Your comment is either born of extreme ignorance, or is deliberate misinformation.

Lambasting SA for fighting in Yemen and then praising Iran, the other country fighting in Yemen, is beyond ridiculous.

Trashing SA for being an authoritarian dictatorship and then praising Iran, another theocratic, authoritarian dictatorship, that is just as happy to have the secret police disappear its citizens, is intellectual malfeasance.

Clearly neither is anything you'd call a liberal democracy but Iran is still a meaningful improvement on Saudi Arabia. In Iran ultimate power is held by the Ayatolla and theocrats but the elected part of the government has substantial power. And censorship, etc, are pretty consistently less encompassing in Iran than in Saudi Arabia.

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/iran

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/saudi-ara...

They're both horrible, oppressive places but if you were forced to move to one Iran would be the clear pick.

> the other country fighting in Yemen

Care to cite any reports of any Iranian bombings of civilians or starving of civilians in Yemen? Or in fact any evidence of Iranian involvement at all (beyond the usual "our confidential Saudi/US sources say")?

Iran has always fought its external wars by funding and training Shia insurgents with the Imperial Guard, in the same way the US sends Special Forces into insurgent groups to fight alongside them. Or are the Yemeni rebels building counterfeit Iranian missiles that kill civilians?

The UN put up a resolution to denounce Iran from doing this just last month, but Russia vetoed it[0].

[0]https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/world/middleeast/iran-yem...

Iran may be supplying some weapons, but their involvement is not comparable to the Saudi involvement. Even the arms supply is questionable. The missile attack is the only solid link given, and the proof provided does not say when the Houthis acquired the missiles or when they were used. The details are in the linked articles in your NYT piece.

The UN also tried to start an investigation into Suadi war crimes, but it was blocked by the UK. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/boris-j...

Wait, so your proof of claim "county A is fighting in country B" is that there were some weapons manufactured in country A found in country B? Do you realize what follows if I say county A is the US for example?

Regarding "training Shia insurgents", do you know that Houthis are Zaidis and Iranians are Twelvers? Do you have any evidence of claims you make about training with the "Imperial Guard" (are we doing Star Wars now)?

Your zeal for covering up Iranian actions betrays an extreme bias or hired mission.

The only countries even somewhat denying Iranian involvement in Yemen are its allies in the UN Security Council, and Russia isn't even really denying it, just blocking resolutions. Iranian soldiers have been killed or captured non-stop over the last 20 years in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Lebanon. They have directly supplied every Shia militant group in the Middle East for decades.

The fact that you deny this makes me believe you've been told to.

Actually I haven't even denied anything. I'm just asking you to substantiate your claims, but instead of doing that you make additional (unsubstantiated) claims, move the goalposts and use appeal to authority arguments.

And I did substantiate it by linking to a story about the UN resolution, yet you ignored it.

Hey, the US sold Saudi Arabia the cluster bombs they're dropping on Yemen [0]. Obama tossed a few missiles their way too [1].

[0]: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-to-sell-cluster-bombs-to-s...

[1]: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-paul-ryan-letter-missil...

Where do I read about the outdoor air conditioning? This sounds somewhat viable to me, if we are talking about some semi-enclosed spaces, and there is no wind at all.

Read about it? Just put a stand-alone wall unit outside and sit underneath. Done.

Popular everywhere that is hot, rich and lacks building codes.

Conversely outdoor propane heaters are popular for counties that are cold, rich and lack carbon taxes.

I mean it is an obvious luxurious waste of money which is why people do it. It’s a fine show.

> "is waging a brutal war against one of the world’s poorest countries (and not even winning)"

I wouldn't say Yemen was exactly "winning" either, the situation over there seems horrendous.

Iran is winning. They invest $M's to provide weapons and training, the Saudi's spend $B's on F16s.

ok now do France and Japan

France and Japan have little energy resources and build their nuclear industries from the 60s to the 80s, long before alternatives existed. The French also have far better architects and generally know to set the right priorities in life.

The best counter-example may actually be Iran. But their nuclear industry also started before the recent exponential improvements making solar a viable alternative, and the various trade sanctions likely forced them to forgo the solar suppliers in the west and China, making them dependent on whatever Russia had to offer.

> literally killing themselves on the highways out of sheer boredom

What does this mean?

They have a reputation of buying expensive cars and driving them recklessly with impunity.

Yes, how awful. Another country trying to get off of fossil fuels. How ever will we cope?

In seriousness, how the hell is any of this relevant?

Well, under the hyperbolic post I see someone saying that Saudi Arabia going after nuclear power should be viewed with great skepticism, and some amount of trepidation, based off their past and present conduct.

Sure, but having nuclear reactors != having nuclear weapons. There are two ways to make nuclear weapons: enrichment and harvesting plutonium from reactors designed to make it.

Enrichment is almost certainly not going to be acceptable due to past and present conduct.

Harvesting is going to simply not be possible, because it requires a type of reactor designed for the task, and nearly all modern reactors are actively designed against it (known as proliferation resistant reactors). The US and allies won't sell LEU to the Sauds if they know they don't have proliferation resistant reactors.

Russia and Pakistan might though. Which is why it's important to lock the Sauds in on proliferation resistant reactors and LEU imports ASAP.

When Iran tries to do the same, all hell breaks loose. Media mindlessly and predictably add "weapons" to any mentions of Iranian nuclear program.

To be fair, Iran had an enrichment program that they were actively hiding under a mountain, they were clearly developing for nuclear weapons, because if you have the enrichment capability why wouldn't you?

But on the other hand, I see that exactly as the reason we ought to be involved with Iran's nuclear program and actively supporting it.

source for this?

Did you not hear the amazing tale of Stuxnet? Buckle in. The world has truly became a cyberpunk playland.

https://www.wired.com/2014/11/countdown-to-zero-day-stuxnet/

On other hand, I always think:

Many poor countries, especially in Africa, complain that their resources are exploited and they get nothing from it.

But that doesn't just happens with (Saudi) Arabs. You just don't try to exploit Arabs. When you try, you're the one who gets in debt prison. So at least they're doing something right.

Just my tangential 2c to your spot-on comment.

If you look at ressource-rich countries in Africa, you will actually see a somewhat similar structure: Equatorial Guinea, for example, is one of the world’s most expensive places to live and has a large ruling elite syphoning up the spoils of the county’s wealth in oil.

The difference is only the far larger populations of these countries. In that regard, it’s a model comparable to tax havens, in that it doesn’t work once the population grows too large. FWIW, Saudi Arabia also has a large underclass of what are essentially slaves building the country’s tacky infrastructure. But because they are immigrants, Saudi Arabia, as a country, is commonly seen as the perpetrator and not the victim in this scheme.

Edit: thriftwy’s criticism of this theory below is probably right. An index of <revenue from resources>/<population> would be helpful.

Saudi Arabia population is 30M actually (much higher than I guessed before checking, and on par with many African countries). And it is NOT dominated by immigrants, unlike UAE.

I can easily tell which side you're on, but you missed some pertinent information.

Iran is also fighting in Yemen (by proxy) and has been directly supporting the Assad regime, one of the most brutal dictatorships the Middle East has ever seen.

Saudis have been directly supporting Al Qaeda and its off-shoots like Nusra, the guys who cut off people's heads on camera. Oh wait, Saudis actually chop off people's heads regularly themselves. What's your point?

You think I'm a fan on Saudi?

My point is that OP noted that Saudi is waging war in Yemen but failed to do the same with Iran. It was an uneven comparison.

Assad isn't even close to "one of the most brutal dictators" the Middle East has ever seen.

That's a ridiculous statement to make and reeks of propaganda.

The Iranians are supporting him though and since our strategic interests are not aligned we get the propaganda.

(Not to suggest Assad isn't somewhat brutal, but there is a history of history of brutality in the area stretching back to the beginning of civilization and Western/Turkish effort in modern times haven't been kindly either so lets don't get all carried away with nonsense.).

I'm from Tunisia and spent a lot of time in the UAE, so I'd like to think I know a bit about the Middle East and its history.

"Not even close"? Are you serious? Do you have a list of the most brutal dictators at hand by any chance?

Heck, Hafez is definitely on that list alongside his son. The Assad family has been renowned for its brutality and torture program, ever since the 80s.

How nice to know about your birth place.

Assad still isn't one of "the most brutal dictators the Mideast has ever seen" and that is still is an absolutely ludicrous statement.

From the Assyrians to the Arabs to the Mongols to the Turks right up until Saddam, Assad isn't even close.

Edit: Wrote out a reply, but now I feel like it's a waste of time. Have a good one.

You as well. Probably we have to agree to disagree on this one.

Assad being one of the most brutal dictators between Iraq and Turkey within the last 20 years I'd probably agree with.

When two street gangs fight each other to the death for control of a territory, those that are not in that territory are better off staying away, not deciding that one likes a specific gang more and start helping it.