Saudi Racism Buried by Post

As our colleague wrote in our media alert, the Post omitted a whopper. Why do they cover for the Saudi racists?

Our friend Leo picks up on the omission.

To the owner, publisher and editors of the Washington Post:

There was an egregious omission in your front-page story of Sunday, June 20, about the aftermath of the beheading of an American in Saudi Arabia and the shootout between Saudi security forces and terrorists.

Missing was a statement, made according to European and Mideast media, by Crown Prince Abdullah who went on Saudi TV to tell his people: "We are not 100 percent sure, but we are 95 percent sure that what happened in Saudi Arabia is the product of Zionist hands. They have poisoned the minds of our sons."

The importance of this comment by Saudi Arabia's supreme ruler cannot be exaggerated. If he and his government feel that these indigenous terrorists are merely a small band of "deviants" brainwashed by Jews instead of the product of fanatical indoctrination by Saudi clerics and Islamic religious teachers, what chance is there that Abdullah will crack down effectively on his madrassas?

Of course, this was the second day in a row that the Post reported the story from Berlin -- a little distance from Saudi Arabia. For a newspaper that rightly has two permanent reporters in Israel, one would think that at a time when the grip on power by the royal family in Saudi Arabia is ever more open to question, the Post would at least have as many reporting assets in Riyahd.

Is this an instance where Saudi Arabia won't allow you to open a bureau in Riyahd because it prefers you to get the news from Prince Bandar or its propaganda flak in the embassy in Washington who masquerades as a foreign-policy adviser? Or does the Post see no need to spend money for a regular on-the-scene presence in Saudi Arabia? If it's the former, your coverage is bound to rely more on spin from Saudi officials or other assorted "experts." If it's the latter, your journalistic priorities seem a bit cock-eyed.

Either way, I would suggest, you have a responsibility to tell readers about any governmental barriers that might prevent regular access not only in Saudi Arabia but also in places like Iran and Syria so they can judge for themselves how credible your coverage is.

Your readers deserve more transparency and accountability.