It could not have been said better. This case is clearly one that has deeply embarrassed the vast majority of educated Saudis, and even a majority of those with innate human values. Please check such blogs as "Saudi Jeans."
If Westerners presume to express an opinion on this, would it not be wise to couple it with outrage at our own "troglodytes"? For example, a few years back, the editor of the National Review, Rich Lowry, was freely discussing dropping nuclear bombs on a range of cities in the Islamic world, if another terrorist attack was made in the United States. He didn't even specify that the attack be done by a Muslim - guess that was assumed,or, could be a convenient pretext. As we know, Americans have many religious "troglodytes" too, some in equally dangerous positions of power.
Finally, does anyone in the US ever worry about the Equal Rights Amendment anymore?
John Paul Jones - I don't see how you can make this comparison with the US. Yes, we have a lot of idiots here and we have lost a lot of international stature in the last few years. But Saudi Arabia? One of the most despicable regimes on the planet, comparable to North Korea and Equatorial Guinea (but with more money and influence).
If the vast majority of educated Saudis are embarrassed by this (and many other cases and policies) maybe it is time for them to actually do something drastic, after having accommodated this for 30+ years. Or maybe in 2107 we'll again hear how educated Saudis are embarrassed ... blah blah.
I admit that the alternatives to the current regime are not that obvious. It is also reasonable to ask how the West should best bring up this problem without provoking a backlash. But let's not go too easy on those so called moderates who have allowed this for decades while providing the regime with a modern face towards the outside; I'm afraid they are part of the problem in Saudi Arabia.
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