Saudi Arabia Beheads Four Drug Traffickers But Complains About ISIS

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 06:09:39 PM EST
Tags: Saudi Arabia, ISIS (all tags)

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ISIS and jihadists aren't the only ones who use beheadings as a means of execution. Yesterday, Saudi Arabia beheaded four drug traffickers.

Four drug traffickers from Syria and Iran were decapitated by sword in northern and eastern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, the government said, disregarding concerns raised by human rights organizations and raising the number of people executed over the last month to 30.

The King of Saudi Arabia has been harshly critical of ISIS, launching a crackdown on the "deviants." So have Saudi religious leaders. The King specifically criticized ISIS beheadings last week.

Abdullah denounced ISIS’s savage beheadings and mass killings. He said ISIS jihadists “do not know humanity,” according to a Saudi Press Agency report.

...Abdullah condemned the “cruelty” of the beheadings and children’s involvement in them, saying they are “against the teachings of Allah almighty.”

First, what a hypocrite. [More...]

Second, in the words of Justice Louis Brandeis, dissenting in Olmstead v. U.S., 1928:

“Our Government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example."

Justice Brandeis also said:

“If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.”

Saudi Arabia: Just another case of the pot calling the kettle black.

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Saudi Arabia Beheads Four Drug Traffickers But Complains About ISIS | 17 comments (17 topical)

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Personally (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 06:16:03 PM EST

I'm really sick of the Saudis sh!t.

Saudi Arabia has the death penalty... (5.00 / 1) (#6)
by unitron on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 09:01:15 PM EST

...and beheading is the way they do it, and has been for years (so they probably know how to do it with one swing of the sword), but one would assume that there was some semblance of due process since these 4 were executed for violating specific laws, whereas with ISIS those killed were basically guilty only of being available when they felt like getting some publicity.

ISIS has specific (none / 0) (#7)
by Jeralyn on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 09:39:58 PM EST

punishments for specific crimes. They don't act randomly. Some of their beheaders do use a sword and kill in one stroke. ISIS also grants reprieves sometimes. Do a little research before making such claims.


Journalism is a crime? (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 08:11:11 AM EST

No, but shilling for a site (none / 0) (#12)
by Mordiggian 88 on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 08:41:44 AM EST

is against the rules of this site.

Bandwidth is expensive. The comment space is reserved for comments that relate to the topic of the post . You may not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You may quote one or two short paragraphs and link to them.

Selective journalism :) (none / 0) (#13)
by Militarytracy on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 08:47:13 AM EST

Was there any text... (none / 0) (#19)
by unitron on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 06:12:43 PM EST

...in the body of this comment that would have justified this reply?


: I specifically clicked on the reply button ... (none / 0) (#20)
by unitron on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 06:15:22 PM EST

...for MT's comment, #11, not for comment #12, because the question was intended for her, but my comment #19 is showing #12 as the parent.

Don't forgot about (none / 0) (#14)
by Chuck0 on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 09:42:19 AM EST

their cute crucifixions. Nothing like a little medieval justice in the 21st century. The Islamic State, its leaders and its minions are savages. This is one time I agree with the right. They are a cancer on humanity that need to be wiped out.


: I don't think this is a right v. left issue. (none / 0) (#17)
by Mr Natural on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 10:49:14 AM EST

"Due process"... (none / 0) (#15)
by kdog on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 09:51:40 AM EST

that's funny unitron.

We think we give those we execute "due process" too...and so does ISIS.

It's all bullsh*t excuses/justifications for murder. No "process" can justify it.


Savage Beheadings are Uncouth (none / 0) (#2)
by squeaky on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 06:17:22 PM EST

But when done by a Saudi Professional, that is another story.

Hope they (none / 0) (#3)
by CaptHowdy on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 06:18:57 PM EST

At least didn't use a Swiss Army knife.


: One of Jeralyn's linked articles (none / 0) (#4)
by fishcamp on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 06:49:54 PM EST

said they used a sword which I always thought was the traditional method. Not sure if the ISIS people invented the sawing method but both are too gruesome for words. Do they practice and apprentice for the job? Never mind I don't want to know.

I doubt if the Saudis are as concerned about (none / 0) (#5)
by Mr Natural on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 07:09:35 PM EST

The losing of heads as they are about the losing of oil wells.

Saudi beheadings//Capital Punishment (none / 0) (#8)
by xxzeon on Wed Sep 03, 2014 at 10:37:53 PM EST

States within the USA who utilize capital punishment : IN ANY FORM.....are just as barbaric as the very same people whom our (US) government points it's finger at or against!

: I expected this in comment #1 or 2 (none / 0) (#16)
by CaptHowdy on Thu Sep 04, 2014 at 10:12:26 AM EST

Surprised it took 8. I don't disagree and admit I considered a similar comment. Hmmmm. I was about to say we don't execute drug dealers but I wisely wiki-ed first

Very large quantities or mixtures of heroin, cocaine, ecgonine, phencyclidine (PCP), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana, or methamphetamine. [4][5][6] The United States Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Louisiana struck down capital punishment for crimes that do not result in the death of a victim, but left open the possibility for "offenses against the State" - including crimes such as drug trafficking (and treason and espionage).[7]