Our View: Obama must face hard truths about Saudi Arabia

When Air Force One touched down with President Barack Obama in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday, he landed in a thoroughly modern city filled with gleaming architectural wonders, busy streets and palatial homes. Still, in some ways it was like flying back in time. To the Dark Ages.

Obama headed the U.S. delegation in Riyadh attending the funeral of King Abdullah. That he cut short a visit to India to build a closer relationship with new King Salman is an indicator of the importance of our alliance. While enormously wealthy and a steadfast ally, Saudi Arabia is still backward and even barbaric in many ways. For sufficiently reprehensible crimes, criminals are beheaded; for lesser offenses, others are publicly flogged. That was the punishment given to a blogger who criticized the government – 10years in prison and 50 lashes a week for 20weeks, assuming he survives.

The kingdom’s treatment of women is unbelievable in the 21st century. Women are not allowed to appear in public unless accompanied by a male member of their family. They must be covered head-to-toe in robes. They’re not allowed to drive.

This isn’t the most troubling aspect of Saudi society. While the House of Saud is an America ally, many in the nation practice a particularly conservative and intolerant version of Islam called Wahhabism. The sect’s founder struck a deal 250 years ago claiming spiritual preeminence but ceding political power to Muhammad bin Saud. From this group arose Osama bin Laden, himself the son of a wealthy Saudi family. Today, many Wahhabis are said to be funneling money to the Islamic State even as the Saudi government officially joins the United States in trying to destroy ISIS in Syria.

Since the attacks of 9/11, the Saudi government has distanced itself from the more radicalized and violent elements of Wahhabism, but has not relinquished the cultural restrictions that deprive women of virtually any rights and allows no political dissent.

As he speaks to the new king, President Obama should be as honest as possible. Even if Obama can’t raise these issues in public, we must hope he does so in private.

“Sometimes we have to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns that we have in terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability,” Obama told CNN before arriving in the Saudi capital. He also knows the economic recovery he’s been bragging about is based partly on plummeting gas prices – and the Saudis are helping by keeping oil production high despite the global glut.

But it shouldn’t be the first time the King has heard of our dismay concerning his nation’s practices. The Bush family has been business partners with the House of Saud for more than two generations. Both president Bushes and Gov. Jeb Bush have close business ties to the nation and its royal leaders.

Such personal ties date back at least to President Franklin Roosevelt, who recognized the modern Saudi Arabia a year after it was formed in 1932. Presidents ever since – from Eisenhower to Clinton – have worked hard to maintain the relationship. Part of that is due to the immense oil wealth beneath the Saudi sand, and part to our need for a military ally in the region.

Obama cut short his visit to India, also a crucial U.S. ally, to lead the delegation to Saudi Arabia. We’ll take it as a fitting and sincere gesture.

Obama and the new king have much to discuss – the Islamic State, Russia, the collapse of Yemen, Iran’s nuclear ambitions. American and Saudi Arabian interests often align. But the ideals that define us as a nation and a people should not be set aside in the name of political expediency.

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Our View: Obama must face hard truths about Saudi Arabia."