XPost: alt.flame.airlines, alt.politics.immigration, alt.airline   
   XPost: rec.travel.air, alt.travel.uk.air   
   From: spam@un.u.nu   
      
   Matt  wrote:   
   > Yes, then there was Desert Storm, when the troops came in to Saudi Arabia,   
   > but then most of them left.  Saudi Arabia is no more Westernized today than   
   > it was 20 years ago.   
      
   This conclusion seems to be based entirely on having been there 20 years ago   
   but not since. I don't get how that provides a basis for determining   
   anything.   
      
   For instance, I lived there about 7 years ago, but not 20 years ago, so I   
   don't think I can draw a conclusion about the trajectory of westernization   
   based on that alone either.   
      
   I can draw a conclusion by combining my experience with yours. You found it   
   not to ibe westernized 20 years ago, I found it somewhat westernized 7 years   
   ago.   
      
   More constructively, I can apply induction. Leaving aside events of the past   
   few years, the number of foreigners employed by the oil, communications,   
   financial, medical, and other sectors has generally increased from year to   
   year. So that's a strong motivator for westernization. Add to that the   
   advent of cheap satellite TV, the internet, and the rapid acceleration in   
   international expansion by US retail operators (when I lived there,   
   one of McDonalds, Safeway, Hardees, Subway, or the like was visible from   
   just about any spot in Riyadh with any commerce at all going on.   
      
   Add all this up and it seems pretty reasonable to conclude that   
   westernization has increased.   
      
   miguel   
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