Changes

Saudi Arabia is mostly a desert country, but it is rich in [[oil]] and date palms.  Desalination plants have made the kingdom a major exporter of wheat.  Foreign workers are plentiful and the citizens enjoy a number of socialized gifts.  The kingdom is also ruled with an iron fist. People will get their hands chopped off for stealing, alcohol is illegal, and women are not allowed to drive. Despite Saudi Arabia's repuation for being one of the most oppressive governments in the world, the United States maintains a close relationship with them and they are one of America's biggest allies in the Middle East after Israel<ref>http://www.cfr.org/publication/10728/</ref>.

Saudi Arabia is mostly a desert country, but it is rich in [[oil]] and date palms.  Desalination plants have made the kingdom a major exporter of wheat.  Foreign workers are plentiful and the citizens enjoy a number of socialized gifts.  The kingdom is also ruled with an iron fist. People will get their hands chopped off for stealing, alcohol is illegal, and women are not allowed to drive. Despite Saudi Arabia's repuation for being one of the most oppressive governments in the world, the United States maintains a close relationship with them and they are one of America's biggest allies in the Middle East after Israel<ref>http://www.cfr.org/publication/10728/</ref>.

[[Image:Bcdf.jpg|right|Masjid Nabawi, Medina, Saudi Arabia|thumb|400px]]

[[Image:Bcdf.jpg|right|Masjid Nabawi, Medina, Saudi Arabia|thumb|200px]]

[[Image:SaudiArabiaWorldMap.png|right||400px|thumb|World View Geo Location of Saudi Arabia]]

[[Image:SaudiArabiaWorldMap.png|right||200px|thumb|World View Geo Location of Saudi Arabia]]

The Arab-American Oil Corporation ([[ARAMCO]]), through U.S. Secretary of the Interior [[Harold Ickes]], got U.S. President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] to agree to [[Lend Lease]] aid to Saudi Arabia, which would involve the U.S. government in Saudi Arabia and create protection for the interests of ARAMCO. <ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/Petroleum/kuniholm.htm "American Oil Interests in the Near East,"] in Bruce R. Kuniholm, The Origins of the Cold War in the Near East: Great Power Conflict and Diplomacy in Iran, Turkey, and Greece (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980), Chapter III, "The Iranian Context," pp. 178-192.</ref>

The Arab-American Oil Corporation ([[ARAMCO]]), through U.S. Secretary of the Interior [[Harold Ickes]], got U.S. President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] to agree to [[Lend Lease]] aid to Saudi Arabia, which would involve the U.S. government in Saudi Arabia and create protection for the interests of ARAMCO. <ref>[http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/Petroleum/kuniholm.htm "American Oil Interests in the Near East,"] in Bruce R. Kuniholm, The Origins of the Cold War in the Near East: Great Power Conflict and Diplomacy in Iran, Turkey, and Greece (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980), Chapter III, "The Iranian Context," pp. 178-192.</ref>