When it comes to the trade off between America’s support for human-rights and its promotion of its security interests, Saudi Arabia is where the rubber hits the road – literally in the case of the Saudi women drivers. Earlier this afternoon, an email arrived in from a group campaigning for support for the brave Saudi women, who in a gesture of civil disobedience, have taken to driving cars around the kingdom. Saudi Arabia, of course, is the only country in the world, where this is actually illegal.

The e-mail was mainly addressed to Hillary Clinton, who has made a point of supporting women’s rights around the world. It asked plaintively – “Where are you?”, adding:  “we write to express our deep concern over the US government’s public silence on the issue of Saudi women’s right to drive.” Read more