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February 12, 2006
Al Gore Sells Out To The Saudis

Earlier this week, I pointed out that the Jeddah Economic Forum had disinvited the Danes after their publication of the Prophet cartoons. Arab News reported that Al Gore and Steve Forbes had agreed to appear at the JEF prior to Denmark's exclusion, and several bloggers wondered whether they would endorse the Saudi position and attend after such a move.

Not only did Gore attend, but he sold out the US in order to suck up to the Islamists:

Former Vice President Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment.

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

I'm stunned almost to speechlessness. We held mass roundups of Arabs? When? Where? What exactly were the "unforgivable" conditions of which Gore speaks? And as far as the visas go, when exactly did Saudis have a right to enter the United States at whim without any consideration of security? Perhaps the former VP has forgotten, but most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudis.

In truth, Gore sold out the United States and any notion of freedom by appearing after Denmark got barred from attending an economic forum for the publishing decision of one of its privately-owned newspapers. Just showing up was bad enough. To make accusations about some mythical internment program for Arabs in the US just plays into the hands of the conspiracy-addicted Arabian press.

Thanks, Al. You've gone from a respectable politician to a Saudi suck-up in one of the worst political meltdowns in American history.

UPDATE: Tigerhawk notes that "[t]his business of prestigious American politicians attacking the United States from abroad is repellant, because it serves no legitimate purpose. It is one thing to attack our policies in front of American voters -- that's how the system works -- and quite another to do it from deep into the heart of Wahhabism." Read the rest of his scathing critique as well.

For me, that is a major part of the sell-out, but not all of it. Al Gore could have said this in New York and I would still call it a sell-out and a betrayal of his nation. He spouts the worst conspiracy-theory garbage, without any supporting evidence, which feeds into the propaganda of our enemies. The fact that he did it on stage in Jeddah in a forum which had already booted the Danes for daring to stand up to Islamists only emphasizes the craven and self-involved character of the former VP.

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at February 12, 2006 8:29 PM

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» http://www.swankyconservative.com/2006/02/13/1526/ from Swanky Conservative
How to make my blood boil in three paragraphs or less. Step one: Be the former vice president of the United States speaking in Saudi Arabia. Step two: Give a speech that is the verbal equivalent of a submissive sexual position in order to make nice wi... [Read More]

Tracked on February 13, 2006 9:45 AM

» Al Gore goes to Saudi Arabia to badmouth America from The Unalienable Right
Al Gore gave a pretty disgusting, even seditious speech over the weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, declaring among other things (via Yahoo News): …Arabs had been “indiscriminately rounded up” and held in “unforgivable” c... [Read More]

Tracked on February 13, 2006 10:20 AM

» We all own a debt of gratitude to Florida By the Bear from The Absurd Report
Had it not been for 567 unknown Florida voters in the 2000 Presidential Election who tipped the scales in favor of George Bush, we mite have had an unhinged nut case in the White House. ... [Read More]

Tracked on February 14, 2006 3:41 AM

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