NYer
11-26-2007, 09:42 AM
How's this for a surprising turn in the presidential race? The candidate who has been toughest on Saudi Arabia in the past week hasn't been Mayor Giuliani, Senator McCain, or Governor Romney, but Senator Clinton. (http://www.nysun.com/article/66993)
It was Mrs. Clinton who spoke out about a punishment of 200 lashes that a Saudi Arabian court gave to a 19-year-old woman victim of a gang rape by seven men. Said Mrs. Clinton, "This is an outrage. The Bush administration has refused to condemn the sentence and said it will not protest an internal Saudi decision. I urge President Bush to call on King Abdullah to cancel the ruling and drop all charges against this woman. As president I will once again make human rights an American priority around the world."
Hats off to Mrs. Clinton for talking tough to the Saudis. The statement is even more newsworthy because the House of Saud has long been a patron of the Clintons. As The New York Sun reported in 2004, the Saudi royal family and three Saudi businessmen, Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, Nasser Al-Rashid, and Walid Juffali, each donated $1 million or more to the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Ark. President Clinton also helped secure millions of dollars in Saudi funds for the University of Arkansas.
It's about time an American Feminist addressed this case. Brava!
It was Mrs. Clinton who spoke out about a punishment of 200 lashes that a Saudi Arabian court gave to a 19-year-old woman victim of a gang rape by seven men. Said Mrs. Clinton, "This is an outrage. The Bush administration has refused to condemn the sentence and said it will not protest an internal Saudi decision. I urge President Bush to call on King Abdullah to cancel the ruling and drop all charges against this woman. As president I will once again make human rights an American priority around the world."
Hats off to Mrs. Clinton for talking tough to the Saudis. The statement is even more newsworthy because the House of Saud has long been a patron of the Clintons. As The New York Sun reported in 2004, the Saudi royal family and three Saudi businessmen, Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, Nasser Al-Rashid, and Walid Juffali, each donated $1 million or more to the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Ark. President Clinton also helped secure millions of dollars in Saudi funds for the University of Arkansas.
It's about time an American Feminist addressed this case. Brava!