Well, it has been a few weeks since I have captured anything in this blog. Since my last entry, I have had quite a lot of new experiences and things to ponder…
First, the Saudis have got to be some of the luckiest people on the planet! Consider that only a century ago they were just some livestock herders that wandered across the desert—literally! Then in the 1930s and 1940s, huge reserves of oil were discovered by American oil explorers in Saudi Arabia. Saudi has some of the largest oil reserves in the world and is usually first or second in oil production (they trade places with Russia frequently in oil exports). Because of the revenues generated from the oil production, there are not any taxes here in the “Kingdom.” Further, the large influx of capital coupled with the desire of the Royal Family to make Saudi an international player, has resulted in some significant social cleavages in Saudi society. Imagine taking a culture rooted in the Middle-Ages and giving them uncapped wealth and access to any kind of twenty-first century technology (weapons, telecommunications, bio-medical) and it is no wonder Saudi is having significant issues with terrorism. Osama bin Laden was from Saudi (although, his family originally came from Yemen—a failed state) and 16 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi. (As an aside, rumor has it that the Saudis were convinced that the U.S. would condone a retaliatory strike against the Saudis for 9/11. Specifically, they were certain some Americans would fly a commercial airliner into the Saudi Tower in Riyadh (looks like a big bottle cap opener).
As I’ve been travelling throughout Saudi, I’ve concluded that despite our issues with their religion and support for Islamic extremism, we need to sustain strong bi-lateral relations with the Saudis. Having said that, I’m sure most people would read that statement and think “oh sure, we need their oil.” Well, actually the U.S. imports more oil from Canada and Mexico than from Saudi. However, as Saudi leads OPEC, any instability in Saudi production has the potential to impact market prices and cause prices to rise at the marketplace (the F-150 and MasterCraft use a lot of gas!). The oil issue is important, but it is not what I’m talking about. If you took a ride through the streets of Riyadh you would think you were riding through Detroit! I have never seen so many GM SUVs anywhere in all my life. I cannot fathom how GM is in the red based on how many GM SUVs I’ve seen here: Escalades, Suburbans, Tahoes, Trailblazers. You see plenty of Fords and Chryslers as well, but every third vehicle is a GM SUV.
In addition, the Saudi thirst for American military weapons systems is insatiable. The Saudis are not very keen on putting stock in the abilities of their people. In fact, most Saudis are lazy. They are all either pencil thin or big and dumpy. Things like fitness and gyms aren’t systemic here like in the U.S. Instead, the Saudis would rather use their immense wealth to purchase Western and American military hardware to offset their “challenged” military personnel. Further, the Saudis don’t just buy the weapons systems (i.e. a fighter plane or a tank), they buy maintenance packages and American advisors to imbed with their military units for years to teach and guide their folks how to use the equipment. By now, you should be thinking major dollar signs for the U.S. economy!
The Saudis have incredible wealth and rival Americans for consumerism. Although they wear their traditional Islamic garb, they are outfitted with expensive watches, iPhones, jewelry, etc. I saw a guy with a gold plated iPhone the other day! So back to my original point, we need these folks! We need them to spend their oil money on our goods. When they buy our goods, it pays salaries, it pays taxes, and it helps drive up our GDP. Further, although we spend billions of dollars on their oil, we recoup a lot of that money by selling them our automobiles, consumer electronics, food stock, heavy equipment, school buses (yes, I see yellow blue bird buses on the road here!). Being the international relations geek that I am, I know that the most significant type of power is economic power (there are three: economic, military, and soft).
Speaking of types of power, American soft power is really having an impact here in Saudi. If you drive through main street Riyadh, you will see the Outback steakhouse, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, Applebees, Chilis, the Apple Store, Toys R Us, Safeway grocery store, etc. These people want access to American goods. Moreover, they like American music, television, and want to be educated at our universities. I recently visited a young Saudi Prince in his home and sat with him in his “man cave.” He was probably in his mid-twenties and had attended college in the U.S. and received an M.B.A. On his ginormous flat screen TV he was watching “Ice Road Truckers” on the History Channel. He told me he loved the History and Discovery Channels—I had to chuckle. While Saudi is an extremely conservative country and has many human rights violations, it is important to recognize that they have not had their religious reformation yet. The more these folks attend our schools, watch our shows, and buy our goods, the more it increases the likelihood of them modifying their ideals to more fall in line with ours. Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor will this…
Speaking of human rights—wow—there might as well be slavery in this country. As I’ve mentioned there is immense wealth in this country. The Royal Family is trying to “keep up with the Jonses” so to speak with respect to construction. In the neighboring United Arab Emirates construction has been booming in places like Dubai. Not to be out done, the Saudis are keeping up. At present, an American architect (too bad it isn’t my good friend Tim Hutcheson) is working on building the world’s tallest building in Jeddah (Saudi city on the Red Sea). Buildings are flying up all over the country. There are huge shopping malls that rival any American mall, apartment complexes, restaurants, hotels (Ritz Carlton, etc). To fuel all of this construction, the Saudis use foreign labor. Well, if you think Mexican migrant workers are treated badly in the U.S., you should visit Saudi. Indians, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Sri Lankans, etc., are brought in on work visas. They sign a contract and are paid the equivalent of like $4 USD a day to work long days in intense heat doing construction in extremely unsafe conditions—there is no OSHA here. I saw some worker on what appeared to be three 30 foot extension ladders taped and tied together end-to-end. Yes, some guy up 90 feet in the air on three ladders held together with string and duct tape—scary! At night, these labor workers live in 1 to 2 bedroom apartments with 40-50 other workers. They literally sleep side-by-side on the floors. Yet, the earnings they can make here is more than they can in their native countries so they do it and send the money home to support their families. As you traverse the country, there definitely is a class system. Saudis and Westerners are at the top. If a Westerner wrongs a Saudi it could be a sticky situation. If a Westerner wrongs a migrant worker (robs, kills, assaults), nobody cares.
By and large, most of the Saudis I’ve interacted with have been hospitable and engaging. They are intelligent and have a lot nationalistic pride. This is in stark contrast to my time in Iraq where I found a lot of ignorant and anti-Iraq people. So far I’m a month in and things could be a lot worse! However, I stay away from the ones with the short thobes (white robe) and long beards—they are the ones prone to extremism.
Aside from all of my observations and thoughts regarding Saudi relations with the U.S., I’ve been busy trying to guide a team of men to accomplish an important mission. While I cannot go into great detail, my mission is to collect and develop information which will safeguard U.S. personnel—primarily DoD—living in the Kingdom. My team is comprised of folks from 25-65 years of age. I have Egyptians and Lebanese in addition to Americans. It has been challenging trying to establish organizational goals and standards. Fortunately, my deputy has been very supportive and helpful. While we have much work to do, things are progressing well. However, it is far from perfect so I will have to keep chipping away each and every day.
I’ve been trying to finish a book called Inside the Belly of the Beast about the U.S. Ambassador to Germany during Hitler’s rise to power. The non-fiction work follows Ambassador Dodd and his daughter during the Nazi rise to power. It has been very interesting and scary all the same. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a book.
My beloved Miami Dolphins are falling apart! I’m starting to think it is me. When I was in Iraq in 2007-2008, they went 1-15. At present, they are 0-4 and starting quarterback Chad Henne was just lost for the season due to injury. I feel certain coach Tony Sparano will be replaced before the season ends. What a wreck this franchise has become since the end of the Don Shula-Dan Marino era in the 1990s.
Speaking of football, I’m doing pretty well in the Ben Oaks Fantasy Football League (BOFFL). I’m tied for first with a 3-1 record! Although I had a valiant loss to Drew Burn’s Banshees, I’ve managed to vanquish Mike and Collin Hackett’s Slacketts, Pat Murray’s Miller Light Express, and Gary Patenaude’s Al-Samwah Patsies. I’m playing Mr. Sarcasm’s (Mike Murray) Pelotas Rojas this week. Hopefully, I can stay on the winning roll I’ve established over the past three weeks.
Aside from spending long hours working six days a week, I’ve been getting in some good workout time at the gym and have even found a racquetball partner. This has been a nice stress reliever. Further, once it cools off, I’m hoping to hit one of the many golf courses I keep hearing about here in Riyadh. Although, I cannot fathom how much water it must take to maintain an 18-hole golf course in the middle of desert.
Well, one month down and eleven to go. If not sooner, I’m hoping to come home for three weeks over Memorial Day Weekend 2012. I sure do miss Carla, Bree, Cody, and Hunter (our Boxer dog)…
I’ll leave you with this last thought. As I was riding down the Saudi highway the other day, I looked over to an adjacent SUV to observe a Saudi family traveling with their family pet. You might think this pretty typical and conjure images of Mr. and Mrs. Jones riding in the front seat with Jimmy, Sally, and Rover (dog) riding in the back seat driving down I-95 to Walt Disney World. Well in my case, there was a Saudi man driving, the Saudi woman and daughter were riding in the backseat, and the family goat was riding shotgun!! LOL!!! I told Carla we might have some new seating arrangements when I get home.
