The Laughing Wolf

Sarah Saga: Saudi Prisoner?

The case of Sarah Saga, the U.S. Citizen holed up in a consulate in Saudi Arabia raises many things. It is clearly an emotional case, not only for her and her mother, but for the average American as well. It raises questions on several legal fronts, from the citizenship of her children to her rights and right of protection as a citizen. It also raises yet more concern about the Department of State and its actions. It also strongly calls into question the veracity of our gallant allies the House of Sand, er, Saud.

Since there has been some confusion, let me state that this is not the case of a woman who married a Saudi and then encountered problems. Sarah was a child of a union between an American woman and a Saudi male, who later divorced. At age five according to reports, Sarah was sent on a parental visit, which may or may not have been court ordered (citations have been difficult obtain), and the father then refused to return her. Since he was in Saudi Arabia at the time, it was not a case for the police. It was a case for the lace panty brigade at Foggy Bottom.

According to the mother, who has appeared on Fox and other news shows, she was denied help by the State Department. She claims that she was told flat out that they would not help because they did not want to jeopardize relations with a critical ally.

I have little problem believing this, or some of the tales that have come out since Sarah made it to a consulate and sought sanctuary. While America was founded on individual liberty and rights, the State Department has obviated such since the early 1900s with the rise of what is known as Wilsonian Democracy. If you are not familiar with this term, when you finish reading this, go to the main page and click on U.S.S. Clueless Essential Links and read up. You will be glad you did.

After Independence, America did not have the might to fight England or other powers, but eventually did so anyway with impressments of seamen as the root cause of the war. What is now known as the War of 1812 was much more widely known for many years as
“The War of Jenkin’s Ear” over a particular incident that pushed us into war. It was the problems with attacks on individual Americans, and American shipping, that added the words “to the shores of Tripoli” to the Marine Hymn.

Yet this has changed and the 1900s saw many shameful and cowardly acts by the State Department, which failed miserably and utterly in many cases to defend individual Americans around the world. In the late 1900s, much of this took place when we did not want to upset allies or potential allies, and gave them leave to rape, torture, and murder American citizens who were inconvenient to them.

This history does colour my judgment towards the present situation. Given the back history of State, I can easily believe that neither it nor its career personnel would be willing to act in the best interest of an individual citizen. Most especially if it was inconvenient or might upset someone still considered an ally.
Okay, so we have a little girl who is kidnapped and a State Department that in no way, shape, or form would do anything about this clearly illegal act. Damn custody decrees, damn the fact that the kid was an American Citizen and therefore their boss, and damn all. They had to protect the best interests of the government, forgetting that we are the Government.

Fast forward 18 or so years, to a girl who is now a woman. A woman who reports abuse of various stripes by her father and her stepmother. A woman who was forced to marry a man chosen for her by her father. A woman who by Saudi law could not refuse him sex after a marriage to which she did not agree. A woman who cannot file rape charges as a result of non-consensual sex because of Saudi “law.” A woman who risked death by contacting her mother through the internet despite being forbidden to do so, but grabbed an opportunity and made the most of it. A woman who begged for help, and then did something that took massive courage: She fled and requested sanctuary at the closest American consulate.

She did this knowing that if caught that she would be punished, most likely by loosing her life. She did this despite having to do it on her own, since according to news interviews the consulate was not a taxi service and could not be bothered with picking up a Citizen who was in danger and needed help.

Despite the disinterest of the consulate, she did indeed make it with her two children in tow. This is where tales differ, and differ widely. According to her and her mother, she was denied food for a while because she did not have any money to buy it. Her mother was told by a consular official to wire money so she could get things. She was made to meet with Saudi officials on ten minute or less notice who demanded her return and the return of her children. She was then allegedly forced by a consular official to sign a document giving up her children to her husband and/or the Saudi government as a condition of her being allowed to leave. Other things are alleged, though to be fair State has a very different version of events.

Knee-jerk reactions aside, there are some strong questions here. Leaving aside the abandonment of an American Citizen to kidnapping, rape, and more, there are some legal questions that need answering. I attempted to get some help on this, but Eugene Volokh is swamped and was unable to recommend anyone else to contact. I contacted Steve at Little Tiny Lies, but the questions are outside his prevue.

So, what you are going to get are my takes on Constitutional law and a few more questions.

First, there is no doubt in my mind that Sarah was and remains and American Citizen. She was born of an American mother and was apparently born on United States Territory, thus making her a full, natural born Citizen. For those not familiar with that phrase, it means someone born on U.S. soil. American citizens can be born overseas, but unless they are born on U.S. soil, they can never be President. I came to know of this through the children of an uncle who was stationed overseas with the military. They tried hard to have all their children on U.S. soil to preserve that right, but were not able to do it for at least one of them.

Second, since she is an American Citizen, Sarah’s children should be American Citizens as well, even if born overseas and as the result of a forced marriage/rape. If this is not so, and you are a lawyer, please do let me know.

Third, the matter of custody should therefore be a province of the courts since the children are technically dual nationals as I understand it. Again, if this is not correct, please do let me know.

I bring up some of this because of a column by Wendy McElroy, in which she discusses the advisability of getting involved with what amounts to a custody dispute. Yet, I feel that while it is a custody dispute, that there are other matters that make it much more.

It is about the right of an American Citizen, Sarah Saga, to the protections guaranteed her by the Constitution and denied to her by the Department of State for reasons of political expediency.

It is about the rights of her children, who appear to my eye to meet the qualifications of citizenship, to those same protections

It is about doing what is right, not what is easy.

The Chamberlain brigade is already beginning a counter-spin to the tale and in all fairness I must admit that they may be telling the truth in some or all of it. Based on my experiences, and the history of this organization and recent actions and attitudes within it, I do have some strong doubts, however.

Yes, Sarah has been told she is free to leave at any time, but that she may not take her children with her. If the law says that they are not citizens, and if she was not forced into signing the forfeiture document but did so willingly and without coercion of any sort, then she must leave without them, no matter how heartbreaking it may be.

If, on the other hand, the children are Citizens, and/or the document was signed under any form of coercion, then they need to leave with her. The military has had a dictum long lost to State, we don’t leave anyone behind. If they have any claim on citizenship, then they must come out with her. The courts can then decide on custody and more, and the history of Saudi Arabia should be brought into the equation. If it takes military action to bring this about, then so be it.

It is far past time that the Department of State began attending to the responsibilities it owes to the Citizens who are its bosses and its Government. This case is as good a point as any.

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UPDATE