Mark Hambley, former US ambassador to the Middle East, talks about the current unrest in the region.
Unrest in the Middle East from WGBY on Vimeo.
Retired US ambassador Mark Hambley served in the US diplomatic service stationed in Northern Africa and the Middle East for 30 years. He sat down with Connecting Point's Jim Madigan to discuss the current unrest in the Middle East and the future of US involvement in the region.
When asked if the change sweeping the Middle East will reach Saudi Arabia, Hambley said, "I must say I think one is very reluctant to use a crystal ball when talking about the Arab world. I think on January 13 if I was asked if Ben Ali was going to be out of Tunisia I would have said 'well not this week' and of course the next day he went."
The former ambassador went on to discuss the varying local cultures in Saudi Arabia which many citizens identify themselves with, instead of seeing themselves as part of the national identity of the country.
"In Saudi Arabia you don't really have protests in the sense that you have people go out in the street, that's not done normally." Hambley said. "Prince Nayef decreed that there will be no public demonstrations in the kingdom."
Connecting Point airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on WGBY.