A Frontline documentary airing tonight on San Antonio's PBS station KLRN shows a side of Saudi Arabia that the west has rarely seen. From The Kingdom's mass poverty to political unrest, to religious extremism "Saudi Arabia Uncovered" shows a country on the edge.
"The oil price is low, youth unemployment, regional instability, you've got a resurgent Iran. You've got conflicts in Syria, Yemen. You could almost argue the possibility of a perfect storm," says former British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Sir William Patey.
The documentary gives viewers a street-level view of how the geopolitical are pressuring Saudi Arabia, the resulting internal strife and gives incite into the recent decisions of the government.
The images being recorded secretly and smuggled out all at great risk to those within Saudi Arabia as the government is not shy about cracking down on dissent.
"It's a fairly regular occurrence for a Saudi to go to prison for any kind of dissent," says director James Jones "Last week someone was jailed for five years for sending a tweet that was mildly critical of government policy."
The startling footage obtained by Jones and his colleagues paint a very different portrait of one of America's staunchest allies in the Middle East.
Guest:
- James Jones, producer and director of "Saudi Arabia Uncovered"
