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Saudis Have One Eye Open

(Los Angeles Times) Editorial- Since last year, when suicide car bombers attacked three housing complexes in Riyadh, killing more than 30 people, Saudi officials have welcomed U.S. intelligence analysts. Intelligence cooperation, however, may only delay the collapse of autocratic royal rule in Saudi Arabia. The gap between rich and poor has widened, democratic reforms are still brushed aside, and Saudi princes willfully ignore the anger that is hidden by suppression. On Monday, the government began the trial of three men who brought their advocacy of democratic reform to the public, still an illegal act in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's leaders have not fully made the connection between democratic reform and counter-terrorism. The princes running the realm could start by listening, rather than jailing those who speak.
2004-08-11 00:00:00
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