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

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 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. the only if it was this early days have. as the young fellow once 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 politics and eyes and also. to gaze at on as a keep eighteen million people eighteen million people across the the the from this show is a sort of quote of the oil company and i know exactly what iran is capable of going off and i don't intend is of inflicting get to them and the damage to the saudis and our interests i think it is in the best interests of this show id be able maybe not this idea of government but this i would be able to have a good relationship with their powerful iran is the most trying to ball for a country and their r. and b. and east. and how about on the iran

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

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

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

now downplays this shift with saudi arabia possibly thinking that the saudis are not going to go toofar that the u.s. has underestimated such thing as 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 and to qatar where simple rhymes can get you behind bars a court has upheld a fifteen year sentence for a poet was found guilty of insulting the ruler and inciting violence against the government the decision for the activist who was sympathetic to the arab spring has now been condemned by various rights organizations nicholas mcginn a researcher from human rights watch he says the case was clearly politically motivated. what we've seen of the poor is that we're on board on to the internet but doesn't seem to be a say in that you know guilty of these offenses and of course you know these offenses are a country of the international standards of freedom of expression and we saw it it does seem to be a

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

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

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 an addition to an extra two hundred million dollars that was donated to palestinian infrastructure projects one such project is in russia in gaza we homes are being rebuilt for palestinians whose lives were destroyed during the last israel war if the result is that for the one hand you can see them. cooperate pre-season with a company run on the other hand they had no sponsor of this hamas on the one hand the initiate there are a peace initiative. of. world support in directly or. this is the ambiguity you can find in the. saudi policy many are asking the question whether israel is in 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 both countries want regi

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

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 an addition to an extra two hundred million dollars that was donated to palestinian infrastructure projects one such project is unlawful in gaza way homes are being rebuilt for palestinians whose lives were destroyed during the last israeli will the result is that on the one hand you can see them. cooperate prizzi's and when they come to iran on the other hand they had close contacts with hamas on the one hand the initiate there are a peace initiative. on. support in beirut. 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 and the nine's with a country that supports its enemies. east jerusalem. now a closer look at what brings israel and saudi arabia to gather syria is a major issue as both countries agree that the ass

arabia there is a very good reason why just check out what one saudi cleric had to say on the matter. what if we could. without them where in the month of the whole of the. 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 to stay in line and are obedient servants to their male counterparts. not to get punished or you know. the first thing you need this is as a woman the pope either your father brother or you this money is your god if he's. protocol is your job to do your book. now is amnesty international trying to bring light to the seriousness of the situation and study arabia every woman has to have a

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 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 to giving the extreme secrecy of the trial process 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 extremel

and saudi arabia. he is referring to comments made by the saudi intelligence chief. who says they are shifting away from american policies the comments were made before a meeting with the saudi foreign minister. are the whitthe white house is . here to talk about the affordable care act in his state is congressman rush holt from new jersey. >> thank you for being on the program. good to be with you, john. >> i believe you held a round table in new jersey to talk about this. what are you hearing from your constituents about the problem with this we website. >> i'm always talking about constituents and healthcare is a big item. yesterday i held a roundtable to talk about the roll out. i heard what i call basically good news. >> there is no doubles that the we --no doubt that the web sitee trouble ssome. we have already in new jersey 300,000 people covered under the expanded medicade. and this is for lower income people. and the patient advocates made it clear that this is already making a very big difference, a very positive difference. in my own disstric district i he

and saudi arabia have always been extremely friendly.hanging kisses and extravagant gift but now there are signs the relationship has hit a really rough patch. the saudi intelligence chief told dip plats his country would shift away from the united states. allegations that secretary of state john kerry seemed to dismiss after meeting the saudi foreign minister. >> now, i saw the comments that were presented today, they were printed from several days ago before this conversation took place. i think people need to touch base and kind of get a sense of from the prince himself who is the foreign minister, exactly how he sees this. >> reporter: saudi officials have made clear for years that they have been unhappy with much of what the obama administration have done calling for the egyptian president to step down, criticizing saudi's help in cracking down on protest nurse bahrain, it's become much more tense lately. saudi's unhappy with overtures toward iran and its refusal to launch strikes in syria. the inaction one official said they wouldn