Saudi Arabia has been a major source of financing to rebel and terrorist organisations since the 1970s, says Paul Vallely of The Independent (Sunday 24th August, 2014). Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide, said Hillary Clinton in a secret December 2009 paper signed by the US Secretary of State and revealed through WikiLeaks. Around 2,000 people have been killed [in Saudi Arabia] since 1985, their decapitated corpses often left in public squares as a warning, says Owen Jones of The Guardian (Sunday, 31st August, 2014). Owens explains how Shia Muslims are discriminated against and women are deprived of basic rights, having to seek permission from a man before they can even travel or take up paid work. At the news of the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, President Obama said he had valued King Abdullahs perspective and Prime Minister Cameron is apparently deeply saddened and says that the former king will be remembered for his commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths (Gordon Raynor of The Telegraph, 23rd January, 2015). They - Abdullah, Obama, and Cameron - shared the same perspective which was the support for terrorism when it aided their shared interests, condemning terrorism which impeded those interests. --Louis Shawcross
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 00:06:48 +0000