12/6/2007
President Bush today (December 6) criticized one of America's biggest allies, Saudi Arabia, commenting on a gang rape case that has made the international community sit up and take notice
Saudi Arabia hit international headlines recently, after a19-year-old victim of gang rape was sentenced to 200 lashes, since she'd been with an unmarried man when she was sexually assaulted. Once again, many are angry at what they see as the hypocritical favouritism, doled out to the oil-rich country by the US.
The Bush Administration considers the Saudi royal family, a close ally and rarely criticises the country's poor record on human rights or oppresive attitude towards women. Even Britain's own royal family and government pulled out the red carpet for the Saudis on a recent state visit despite widespread protests.
Which is why today's comments by President Bush, imagining how upset he'd be if one of his own daughters was in the Saudi Arabian legal case, is so remarkable.
Many wonder, why the Bush Administration has remained so silent, on Saudis' poor human rights records when that was one of their secondary arguments for invading Iraq.
Ruling according to Saudi Arabia's strict reading of Islamic law, a court originally sentenced the woman to 90 lashes for being alone with an unrelated man and the rapists to prison terms of up to five years.
The Supreme Judicial Council last month increased the sentence to 200 lashes and six months in prison, and ordered the rapists to serve between two years and nine years in prison.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal tried to distance the Saudi government from the ruling at a news conference in the United States last month, and said that the case was being reviewed and "we hope, it will be changed."
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