Was King Abdullah A Reformer?

Washington, DC - On January 23rd, King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Azeez al-Saud, the leader of Saudi Arabia, died.  The 91-year-old led a country known for having one of the world's richest oil reserves and poorest human rights records. 

In Saudi Arabia, women, who are forced to cover up, are not allowed to drive. Critics such as this blogger, Raif Badawi, are lashed in public and can spend years behind bars.

Being what experts call the “swing producer” of oil has helped Saudi Arabia win friends from both democratic and authoritarian countries alike. 

This was most visible recently, when leaders from all over the world broke from their schedules to attend the funeral of the King in the largely desert Arab country. 

U.S. President Barack Obama was accompanied by his wife, and scores of former and current administration officials. 

So the biggest question today: what makes the leader of this Arab country such a lovable figure on the world stage despite his poor human rights record? Is it all about oil or much more? Has the United States compromised its ideals for its pragmatic interests? Or, in an era where radical Islamists pose a global threat, should the US and others continue to be an unreserved ally of Saudi Arabia where the laws of the land are derived from one of the most extreme interpretations of Islam? 

To discuss this subject, Rudaw’s Namo Abdulla talks to:

- David Andrew Weinberg, a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he covers the six Gulf monarchies including Saudi Arabia. His research in this area focuses particularly on energy, terrorist finance, regional security, and human rights.

- John Prideaux is a Washington DC correspondent for the Economist Newspaper who has recently written on the current state of US-saudi relations.

- Simon Marks, Journalist and President of Feature Story News. 

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