Double Standards: U.S. Middle East Policy

The dictionary defines a double standard as a rule or principle applied more strictly to some than to others. Double standards are seen as unjust because they violate fairness, that everyone is equal before the law. When this basic principle is violated, it creates anger and resentment. U.S. policy in the Middle East has long engaged in the practice of double standards. Washington’s staunch ally Saudi Arabia is one of the most theocratic, puritanical countries in the world. The Riyadh regime, a family-run dynasty, is a state sponsor of religious intolerance, discrimination, homophobia, and misogyny. It has notoriously funded some of the most extreme madrassas, Islamic seminaries, which have been incubators of jihadis. Notwithstanding all that it gets a free pass from Washington.

Interview by David Barsamian,

Recorded at the American University of Beirut.