This is a step forward:

The United States on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia of severe violations of religious freedom in a rare official rebuke of a close ally and key oil supplier that potentially could lead to sanctions.

"Freedom of religion does not exist" in Saudi Arabia, the State Department said in an annual report tracking religious freedom worldwide. It included the kingdom for the first time on a blacklist of eight countries "of particular concern."

"Freedom of religion is not recognized or protected under the country's laws and basic religious freedoms are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam," the report said.

Actions, of course, speak louder than words...but words can be pretty powerful sometimes as well.

Some articles have called this politically-motivated, which is a bit counterintuitive, since the Saudis see this as a slap in the face and could easily manipulate the price of oil over the next month or two.

I couldn't give a crap if it were politically-motivated...I'm just glad we're finally calling a spade a spade. If the Saudis see this is a slap in the face, good...they need to be slapped in the face.