What Riyadh Buys [in Washington]
Reader comment on item: What Riyadh Buys [in Washington]

Submitted by Ed Melik (Kuwait), Aug 29, 2005 at 01:52

Dear Mr. Pipes,

Although your above listed title "What Riyadh buys [in Washington]" is dated December 2002, but it is more relevant today than ever. Since then, the corrupt practices of the Saudis have shamelessly quadrupled and unfortunately it's now in the open. Historically speaking, Saudis have never been ashamed of their underhanded and illegal activities in the countries they call the countries of "Kafireens" that means the unbeliever's countries similar of Jewish "goyems". Anything for the gain of Saudis with any types of illegalities and unethical doings is OK as long as they are going to gain from the cooperation through bribes and intimidations from the "Kafireens". We, as Americans are genuine "Kafireens' for the ignorant and arrogant Arabs.

You may perhaps find it ironic of how appropriate it has become in the politics of Kuwait since our invasion of Iraq through the illegal facilitation by the Kuwaiti government in violations of the UN's UNIKOM border controls allowing our forces to breach the UN control of the international borders of Kuwait and Iraq. Kuwait has become bolder in their acts of corrupt practices. We as a small group of Americans, Brits, Canadians and other Europeans have undertaken a very discreet investigation of events that would shock the world once we publish our reports. Bush & Co's shameless rhetoric about the democracy and freedom in Iraq is a hard slap on the faces of all those who have any respect of any democratic principals on which our country's greatness was once laid upon. Glittered decorations of glossy democratic window dressings by the corrupt Kuwaiti government's corruption have increased 50 fold in all phases of the government.

Egyptians have replaced the expelled Palestinians after the liberation of Kuwait that has rendered entire Kuwaiti government and public sectors helpless and totally dependent with their tradition of bribery laced services that are in total control of the Egyptians in every possible aspects of public and to a great extent private sectors. Like in Egypt no one can park their car on public parking without bribing an Egyptian who strolls authoritatively in the parking area claiming to have the custodianship of the public roads and side walks for the motorists to park their cars who must pay to this self proclaimed parking attendant who in turn shares his booty on daily basis with the police men who in turn share this booty with the bosses of their police stations. Egyptians have totally crippled the Kuwaiti government and public service organizations without any hope of ridding Kuwait from the clutches of such evil that now embodies every aspect of Kuwaiti life.

Kuwaitis have become so accustom to their yes men and almost slavish subordinates who go to a great length in an effort to please their masters and bosses, that the Kuwaitis as a routine leave all decision making and business activities in the hands of the Egyptians.

Kuwaiti corruption has rendered the entire Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior in specific and other ministries in general helpless. Egyptian judges who are hired under contracts (to stroll in more lucrative pastures of Kuwait than Egypt's dry and baron ones) and often dictated by their token "Kuwaiti judges". Kuwaiti judges generally silently sit on the bench as "token judges" with hardly any input. Almost all trials and decisions of the courts are in the hands of the corrupt Egyptians hired to do the work for lazy Kuwaitis. Everyone who has lived and worked in Kuwait including the Kuwaiti themselves admit that Kuwait was totally different before the Iraqi invasion than what it has become after the liberation from Iraqi occupation.

Corruption is in open and without any shame or excuse. You will hardly find one individual in Kuwait today who would deny this epidemic of corruption. Despite Kuwait being a small country with such enormous oil wealth, she could have set an example for the rest of the Arab world and as a gateway to Iraq for Americans to say to the world "look democracy's rewards. Look at Kuwait - an all Arab Islamic country as a shining example of how democracy could make its people independent, self respecting, proud and progressive no lesser patriotic and productive than any other nations". Unfortunately, this vision requires courage and selflessness in the minds and spirits of the leaders. Today almost all Kuwaitis and as a matter of fact almost all Arabs are so caught up in amassing wealth that all their traditional values are trashed replaced with instant rich and instant cash look outs. All of their religious and cultural practices have become nothing more than ritualistic habits.

Saudi corruption has rapidly crept into all phases of other Gulf countries where corruption is thriving and so are our corrupt Washington lawyers dressed up as respectable congressmen and senators now empowered by the gullible Americans and shamelessly engaged on their long and unethical Machiavellians principals representing the "American people and their interests". Wonder who's foolin who?

Shameless face of the vice president Dick Cheney keeps popping up every time we think of our homegrown corruption. Not one subcontracting company who is dealing with Halliburton's KBR in the Arab world will shy away from telling you how much they pay as kick backs and bribes to the employees of KBR. The same proportion of corruption is evident among the Arab subcontractors and the US Army who have re-enlisted the retired generals and other senior level officers who left the US armed services long time ago. They've come back on for a ride on this gravy train and they don't hesitate hopping cars to cars just to join the crowd. Those who have chosen a path of self-respect and an honorable thought of keeping American proud are few and far in between and most of them are isolated from the crooks and often don't last for too long to hang around in this cesspool. Saudi Corruption has spread so far and so fast that it would require the complete purging of each and every member of the ruling families in the gulf countries. While Bush & Co are guaranteeing the safe havens for the corrupt Arab regimes, corruption is the norm in the Middle East today.

Mr. Pipes, please keep up the pressure and please do write more on this subject to make the American taxpayers aware of what our own crooked politicians and Foreign Service corp. is engaged on. The following is so precisely fitting to what is taking place today with each and every assigned American diplomat in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as in other corrupt countries in the Middle East that you could not put it in any other way.

"The expectation of a payoff even corrupts U.S. government operations in Saudi Arabia. Timothy Hunter, a former U.S. diplomat in Saudi Arabia turned whistleblower, reports that U.S. officials there are "so preoccupied with extraneous duties - entertainment packages for high-level visitors, liquor sales and handling baggage for VIP visitors," that they have scant time to devote to proper embassy concerns".

Mr. Timothy Hunter must've been talking of Kuwait referring to the U S embassy staff and the executives because it is exactly what is going on here.

Thank you for your insight in this very crippling and humiliating aspect of our own American crooks busy in thier own plans of looting from this gravy train. Everyone from Washington DC and everywhere in between is trying to get on this band wagon of mutli-billion dollars American taxpayers hoopla in Iraq, Afghanistan via Kuwait and Pakistan.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.