Off-Topic: U.S. Foreign Policy Run by Saudi Dictator

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	Name:	Talullahhound -
	Subject:	U.S. Foreign Policy Run by Saudi Dictator
	Date:	2/11/2011 6:03:39 PM

I think there is some truth to us regarding them as the enemy. The government is loaded in intel and foreign policy with Russian specialists, who speak Russian, studied Russia, etc.

I have not been able to figure out why we don't seem to have a lot of Middle Eastern specialists. We have people that speak the languages, and supposedly have studied the politics and the culture, but it may be a factor that we haven't had to be interested in the Middle East that long really (other than oil, no one was ever too interested until after 9/11).
As anyone who has ever been there knows, it's a very strange place and it varies from country to country. But, you'd never mistake it for home. While my dealings were primarily with the military, I have always found the people rather warm and very interested in the US. Most of the time, for me, it was pretty comical dealing with some of the men (found the younger ones to be very open to dealing with women, the older ones seem embarassed). I had a Pakistani General tell me that I must have a "kind and loving" husband because he "let me" travel (his office boy almost dropped his tea tray on the floor to see a woman sitting in his bosses office). In Saudi, I had to have a letter from the Embassy that stated I had my husband's permission to travel before I could check into my hotel.