as well as numerous prominent Sunni and Shia figures and groups worldwide condemned Sheikh Nimr’s execution. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) accused Riyadh of “pouring oil to the flames of sectarian sedition.” A Hezbollah statement “h(eld) the US and its allies…responsible for covering up the kingdom’s crimes against its people and those of the region.” Iranian protesters attacked Riyadh’s Tehran embassy, breaking in, setting areas ablaze, trashing offices. Police dispersed crowds. Firefighters extinguished the blaze. No casualties were reported. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari urged respect for diplomatic immunity. Its Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called Riyadh “the top culprit behind the growth of terrorism and radicalism in the region.” Iran’s Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani said Saturday mass executions “prove the viciousness of the (regime) to the world and will trigger the end of (its) unjust rule.” Reports indicate Saudi diplomats and staff are being evacuated from Iran, perhaps en route home or already arrived as this is written. The embassy now remains cordoned off, Iranian police protecting it from further attacks. Fars News reported Tehran lawmakers asking the Foreign Ministry to downgrade diplomatic ties to the kingdom - reducing the number its diplomats, support staff and consulates. Iran and Saudi Arabia have polar opposite regional objectives - the Islamic Republic a force for peace and stability, the kingdom the Middle East’s epicenter of state-sponsored terrorism. Its agenda is pure evil allied with US-led Western imperial interests. Endless wars and turmoil show no signs of abating. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs. |
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