Major U.S. Ally in War Against Islamic Extremism Sentences Poet to Death for Insulting Islam

One sentiment that's been in the air in the United States since the Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris is that the urgency of defeating an enemy as dangerous as ISIS might justify alliances with countries that we would otherwise not want to cooperate with, like Russia. On Friday, a Guardian story out of the Middle East underlines the absurd contradictions that can arise from such geopolitically expedient partnerships: Saudi Arabia, the U.S.'s ostensible ally against violent Islamic extremists, has sentenced a poet to death for allegedly insulting Islam:
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/11/20/poet_ashraf_fayadh_sentenced_to_death_in_saudi_arabia_for_insulting_islam.html