Oh you have no idea the joy I get from the comeuppance Saudi Arabia is getting. The situation that brought it---the possible murder of journalist Kamal Khashoggi---is entirely sad and horrific to imagine, but oh but Saudi Arabia does not seem to be getting out of.One of the few things I support the Saudis in is tackling Iranian aggression, but hardly has there been one to tackle Saudi aggression and interference around the Muslim world. There negative hand in Egypt, Somalia, Yemen, Lebanon, their bullying of Qatar, their use of their dog the UAE for aggressive maneuvers.
People do not appreciate how POWERFUL the Saudi lobby is in the US government. People always talk about the Israeli lobby, but when you take into consideration cultural factor Saudi Arabia is more powerful in its relationship for keeping it the way it is inspite of it.
Yet the old Saudi is no longer the new Saudi.
The old Saudi was the Saudi of King Abdulaziz who cemented a close friendship with President FDR and raised a band of boys who were at his lab in high stakes teaching moments. Those boys saw Saudi come from a nothing burger to a Kingdom.
They were wise, cautious, and well advised. The leadership revolved around those brothers regardless of eldest or what "bah" (aka who have the same mother in the polygamous royal family) but about who deserved it the most.
The last of those guys was Abdullah who died. Salman who is old and infirm and possibly senile broke the mold mostly under the advice of what was then a 30 year old favorite pampered son whom we now call Crown Prince MBS.
Salman did something remarkable. He immediately played a "bah" game which fractured the royal family and then he instituted his unknown, untested, untrained pampered boy-emperor as Crown Prince instead of his nephew whom the greater royal family and even US intelligence favored.
From Salman on it was no longer important that you were from Abdulaziz bin Saud but AlSO from the mother that gave birth to Salman and his full brothers.
Despite all the stupid mistakes Crown Prince MBS has made since, the order to kill Khashogi who is a US resident and Washington Post columnist is something he will regret forever.
He apparently doesn't seem to realize something his grandfather and uncles did before him.
You are a dear friend of the US but with heavy and very strict caveats---never cross those caveats.
Little bit ago boy emperor was all over silicon valley and New York looking for investment and styling himself as a progressive new Saudi breed, what happened?
-ALL of the Senate Foreign Relations Members sent a letter to Trump ordering a Magnitsky Investigation.
The Magnitsky Investigation is Federal law that gives the US Congress the power to punish gross human rights violations around the world. It's named for the Russian dissident who exposed Kremlin corruption and was killed. It's the sanctions Putin thought Trump would remove for supporting him. Still not removed because a veto proof majority in Congress approved it. It means even if a President vetoes the sanctions, it will come into law because 2/3 of the Senate will overrule him.
The fact that it has finally been applied to Saudi Arabia after everything Saudi has done and by every senator in the committee whether Dem or Rep, it shows the line that has been crossed.
-Saudi Arabia's lobby group in Congress dropped them. NO ONE drops Saudi who pay the best and get away with everything. At a time when even North Korea and Iran have lobbyists in Congress, it shows the line Saudi crossed.
-Since yesterday international business and media have come out to hang Saudi dry. Richard Branson of Virgin Group cancelled 2 BILLION worth investments. CEO of Uber cancelled a trip to speak in Riyadh. Etc Etc Etc
With all its dirty laundry, Saudi Arabia was kept afloat by sophisticated marketers who kept all their dirty secrets under cover.
This boy-emporer has brought a due commupance to country.
