Are We Willing To Be Tough?
As a country are we willing to be tough with “allies?” How much should we be willing to sacrifice in order to stand on principle? There is substantial evidence the leader of Saudi Arabia had a citizen tortured and killed in Turkey. This person was also a resident of the US. Saudi Arabia has billions of dollars in weapons contracts with US companies. These contracts employ tens of thousands of people. If we employ sanctions on Saudi Arabia that they feel are too severe and threaten to cancel the contracts, are we willing to risk that?
Is the life of one person who was not a US citizen more important than thousands of jobs for US citizens? This is a difficult moral question. The US government has overlooked many atrocities conducted by leaders of foreign governments. Business interests have always trumped moral ones. We count Saudi Arabia as a close ally, but they have an abysmal record on basic human rights especially women’s rights. We need their oil so turn a blind eye. Most of the 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. Yet we did nothing to hold that country accountable for supporting a version of Islam that wants nothing more than to get rid of our democracy and have it become an Islamic state.
Sometimes it is important to take a moral stand even if it involves significant cost. However, I doubt the vast majority wouldn’t want the loss of jobs if contracts were canceled. They would say one man’s life is not worth it. But if you asked them if we should support countries that fund radical Islam they would say no. If you also asked if they would give up their job in order to support sanctions to fight radical Islam, they would say no. They want it both ways but that is not an option.
I know President Trump will not do anything publicly, and very little privately, to hurt the relationship with Saudi Arabia. He loves strong dictators. Let’s hope Congress has more moral courage. I am not holding my breath on that one.
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