Here from Idaho is a story that contains this interesting snippet:
“Following the attacks nearly five years ago in New York and Washington, D.C., some Arabic students left the United States. The number of Saudi students slipped from the 1981 peak of 10,220 to just 3,035 last year, according to the Institute of International Education. Now, the U.S. State Department and the Saudi government are bolstering efforts to bring more students to U.S. universities…in hopes of cementing lasting bonds and easing tensions.”
Now I can certainly see the argument for exposing Saudi students to western, secular culture, and it’s certainly true that many Saudis reject terrorism, but am I the only person to think that this whole effort looks a touch naive? In this connection, I note the involvement of the Saudi regime (a corrupt and vicious theocracy, in case anyone had forgotten). Perhaps the State Department would like to update us all on what that theocracy is teaching students back home in order to cement “lasting bonds” and ease “tensions” with the West.