Obama Cements Ties With New Saudi King, Who's Already Overseen Four Beheadings

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/01/28/obama-cements-ties-new-saudi-king-whos-already-overseen-four-beheadings

In the five days since Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud took the throne, he has already overseen at least four beheadings, which critics say underscores the brutality of the regime, as well as the hypocrisy of the United States for holding the oil-rich country as one of its closest allies in the Middle East.

One of the men killed, Omar al-Barkati, was executed for alleged incest and another for allegedly smuggling amphetamine pills. According to the Independent, one execution was carried out in Mecca shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama concluded a visit with the new king.

The Saudi regime has been criticized for state executions by public beheading and stoning for "crimes" that include sorcery, drug smuggling, adultery, apostasy, and same-sex intercourse. According to the Death Penalty database, maintained by Cornell University Law School, the country has a high rate of executions, with at least 16 carried out since January, and at least 87 in 2014.

News of the executions broke amid a highly-publicized trip by Obama to attend the funeral of late King Abdullah and cement relations with his successor, King Salman. Following Abdullah's death, top U.S. officials from both sides of the political aisle have raced to heap praise upon the House of Saud.

Ahead of his visit to Riyadh, Obama said that the he would not challenge the state's track record. "Sometimes we have to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns that we have in terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability," Obama told CNN on Tuesday.

[KG]

1. ' freedom, human rights, terrorism, blah blah blah'

[merrily]

2. If we were independent of oil, he might do otherwise.

As it is, I am not sure he can.

[BeyondGeography]

3. He should only do business with progressive Middle East governments

[msanthrope]

5. I like your style. nt

[HappyMe]

11. You win!

[cwydro]

14. "Progressive Middle East governments"

You so nailed it.

LMAO.

[Orrex]

4. If beheading as punishment for sorcery is wrong then I don't want to be right.

[Fearless]

6. Yay compromise!

[treestar]

7. I don't think refusing to speak to them

or their king is going to convince them to modernize. It's not that simple. In fact, usually such things cause people to dig in even deeper.

If a significant group of people in that country started to protest and were put down, we might have some idea they are willing to move forward.

[dembotoz]

8. maybe they behead with a cleaner sword that make it diff from isis

must admit
beheading more dramatic than strapping some guy on a gurney and pumping poison into the veins like we do in texas

wonder what our feelings would be if our executions(murders by the state) were available on you tube.

[GummyBearz]

9. Maybe

Obama is making a pitch to sell him drones that do the head chopping. That way the executioner can increase his productivity and work efficiency.

[libdem4life]

10. Why are beheadings worse than the Electric Chair? More blood? Open to the public?

Too Brutal????

Why should non Death Penalty nations do business with this nation who, albeit fewer than before, supports state murder? With the Firing Squad, they'd use multiple shooters so no one would have to deal with the horror of causing death? Hanging was cheaper and pretty quick, too. Then we got blessed with electricity.

We think we're so "advanced"...note the stayed Oklahoma executions. All they may have to do is just rearrange the poisons.

We shouldn't be calling the Saudi "kettle black". State murder is state murder...even if it by a thousand paper cuts.

At least he didn't kiss one of the sheiks. And Michelle didn't wear a Burka. And they didn't catch one of them smirking.

[Rex]

12. Um...countering terrorism with the country that caused 9/11?

Seriously, we are so fucked as long as we continue to be 'friends' with terrorist states.

[Vattel]

13. Wow, even constructive engagement is off the table when it comes to the Saudi regime.

What exactly is the worry?

[FLPanhandle]

15. Stupid headline

They could just as easily written " New Saudi King Cements Ties With Obama, Who's Already Overseen over 100 death penalty executions".