To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
.@POTUS: Call Out #Saudi in the #SOTU
Just Foreign Policy
President Obama should call out the Saudi government in his final State of the Union address for its support of terrorism, sectarian violence, and gross violations of human rights.
Why is this important?
The Obama Administration has not yet publicly condemned the Saudi government's execution of a prominent Shia dissident, even though recent Saudi government actions threaten to undermine the Administration's strategy against ISIS. The New York Times notes that the U.S. "has usually looked the other way or issued carefully calibrated warnings in human rights reports as the Saudi royal family cracked down on dissent and free speech and allowed its elite to fund Islamic extremists." [1]
But President Obama has called out Saudi Arabia before. In his 2014 address on terrorism to the United Nations, President Obama said, "That means cutting off the funding that fuels this hate. It’s time to end the hypocrisy of those who accumulate wealth through the global economy and then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear it down." [2] This was widely understood to be a reference to Saudi Arabia. [3]
Urge President Obama to call out the Saudi government in his State of the Union address by signing our petition.
References:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html
2. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/24/remarks-president-obama-address-united-nations-general-assembly
3. http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/09/24/live-blogging-obamas-case-for-war-at-the-united-nations/
But President Obama has called out Saudi Arabia before. In his 2014 address on terrorism to the United Nations, President Obama said, "That means cutting off the funding that fuels this hate. It’s time to end the hypocrisy of those who accumulate wealth through the global economy and then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear it down." [2] This was widely understood to be a reference to Saudi Arabia. [3]
Urge President Obama to call out the Saudi government in his State of the Union address by signing our petition.
References:
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html
2. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/24/remarks-president-obama-address-united-nations-general-assembly
3. http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/09/24/live-blogging-obamas-case-for-war-at-the-united-nations/