The fact that the West is supporting Saudi Arabia pretty much destroys any kind of credibility in the Middle East right away. I still remember how 15 of the 9/11 attackers came from Saudi Arabia but somehow major efforts were undertaken to pin it on Iraq.
At a minimum we should keep Saudi Arabia at a distance and stop selling weapons to them. I know there are a we billion dollars profit in that but I think the long term cost of this hypocrisy is enormous.
I couldn't agree more. What they did to Khashoggi is just the tip of the iceberg. I have to imagine the only reason we retain that relationship is because we're afraid to lose face or admit we've made a mistake- that money is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things.
It seems more like self interest than any broader concern about saving face. If government and private enterprise were actually separated then motives would be clearer.
I agree that the close American relationship with Saudi Arabia is problematic and incompatible with our core values. However Al Qaeda leadership intentionally selected terrorists from Saudi Arabia in order to disrupt the relationship. So ironically backing away from the Saudis now gives Al Qaeda a win.
Forget Al Qaeda and consider Saudi Arabia on its own. Is it congruent to support it while bombing freedom in other countries? Is USA becoming the pillar of its own axis of evil?
It always seemed likely to me that the U.S.'s relationship with Saudi Arabia was probably more corporatist than geopolitical. Then I watched a surreptitiously recorded documentary about life in Saudi Arabia where, among other things, children said they were taught in school that Christians should be beheaded. Geopolitical my ass.
From whatever I read internally they are as oppressive as Iran but they are smarter in the sense that they are not as confrontational as Iran outwards.
Guess which country Donald Trump visited in his capacity as the President ? yup, Saudi Arabia. One would have thought, his previous comments about banning Muslims from the United states would have made him re consider how the appearance of making Saudi Arabia as his first country to visit as President, but ... sigh
I wish in my lifetime, nations stand up to countries like Saudi Arabia who have a terrible human rights track record and sanction them. Wishful thinking I know.
Saudi Arabia's Freedom House[1] score is 7/100. There are a few places that do worse but the only ones you've probably heard of are North Korea and the Sudans. Places that are significantly more free include Venezuela, Russia, China, and Iran.
US imports of Saudi oil are way down.[1] About a quarter of peak. Between fracking, wind power, and solar, the US is in a very strong position with regard to the OPEC countries. It's time to pull the plug on the Middle East and let them sink back into the sand.
I suspect that there is a substantial group of lobbyists and other politically connected people that are paid a lot of money to influence US policy. The Saudis seem to be pretty smart that way.
Quote from the current US president about the Saudis: "They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much."
Another quote from the current US president about the Saudis: "I make a lot of money from them. They buy all sorts of my stuff. All kinds of toys from Trump. They pay me millions and hundreds of millions".
Actually, it’s primarily because Saudi is a “pivot state” (to use zbigniew brzezinski‘s terminology) for the US in the region. Much like Japan in east Asia.
21 comments
[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 60.4 ms ] threadAt a minimum we should keep Saudi Arabia at a distance and stop selling weapons to them. I know there are a we billion dollars profit in that but I think the long term cost of this hypocrisy is enormous.
It is a real stumper how coincidental it was (it isn't - they were whacked by the Saudi Gov, in an attempt to appease a big pissed-off US).
[1]https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-...
[1] https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=M...
[2] https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37253
Another quote from the current US president about the Saudis: "I make a lot of money from them. They buy all sorts of my stuff. All kinds of toys from Trump. They pay me millions and hundreds of millions".
More so today.