Suchergebnisse

Saudi Arabia's international influence relies on two factors: its role as the guardian of the holy cities of Mecca & Medina since the 1920's & its control of the world's largest known oil reserves, located in the Eastern part of the kingdom. The September 11 terrorist attacks put Saudi Arabia at the centre of world attention for yet another reason: fifteen of the nineteen suicide terrorists that crashed against the Twin Towers & the Pentagon were Saudis & Osama bin Laden is also a Saudi. This has created unprecedented tensions in the historic alliance between Washington & Riyadh. Saudi Arabia is at a crossroad & this is a good moment to look into the rules & the power struggles that will dominate the succession in the House of Saud. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

This is an interview with the British journalist Anatol Lieven, centering on international issues. The topics discussed include the prospects for democracy in the Middle East, the lack of a clear strategy in Iraq on the part of the Bush administration, & the implications of Iran's entry into the nuclear club. In discussing extremism, Lieven addresses the possibility that democratic processes in various countries will be manipulated by extremist groups in order to undermine democracy itself, the lessons to be learned from the French experience in Algeria in the early 1960s, & contemporary complications in the relationship between the US & Saudi Arabia, which has been accused of indirectly sponsoring extremist groups. The interview also contains an extended discussion of the current role of the US in international affairs. R. Young