Posted on 09/10/2006 6:36:06 AM PDT by Elkiejg
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Thousands of Saudi students are enrolling on college campuses across the United States this semester under a new educational exchange program brokered by President Bush and Saudi King Abdullah.
This will quintuple the number of Saudi students and scholars in the United States by the academic year's end. And big, public universities from Florida to Oregon are in a fierce competition for their tuition dollars...............
....Clark Kent Ervin, a former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said the U.S. government has yet to ensure proper safeguards are in place to do effective background checks on all applicants.......
"Not only are the students fully funded, but they're also paying out-of-state tuition."
Kansas State boosted efforts to court Saudi officials in the past year, flying administrators and department heads to the Saudi Embassy in Washington. It's paid off: Last month about 150 Saudi students started classes there, each funded to the tune of about $31,000......
"It's an opportunity to increase understanding of Saudi Arabia for the United States and of the United States for Saudi Arabia."
As Kansas State students enjoy a string of home football games this month, they also are preparing for the campus' first celebration of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
"We really want to make this special. We're going to truck in halal food from Kansas City,"
Mr. Holland said. "The Saudi government is trying to place the students in a variety of institutions across the country, but where you get the competitive advantage is how you treat the students when they get here."...........
"These 15,000 students will really jump-start education, and that will be a great addition to the kingdom," Mr. Goodman said. "At its base, it's about mutual understanding."
(Excerpt) Read more at insider.washingtontimes.com ...
This is an example of why all the golden words spoken by W count for nothing. W is NOT a man of integrity. The problem is, the jihadis know this, but W's own supporters do not.
I just hope that if any of these saudis decide to enroll in a air flight school, red flags go up.
I despise Saudi Arabia. They are evil- pure and simple. Look at their culture. They takes slaves, abuse the poor,execute woman for sexual crime (like if they are raped). My friend's husband is a Palistinian, but he was raised in Jordan by a wealthy family-very cosmopolitan guy. He was homesick for the region a few years back and accepted a job there. The Saudi's hate Pali's and treated him like dirt. They take their passports you know. The Saudi reneged on the contract-about payment and living quarters. It took a year for him to break free. Part of the time his wife (American and he is an American citizen also) was camping out at the US Embassy which eventually got her and the kids our of the country and persuaded the Saudi's to let this guy leave. He worked for a year (work or be jailed) for virtually no money. Once before the family got out, one of the Morality Police beat his wife with a stick because (the horror) the wind blew her robe up and a bit of ankle was revealed. I despise Islam- a brutal 14th century style religion with no redeeming qualities. Remember, the Saudi's executed a Saudi Princess in the 80's. I believe they chopped her head off with a sword...more humane I suppose then Iran- they stone helpless women to death.
No, It's just plain stupid. Perhaps Bush has learned nothing.
Of course, if Osama had issued the orders, both Saddam and ayatollahs would provide volunteers. After all Saddam and ayatollahs are secret Wahabi agents. Same with Syria and North Korea. Makes perfect sense.
Well, they are close to the modern Western ideal - they have PERFECT separation of Church and State, better than it was in Soviet Union. ZERO churches in Saudi Arabia.
'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis Web Sites Track Suicide Bombings
By Susan B. Glasser Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 15, 2005; Page A01snip
Who are the suicide bombers of Iraq? By the radicals' account, they are an internationalist brigade of Arabs, with the largest share in the online lists from Saudi Arabia and a significant minority from other countries on Iraq's borders, such as Syria and Kuwait.----
Some of the Freepers are getting suspicious of our relationship?
Move on, there is nothing to see.
Like anything else, there are pluses and minuses.
The pluses are the former King Hussein, his son (current ruler) and his son's wife are all American educated and Jordan has been as pro western as you can get and not be assasinated.
The minuses are mohammed atta and 9-11.
I think the old shah of Iran was western educated.
In the 80's I went to graduate school and one of my classmates was arabian who got kicked out because he liked american girls too much to the point where he alledgedly abused his position as a graduated TA.
Except for the fact that american girls dress like tarts, on the whole they can be a very civilizing influence on the 72 virgin crowd.
Answer yes we are,but after all Kansas State is going to get 31,000 dollars per student which proves the statement " money talks and common sense walks " !!!
It's not like these guys were that secretive ~ they wanted you to know they had a broad base of support.
Otherwise, the difference between the royal family, the religious police and the American Liberal establishment is diminishingly small.
The mosque, not the church. I did not mean Separation of Mosque and State.
If he'd been more Americanized he'd been packing heat and the fight wouldn't have happened of course.
We don't allow that particular crowd around here either ~ everybody's a Buddhist, Moslem or Pentecostal.
Please state what you mean.
Safeguards are not in place to ensure correct background checks?! I hope some enterprising journalist follows this story and finds (1) The schools attended, and (2) The major discipline of each entrant. As it now stands in Saudi Arabia there are not enough jobs for those Saudis graduating from their universities. What is the justification for sending such a large number here? What does this program do to relieve the glut of unemployed college grads in SA? This seems like a program that will allow Saudi students to find a home in the USA.
This is why you've got to question the ability of America to survive it's own greed and stupidity. In my life I've witnessed the 'profitization', (if I can invent a word), of formerly non-profit organizations; from higher education to health care to the Red Cross. And corporations don't want to make large profits anymore, they want to build global empires. It's all about obtaining piles of m-o-n-e-y, and we are truly selling our souls and our future down the drain in the insane quest for it. Same thing holds true of our elected officials, from Bush on down, who are selling our country out to illegal aliens in return for a temporary boost to our economy and a last-ditch means of patching up our impending Social Security disaster. No country will last forever, but in our stupidity, spiritual blindness and greed, we are heading for the all-time record of shortest existence ever for a nation.
from aljezerra.com
King Abdullah was born in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on 30 January, 1962. He is the son of King Hussein’s second wife, English-born Princess Muna Al Hussein.
He began his education in Amman and at the age of four he traveled to England to continue his education. He attended high school in the United States.
He later spent one year in Oxford and Georgetown Universities studying Middle Eastern affairs, particularly the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The young monarch married his wife, Kuwait-born Palestinian Rania, in June 1993. Now they have three children, Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, and Princess Salma.
Pro-Western policy
King Abdullah has followed the footsteps of his father in applying the paternalistic style of rule and moderate, pro-West political viewpoint.
But Jordan’s pro-Western policy has faced pressures after the Palestinian intifada or uprising broke out in September 2000 and after the 11 September attacks on the United States.
King Abduallah had tried to end the violence between Israel and the Palestinians; a dispute that has prompted public opinion in Jordan; whose population is mainly of Palestinian origin.
His biggest challenge as king is creating democracy in Jordan; a task which he said doesn’t have a “blueprint” for.
His stance as a truly modern king is emphasized by the viewpoint he posted on his web site: “A Jordan with equal opportunities for all and with special privileges for none".
During his rule, the Kingdom had worked on some anti-corruption measure to stimulate businesses and attract foreign investors, efforts which lead to the free trade accord which Jordan and Israel signed with the U.S. recently.
However, the Jordanians are still waiting for the economic benefits that were promised after the Kingdom singed a historic peace accord with Israel in 1994.
Military man
King Abdullah joined the British military academy at Sandhurst in 1980 and served in the British army in West Germany and Britain. He also served for Jordan's 41st and 90th armored brigades, the air force's Helicopter Anti-tank Wing and the Second Guards Brigade.
In 1993, King Abdullah became the deputy commander of the Special Forces. His main role was in a highly specialized commando unit that mainly focused on keeping internal order.
In 1998, King Abdullah headed a high-profile special forces unit to raid the hideout of gunmen who killed eight people in Amman. When the operation was over, Jordanians chanted his name on the streets.
Although he speaks Arabic fluently, King Abdullah speaks English better than classical Arabic, which is needed for official appearances.
King Abdullah is also a car racing fan (he is a former Jordanian National Rally Racing Champion), a qualified pilot, diver and free-fall parachutist. His others interests include scuba diving and collecting ancient weapons.
See the difference between Church and Mosque
Saudi Arabia has the best Separation of the Church and State in the world. Syria and Iran do not since they have several churches open.
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