When the leaders of many of the worlds democracies flocked to Saudi Arabia last week to offer their condolences on the death of King Abdullah, many critics called it hypocrisy. They did so, too, when Saudi officials marched in Paris two weeks earlier to defend freedom of expression following the terrorist attacks there. After all, Saudi Arabia comes near the bottom of the world league in terms of freedoms, such as the right to dissent, to freedom of expression or to practise any religion other than Islam, and has a track record of brutal human-rights abuses and political and religious oppression. But the kingdoms oil and strategic geopolitical importance in the turbulent Middle East means that it has long enjoyed strong ties with the West.
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