Oh yeah, I said it and I meant it! We subjugate our enemies by the influence that we wield over the monarchies and/or dictatorships of other countries.

Look at Saudi Arabia and their institution of a state run program through which all, I say again, all charities for the country will be funneled through. In short, all charity in Saudi Arabia is to be strictly regulated by the state.

Now this is no surprise to anyone who follows, even casually like me, the workings of the Saudi royal family and their government, but I am upset about the collusion and encouragement of our government in all this. It seems that we are hand-in-hand with the Saudi government in this, if not co-architects of the idea.

Are we safer in America because of it? Well, if cutting off a major source of funding for terrorist organizations make us safer, then yes we are safer. But are we �freedom loving� like President Bush always says that we are? Come on� Instead of identifying and targeting specific charities in Saudi Arabia we influence their government to take total control of all charitable work in that country.

Am I the only one who finds this offensive? It is the same type of heavy-handed measures that Saddam Hussein used all through the eighties, with our support, and look where that got us. Because of the immediate and obvious benefit to our country we disregard all the principals of freedom that are supposed to make this country great. Apparently all men are born with certain inalienable rights unless they are unfortunate enough to have been born somewhere other then the United States.

Advocating tighter controls of a dictatorial monarchy over it�s people advocates repression, not freedom, and is not the American way� or is it? I am very disappointed that we often choose not to champion our ideals on the world stage in the places it matters most.

If Al-Haramain is a terrorism sponsor under the guise of a charity, then shut it down, freeze it�s assets and prosecute those involved, that is what I believe to be a fair and responsible action on the part of any government. But this other, totalitarian control over all charity work, how is that the right and good thing to do?

If Saudi Arabia came to this end on it�s own that would be one thing, but all the reports belay the support, collusion and even pressure of the United States government in this action. By being more dictatorial, Saudi Arabia is placating America and that thought should be an impossibility.