(Weekly Standard) Jonathan Karl - The Saudis figure U.S. concerns about the flow of oil and the fight against terrorism will continue to trump all this talk about freedom and democracy. By virtually any measure of political rights and civil liberties, Saudi Arabia deserves a spot on Rice's "outposts of tyranny" list. Three separate State Department reports over the past year - on human rights, on religious freedom, on human trafficking - portray Saudi Arabia as one of the most repressive places on earth. Freedom House gives Saudi Arabia its lowest rating for political freedom, a distinction shared by North Korea. Three of the six countries Rice called "outposts of tyranny" (Iran, Belarus, and Zimbabwe) are actually rated higher by Freedom House.
2005-06-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive