Sunday, July 29, 2007

The Unfavorable Prospect of Having Saudi Housemaids

by Razan Baker from Arab News

The Ministry of Social Affairs is considering whether to employ Saudi women as housemaids to decrease the rate of unemployment among women which, according to the Ministry of Labor, reached 26% in 2006. The ministry aims to help women support their families, especially since around two million Saudis are poor, said Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi. By employing Saudis, MOSA also aims to decrease the number of foreign housemaids coming to the Kingdom. Although some Saudis sympathize with poor women and support Saudi maids, many others are against the idea and consider such jobs as degrading to the status of Saudi women.

House members vow to oppose Saudi deal

by Robin Wright from the Washington Post

Members of Congress vowed yesterday to oppose any deal to Saudi Arabia on grounds that the kingdom has been unhelpful in Iraq and unreliable at fighting terrorism. King Abdullah has called the US military presence in Iraq an "illegitimate occupation," and the Saudis have been unable or unwilling to stop suicide bombers who have ended up in Iraq, congressional sources say ... The administration plans to sell advanced satellite-guided bombs, fighter aircraft upgrades, and new naval vessels to six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, US officials say.

'I Believe India Acted With Great Haste On The Iran Vote'

Saba Naqvi Bhaumik interviews Hamid Ansari, from Outlook India

Saudi Arabia has been promoting Wahabism for decades. Nothing was said about it in the '60s and '70s. In the '80s, practitioners of this Islamic school were active partners of the US. They used to fight the jehad against the Soviets who had invaded Afghanistan in 1979. But suddenly certain schools of Islam are blamed for the problem of terrorism. The Saudi religio-political outlook and project has been there for decades, but the West had no problem making an ally of them.