King Abdullah: Royal Pain

By Mark Fiore

As the Saudi King Abdullah is mourned by leaders around the world, Mark Fiore reminds us what kind of "reformer" the late leader truly was.

I was curious how you could be king of a country that beheads people, doesn’t let women drive and regularly flogs people and be remembered as a “reformer” when you die. Could it have something to do with all that oil and the regional stability thing, perhaps?

After Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died, world leaders beat a path to his door to honor his memory. (Metaphorically beat, not actual flogging like you would perform on a blogger.) I’ve just barely scratched the surface here but I think it might be a bit of a stretch to call Abdullah a “reformer.” (Just include the world’s biggest asterisk if you insist on using the reformer label.)
Besides women not being allowed to drive, beheadings continuing apace and regular floggings, it should be noted that King Abdullah apparentlyheld four of his daughters under house arrest, um, indefinitely. Let’s just keep in mind who this guy really was before we go sugar-coating him as a great model for the Middle East. As usual, you can find more links to news stories behind the cartoon here.