Quote:
Originally Posted by Moses
About the only bright thing Bush has done lately is to ignore the human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. This is a no-win scenario.
Sir Edmund Burke said, "Free trade is not based on utility but on justice”. He had it precisely backwards. It's this type of western culture evangelism that cripples us. International trade should be done with a degree of detachment, frequently while holding ones nose.
A fair part of the world views Bush as a war criminal. In their minds he invaded a sovereign nation under false pretenses. Should these nations stop trading with the US? Of course not.
Now to Supes point. The "cozy" relationship between the US and the Saudi Royal family precedes George W. We've been turning a blind eye (appropriately) to Sharia's imbecilic brutality for decades. Ignoring Islams repugnant cultural postures is the only reasonable position.
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Good post. Bush probably learned from his father's dealings with China that browbeating other countries on human rights issues gets you nowhere fast. Even his father's policy of pushing China toward free trade and more openness has not made any improvement at all in their human rights behavior. I think a lot of people were expecting a Soviet-esque collapse, but China has defied all odds and managed to create a very capitalist system within a police state. Why would Saudi Arabia be any different? You can party like a rock star in China and never have the slightest feeling you're in a police state. I don't think it's the same in S.A.