there ron but how iranian issue really is threatens the saudi security the saudi interests well a nuclear armed iran even though they don't point those weapons at saudi arabia will have a lot more political influence in the region particularly with enormous influence in iraq the saudis are seeing their world become smaller their sphere of influence becomes smaller and this is a huge problem for them it's interesting that you say that i feel like we are entering this us is rarely a debate because it's there this is sort of argument that if you hear from israelis even despite the fact that neither the israeli nor saudi no american intelligence have been able to confirm that iran has indeed started producing are even has an intention of producing nuclear weapons but i wonder if you if you believe that the very public disappointment that prince bandar expressed with the obama administration is ultimately g.t. the party differences between the democrats and the republicans or do they reflect a broader rift between these two countries where president are and certainly king abdullah were very vo

getting in crawford and was very close to the situation and so if you look at it from that context the saudi unhappiness with the american position on israel has been going on for quite a number of years while ambassador jordan as he just sad the relationship has never been particularly easy but i think there was always a signal code of ethics to a code that was broken just a couple of days ago when saudi arabia very publicly refused the security council see if they see that it's been logging for for almost three years and on top of that one of the country's most powerful politicians intelligence chief prince bandar bin sultan. allows himself to criticize american policies in public why do you think all of the sudden he decided to break this code of silence that saudi and american officials and then taint for a couple of decades old raney well i would say the last three or four years have not been good for the saudis in terms of their relationship with the united states and what they've expected from this administration they thought after president obama's speech in cairo thought he would be

only the saudis will rise to the occasion we'll. provide more of an economy for them to participate in better education but it it if it occurred as you describe there is certainly an american national interest in. proliferating. wild eyed terrorists who might be coming up through the system that's certainly something no one wants and right now i don't think the saudis want to either while ambassador jordan it strikes me as a bit hypocritical that some americans would still preserve this slow evolution there were changing masher and change in saudi arabia at the same time. encourage violent and bloody revolution for more than a breeze but unfortunately this is all we have time for and to our viewers if you like the show please join us again same place same time here in the world might. well do the. job it. says each one to keep peace with them talk among. themselves some seem peaceful to front companies such as the sun. the future of coverage. pleasure to have you with. me speak your language. program she's. reporting from the world

saudi arabia and acting. you wouldn't argue as well that the state ideology of saudi arabia is a very intolerant when it comes not only to syria or you know other muslims but pretty much the rest of the world they see all of us as incidentals and some would argue that that ambitions that a vision of the wall this pretty global as well they want to create a caliphate well i spent most of my time as ambassador working with the saudis to encourage a more tolerant society and more open society if that was meeting international standards economically and which would trickle down to political and social values as well i see no evidence that the saudis or. intent and have any organized plan to install any kind of caliphate around the world they obviously have an outreach program called dawa and these are not unlike what some of our religious institutions have to do work or work around the world and they certainly are trying to encourage more people to join the most on faith that's their right to do so if done so pea

and there are undoubtedly saudis and saudis who work hard, and there are certainly saudis who would like to see reform in -- in saudi arabia, and who would like to see an end to the policy of sending money to the extremists. so i don't want to paint all saudis with the same brush, but that is not a country in which the privileged have to work hard. and they don't because the wealth comes up out of the ground. it is corrosive; it's corruptive. it is not good for saudi society. and privately, americans who have lived and worked in saudi arabia, and even some saudis will -- will say what i have just said. c-span: you say, "since 1990, the unemployment rate in the arab world has been very, very high, 25 percent in saudi arabia". you say much of the saudi arabian unemployment is voluntary. why? >> guest: well, it's voluntary if you're going to live comfortably because you are part of the elite structure that receives a share of the national wealth, whether you work or not c-span: why hasn't the government here, name your politician, called for sacrifice when it comes to energy, alternative en

only if i go to you i mean any kind of this is what really infuriates the saudis because the saudis will no longer have that kind of influence the kind of influence they have now in washington because you have a greater balance of forces in the in the greater middle east and this is exactly what saudi arabia does not want. they only have laws this early days have. as the flaws that there was and especially our country had given them we gave them them for no one to support them we support of them and put out there and also. strive to gaze at on as a kid merely eighteen million people eighteen million people across the other from the show it is a sort of quote of the oil company and i know exactly what iran is capable of showing off and i don't been tens of inflicting determine this damage to the saudis and our interests i think it is in the best interests of this show id be able maybe not this show idea government but this i would give people to have a good relationship with their powerful iran is the most trying to ball for a country and there are a and b. and b. out of east. and but on

the saudis think that that's to their detriment. and therefore they want the united states to not only be more aggressive in terms of getting assad out in syria, but going after the muslim brotherhood in egypt. and they want them to make a stronger stand that will allow them the saudis, to play a background role. the united states, however, has not done that and now the news about the united states pulling some support from the the egyptians, again, has irritated the saudis. >> but it's kind of a unique moment for the saudis to do this break. >> yes. >> at least publicly. >> as juan says, they prefer to be behind the scenes. and i think it's -- it's the effect of a leadership void in the region as the u.s. has stepped back. particularly on syria. we have taken a backseat. and keep in mind what's going on with saudi arabia right now and syria. assad has now said the iranian backed regime of assad has said he is not going to step down. he has no intention of stepping down. so we see where that is going. we have the administration enga

helps train the saudi national guard, one job of which have is to protect saudi royal family. on the other hand -- there so it's hard to know where they would go for this weaponry. on the other hand, to the u.s. it's also very important. they were an important ally in the first gulf war. the role is a little murkier in the second iraq war, they publicly took a neutral stance but there have been reports that they were help informal that. there have been reports, unconfirmed, of secret u.s. drone bases in saudi arabia more recently because the u.s. and saudi arabia still share the goal of combating jihadi terrorism. so it's hard to see how that military relationship gets extricated but if the political bonds do then, you know, who knows? >> brown: well, graeme bannerman to the extent that u.s. officials were taken by surprise by all of this, what are the options for the u.s. at this point to either right the ship or respond in some way? >> well, i think the issue is we were not paying enough attention to the feelings that were analyzed in the region. i think this is more of a st

now downplays this shift with saudi arabia possibly thinking that the saudis are not going to go too far but the u.s. has underestimated dynamic before with saddam hussein he was an ally of one point with a majority in in afghanistan and other folks so in this case it all depends on how four saudi arabia is actually willing to go with this number in virginia i'm going to strike them now in qatar simple rhymes can land you in prison a court has upheld a fifteen year sentence for a poet who was found guilty of insulting the ruler and inciting people to oust the government a decision for the activist who was sympathetic to the arab spring has been condemned by rights organizations and the glass mcguinn research from human rights watch says the case clearly has a political slant. what we've seen of the poms that were on board it onto the internet but doesn't seem to be a say that he's guilty of these offenses and of course you know these offenses are a country it's international standards of freedom of expression and we saw it does seem to be a case that has a political slant to it yes i

has invested a lot in the relationship with saudi arabia and now saudi arabia is rightly the us i mean talking minds and all we hear is this alliance going well. by supporting saudi arabia saudi arabia and many of the gulf countries are probably the most undemocratic the most corrupt and they are really a liability and they have contributed to the sense of alienation between the. world so for saudi arabia specially mr bundy to take this position is a little bit astonishing. but i think i don't think that there will be a total disconnect but if there will be one it would be in the best interest of the . whole. the u.s. would not be associated with a country that is regenerate of terrorism it will not be associated with a leader like but who is. playing a major role in the bloody war going on and supporting terrorists the u.s. now downplaying this shift with saudi arabia possibly thinking that the saudis are not going to go too far but the u.s. has underestimated such dynamic before with saddam hussein he was an ally of one point with a major hit in afghanistan and other folks so in this

policy to make great conciliation with iran over the nuclear program and especially the saudis saudis are very very disappointed regarding what is happening in syria and the chief architect of the saudi foreign policies prints than the former ambassador to the us and now the chief of intelligence in saudi arabia and a special advisor of foreign policy and national security to the king. this harsh rhetoric from riyadh comes at a time of this seemingly soft a stance of the runs a new president over the nuclear issue can the u.s. really be criticized for wanting a better relationship with iran than. well. one shouldn't criticize united states for trying to. solve the iranian nuclear impasse but defeat also in israel here and in the gulf states and above all in saudi arabia is that they would pay the prize that the united states is going to appease their ron is going to lift the sanctions. in return for just switch where the and the charm come pain of the new president of rouhani and they are very much worried about so maybe united states shouldn't be criticized but there are reasons conc

in the gulf but this cooperation between israel and saudi arabia is problematic because saudi arabia gives so much support to the palestinians just recently it gave some ten million dollars to enrich the united nations relief and works agency for palestinian refugees this is in addition to an extra two hundred million dollars that was donated to palestinian infrastructure projects one such project is in russia in gaza where homes are being rebuilt for palestinians whose lives were destroyed during the last israeli war the result is that on the one hand you can see them. cooperate prizzi's and when it comes to iran on the other hand they had close contacts with hamas on the one hand the initiate there are a peace initiative. we've. worked to support him directly al qaida or. this is the ambiguity you can find in the. saudi policy many are asking the question whether israel isn't shooting itself in the foot by forming an alliance with a country that supports its enemies policy r.t. east jerusalem well despite the differences israel and saudi arabia share views on key regional issues bo

arabia there is a very good reason why just check out what one saudi cleric had to say on the matter. she should have been with good. without them we're in the month. of the. wound but. oh so it's not p.m.s. it's just that i've been driving too much thanks mr clear clearing that up all kidding aside though this outrageous discriminatory policy has sparked a protest among saudi women for the second time in just three years dozens of saudis have taken their cars and proudly driven through the streets of riyadh but as shocking as the forbid in practice may sound the western ears this ban on women driving actually has no legal basis in the country which is part of a larger system of customs meant to ensure that women stay in line and are obedient servants to their male counterparts. to get punished for you know. the first thing you need this as a woman the pope either your father or you this money is your god it's his job to the coffee and your job to do you. know is amnesty international trying to bring light to the seriousness of the situation. every woman has to have a male guardian w

now downplays this shift with saudi arabia possibly thinking that the saudis are not going to go too far but the u.s. has underestimated dynamic before with saddam hussein he was an ally of one point with them with a hidden in afghanistan and other folks so in this case it all depends on how for saudi arabia is actually willing to go with this number in virginia i'm going to strike them. dot com now the merkel of social networks facebook users team up and arrange a private concert by the scorpions a lead singer for a russian hospice patient making his lifelong dream a reality in less than twenty four hours a touching story right now in. the u.k. blocks away to resolve the deadlock over jena sounds with the whistleblower remaining holed up in the ecuadorian embassy in london all the details are by. the russian general has received a rather unusual souvenir from terror on an iranian made copy of a glass by a drone the one terence as a shutdown last year iran claims to reverse engineer the device and decoded all the data it had stored and lately the country is even unveiled its own new

riyadhow, saudi arabia, is concerned about the potential between iranement and saudi arabia. the is a natural power in persian gulf. 80 million people, more than all the countries combined multiplied by 5. it has the second-largest natural gas reserves in the world. the third-largest oil reserves in the world. it has largest middle class, it has a glorious history. and thew that if iran u.s. can manage a conflict, iran is going to become once again the undisputed power in the region. that is unacceptable to the saudis. i wisely believe, this is going -- ieate problems for me, honestly believe, this is going to create problems for me. i am going to say something that is controversial. andconflict between iran israel is more manageable than the conflict between iran and saudi arabia. [applause] >> this is -- it is a good component of this conversation. dropped my comments earlier about the changing reality of the region, a good part is what you just said. we continue to look at the region as if it was 1980 or 1970. is right, theni changing is a strategic change. a strategic cha

what did you make of the saudi decision?er lobbying for it, they turned around and said they -- >> the saudis were disturbed by something more than just that related to the u.n. security council seat. i think that if the united states was going to make an opening to iran, it should have taken it into confidence. that wasn't done. the saudis feel they do not have the kind of rapport with president obama, the leaders don't have the rapport with president obama that they're used to having in the white house. they don't like being taken for granted. >> when you look at saudi arabia these days, and what it's doing in syria in other places, there does seem to be something almost reckless, though, in saudi policy, with the funding all kinds of jihaddies. they're funding a huge -- a huge amount of instability in syria. this can't be -- and it's all part of this sunni-shia schism they are, in many ways, contributing to. what's going on? why do you think they suddenly -- part of it, the mystery to me, is they've suddenly gotten very a

for the second time in just three years dozens of saudis have taken to their cars and proudly driven through the streets of riyadh but as shocking as the forbidden practice may sound the western ears this ban on women driving actually has no legal basis in the country which is part of a larger system of customs meant to ensure that women stay in line and are obedient servants to their male counterparts. to get punished for you know. the first thing you need to this is as a woman you are the pope either you a father or you are this money is your god it's his job to the coffee is your job to do you. know is amnesty international trying to bring the light to the seriousness of the situation the arabia every woman has to have a male guardian women need permission to do almost everything travel work go to school get medical treatment and talk to the opposite sex so the actions these women took were incredible considering how they are challenging the entire saudi culture and not just a fantasy law but the state of women is only a microcosm of the larger human rights epidemic taking place i

the saudi government and gauged in a sustained assault on its citizens in the wake of the attacks on the guise of fighting terrorism that sounds familiar according to a two thousand and nine amnesty international report thousands of people have been arrested and detained in virtual secrecy all those have been killed in uncertain circumstances hundreds more people face secret and summary trials and possible execution. one of the names of these people have been this close given the extreme secrecy of the trial. but we do know that a majority of these prisoners are prisoners of conscience or simply targeted for criticizing the kingdom in fact just today a saudi arabian human rights lawyer was sentenced to three months in prison for the mere act of signing a petition critical of the country's judicial system and it's not just citizens that are being persecuted there it's millions of foreign workers from bangladesh indonesia and elsewhere who are battling this terror ran to their credit rule these people basically live in indentured servitude with no limit of work hours and extremely hars