The Frightening Effects of Saudi influence in Pakistan

The Saudi political and religious influence on countries worldwide should not be underestimated, as it is a significant menace for international stability and security. President Obama faces a host of urgent global issues; yet the continued US support for the Saudi royal family only works against US interests and allows Saudi Arabia to continue denying basic human rights to the Saudi people.

Saleem H. Ali, a Pakistani who is a professor at the University of Vermont, observes in this article for the Daily Times that the Saudi influence in Pakistan is shoring up the Taliban and feeding religious extremism. Saudi financing of institutions that preach intolerance and hate and the spread of its state-sponsored branch of Islam, Wahhabism, creates insurgencies, religious friction, and turmoil in regions all around the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Chechnya, Bosnia, Nigeria, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and even the United States. Americans and the international community should be extremely skeptical about the Obama administration’s willingness to embrace autocratic regimes, including the Saudi royal family.