When will those butchers of ISIS and al-Qaeda learn how to treat others with peace, respect and dignity so that they can be welcomed into the world of civilized nations like our long time ally Saudi Arabia?…
Rare video of Monday’s killing shows the woman, a Burmese resident named as Lalia Bint Abdul Muttablib Basim, screaming while being dragged along the street. Four police officers then hold the woman down before a sword-wielding man slices her head off, using three blows to complete the act.
In the chilling recording, Bashim, who was found guilty in a Saudi Sharia court of sexually abusing and murdering her seven-year-old step-daughter, is heard protesting her innocence until the very end. “I did not kill. I did not kill,” she screams repeatedly.
[Ed Note: The original story at Vice links to a YouTube video of the beheading. We chose not to include that link in the above quoted text.]
The United States’ long time friend Saudi Arabia, the world’s second biggest oil producer (after Russia), and purchaser of the largest U.S. arms sale in American history (in 2010), has also made headlines of late for, as Vice’s Harriet Salem describes it in the same article, “the public flogging of Raif Badawi, a blogger and political activist who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a total of 1,000 lashings for a range of offenses, including insulting religious authorities.”
Last year, Saudi Arabia introduced a series of new laws following uprisings in other Arab nations. They claimed the laws were in response to the threat of terrorism. The royal decree is said to have defined terrorism, reportedly, as “calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based”. The favored nation, according to the UK’s Independent, also identified “a broad list of groups which the government considers to be terrorist organisations — including the Muslim Brotherhood.”
A spokesman for Human Rights Watch at the time explained that “Saudi authorities have never tolerated criticism of their policies, but these recent laws and regulations turn almost any critical expression or independent association into crimes of terrorism.”
But, of course, they’re our friends. So, beheadings? Oppression in the name of religion? It’s all good.
As we noted in ‘Terrorism,’ ‘State Terrorism,’ and Point of View, the words, “terrorism” and “state terrorism” defy definition.
At that time, we quoted terrorism scholar, Michael Stohl:
In this instance, Saudi Arabia has used the terrorist label in a law which is itself an instrument of state terror, designed to frighten dissenters into abject submission. It is a law designed to terrorize that nation’s citizens.
The fact that the U.S. government and media would swiftly exploit ISIS beheadings as a reason to launch military attacks, yet remains, for the most part, silent in the face of the same barbarity inflicted by the Saudi monarchy only serves to underscore that the word, “terrorism” is but a propaganda device.
Yeah, over Christmas season my exchange with my oldest brother was good until I got political and asked about our responsibility in terrorism via still supporting the suadi’s who support wahabis that finacialy support terrorists. When confronted with that question my brother pulled the ‘ I don’t want to talk politics.’ We did tell each other we love each other, but…I think I treat everybody like my brother more so than my brother, and pray he quits feeling entitled because he has more money because he does not have more happiness. WE NEED A NEW ENERGY POLICY…FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. And oh yeah, fuck the bushes, cheney, saudi’s, israeli government, and banksters for fucking the whole world. Eternity exists, there really is no escaping justice…jus mo learnin. Learn how to really want to graduate.
How bout that last arms deal obummer with the suadi’s? Tell me massa, how could that money have been more well spent? I’m tired of mirages. We need to take care of people, not continue to try to destroy them. Love is the only thing that conquers hate. You are not alone, grow some.
How much money has been wasted on hate and killing instead of solving now simple problems that end the hate through socially, economic and globally viable means????????????????????????
Trillions the mob and its economically corrupted assholes take from hardworking folks everywhere. The mirage of absolute power has taken control of the most powerful governments. It will never help this planet ascend to it’s true purpose, but will perpetuate a child’s fear.
Stand up folks, you count. Lay down their arms and talk. Nobody has to die for them anymore for their small-mindedness. Let us all fuck the arms dealers, if our international systems won’t confront them. We are the world, not that power hungry few who sell us this slaughter.
Ernie @1 had some good points and some good refresher data.
He reminded me of a quote from a 1944 book by Flynn:
(As We Go Marching).
And what Ancient said.
Hey Brad, finally done with work today, and it was a long one, and I took 5 mins out for myself to see if anyone responded to what I had to say and when I click on the article it keeps taking me to the the Hebdo Brad cast. And thanks Dredd, your post is so damn true about fucking inhofe.
Hey jimmy, guess what happens to your soul when you put money and power over god’s creation when you die? You think junkies have it bad in this life? That misery aint nothing to what your soul is going to feel like when it has moved farther away from God.
There is always hope in the darkest desperation jimmy, but you sincerely have to stand up and do the right thing. GOD HAS ALREADY BLESSED THIS MESS.
Ancient @ 7:
My apologies. I had the marquee mismarked. Have now fixed! Thanks for the heads up!
No sweat Brad, jus checkin in. ;-0
Thanks.
I wonder if they honestly established that the Burmese woman was actually guilty of the crime for which she was beheaded. Comments online all expressed doubt that she could have received a fair trial.
Ancient so in favor of “Peace” he will just ignore mass murder, near Genocide, in Syria.
Spreading LIES about the popular uprising against Bashar Assad, a torturing despot importing Iranian sharpshooters to murder Syian women and children at the mass rallies of 2011.
3.5 years of atrocities to follow.
Re Irwin Mainway @12:
Your off topic banging of the Syria and Assad war drum is getting tiresome.
Neither this post nor any of the comments posted by Ancient dealt with that topic.
This piece deals with the duplicity of condemning beheadings by ISIS extremists while turning a blind eye towards those carried out by Saudi tyrants.
I’d respectfully suggest that you reserve your John McCain-like, “Let’s attack Syria” war propaganda for another forum.
While you’re at it, you could perhaps tell us whether you think that what the Saudis are doing is somehow less reprehensible than the crimes you allege Assad has committed? If so, please explain why?
Rutgers History Prof. Toby Jobes observed:
The fact that the U.S. “Liberals” would utterly dismiss even the shocking GASSING TO DEATH of 426 children and 1100 adults in Damascus as a reason to launch military attacks, actually resorting to bleating: “well Assad is butchering more than that every month anyways, so why is this a big deal?”
Amazing.
Just imagine a world in which violent criminal terror groups, seeing Assad suffer no punishment, feel emboldened to hold hostages for ransom, commit terror attacks in major cities, inflict death or rape at will in areas held.
I sure hope that doesn’t occur.
That 87 slaughtered by the Saudis is supposed to compare to ISIL -ISIS butchery?
They have murdered thousands of civilians in just 6 months.
Irwin –
You’re obsession with Syria is remarkable. Very impressive. I usually don’t bother to respond, but since you’ve tossed in an entirely nonsensical remark this time (“U.S. ‘Liberals’ would utterly dismiss even the shocking GASSING TO DEATH of 426 children and 1100 adults in Damascus as a reason to launch military attacks”), as opposed to your usual only-silly remark, I guess I’ll take the bait.
First, nobody, “liberal” or otherwise has “dismissed” that horrific attack, even if its far less than clear that it was actually carried out by Assad, versus those who would like to illicit the exact same reaction you have been willing to display.
Second, even if we presume it was carried out by Assad, a “military attack” by the U.S. would result in either a) the country being taken over by the ISIS/Al-Qaeda forces that are currently leading the revolution against him or b) the need for the U.S., after a huge boots-on-the-ground operation to occupy the country and, somehow, build a new government for them.
Now, you may feel our last two (or more) efforts at doing precisely that in Iraq and Afghanistan have gone really really well, and should be repeated against in Syria. But some of us might disagree with you, no matter how horrific the blood-letting has become in Syria, and no matter who is behind it.
As to this remark of yours:
Ah. Cool. Then we should just carry on with our friends the Saudis, cause they’ve slaughtered fewer of their own civilians.
Do you really not understand how calling out one group for horrific beheadings while ignoring another group for horrific beheadings (because they happen to have oil and are otherwise one of our biggest military customers) is hypocritical? You are not bothered in any way by the fact that our allies are often as gruesome as our “enemies”? Seriously? You just don’t actually get that???
True I overstated the part about “Liberals”, it should state “liberal media”.
The liberal media had only the very rare pundit or guest outraged at the atrocity. The rest spewed drivel about a Syria-U.S. War – “Drums of War” (MSNBC.
Immediately the atrocity itself was off the screen, instead drivel about US bombs destroying the country, displaying shocking ignorance of Assad blasting his own cities. Second, just the media discussed an “Invasion” – the Obama Admin never did.
I stand by every word from Sept.:
“Why the U.S. did nothing knowing of the imminent attack is simple: they assumed it was a repeat of the dozens of earlier attacks – using DILUTED poison gas to incapacitate rebels before an assault by gas mask wearing troops.
“VIPS does offer some details, however, that, if accurate, provide circumstantial evidence to support their “false flag” scenario.”
In other words – SPECULATIVE NONSENSE.”
ISIS vs. Saudi Arabia: you didn’t directly compare the two, but the lead sentence seemed to imply just that.
ISIL atrocities well you can thank Assad, indispensable
Next time you are on with Thom, ream him for his deal with the Russian TV network RT America, carrying many of his shows, and his links to RT.com. That pro-Russia site reached a low point with the MH17 shootdown, although it does not restrict comments.
propaganda war against RT ‘out-Goebbels’ Dr Goebbels’.