3 ms·

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that the West's see-no-evil hear-no-evil approach to the Saudis has always been fundamentally unstable, and an event

That's one way of looking at it. Another is that the West's see-no-evil hear-no-evil approach to the Saudis has always been fundamentally unstable, and an event like this was bound to happen at some point. Glad that if finally has, even if it did take the murder of a journalist (who had a dubious stance on democratic rights to begin with) to light the touchpaper.

telchar 8y ago
I'm not convinced that this will change anything in the near term. While the Obama administration had started (cautiously) pivoting from Saudi to Iran (see the nuclear deal, increased criticism of the Saudis, very limited engagement in Syria), the current admin threw that away and has reaffirmed their affiliation with the Saudis. So while they might make a show of being upset, after the way they snubbed Iran they have nowhere to go if they want to pivot from the Saudis to a different potential regional ally. Further, Trump is expressly in favor of violence against journalists [0] so he's not going to push for punishment for this. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/10/19/trump-encourages-violence-against-reporters-and-his-supporters-cheer https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/10/19...
- dantheman0207 8y ago
  > So while they might make a show of being upset, after the way they snubbed Iran they have nowhere to go if they want to pivot from the Saudis to a different potential regional ally The answer to that is Turkey; it's the last remaining regional power that has a chance of being seen as the de facto leader of the muslim middle east. For anyone who has been watching closely, the hidden story here is the way Erdogan has masterfully handled both the press in order to drive public opinion. A couple weeks ago every major Turkish and U.S. newspaper ran almost the exact same story (as far as the facts) and it was straight off of Erdogan's desk. Turkey has been very effective at driving the news cycle and painting the Kingdom of S.A. into a corner. The Turks have also been trying very hard to create a close relationship with the Trump White House - the very first scandal of the administration was when it was revealed that Michael Flynn had taken >$500K from a Dutch company run by a prominent Turkish businessman with close ties to Erdogan.
borkt 8y ago
It's not the event that happened but rather the reaction (which I think you are implying). The saudi regime kills people regularly who in the US would not even have committed a crime, but we allow it. This murder occurred at an embassy in a very anti-journalism country and on Saudi soil technically. He wasn't even a US citizen. The only difference I can see is that the details of this one got out because they botched it. Had his wife not been waiting outside I'd venture to say we would not have heard a word about this.
kiliantics 8y ago
There have been more than enough events to trigger this though. I find it interesting how when people like Obama or Trudeau are cosy with the Saudis, the media is mostly silent about the injustices. It was only once the story could be used to hurt Trump around the time of an election that the liberal media latched onto it. This is not to say that Trump is unworthy of the criticism but I think many other leaders, including those who vocally champion human rights, are just as culpable when it comes to Saudi Arabia.

telchar 8y ago

I'm not convinced that this will change anything in the near term. While the Obama administration had started (cautiously) pivoting from Saudi to Iran (see the nuclear deal, increased criticism of the Saudis, very limited engagement in Syria), the current admin threw that away and has reaffirmed their affiliation with the Saudis. So while they might make a show of being upset, after the way they snubbed Iran they have nowhere to go if they want to pivot from the Saudis to a different potential regional ally. Further, Trump is expressly in favor of violence against journalists [0] so he's not going to push for punishment for this. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/10/19/trump-encourages-violence-against-reporters-and-his-supporters-cheer https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/10/19...

dantheman0207 8y ago
> So while they might make a show of being upset, after the way they snubbed Iran they have nowhere to go if they want to pivot from the Saudis to a different potential regional ally The answer to that is Turkey; it's the last remaining regional power that has a chance of being seen as the de facto leader of the muslim middle east. For anyone who has been watching closely, the hidden story here is the way Erdogan has masterfully handled both the press in order to drive public opinion. A couple weeks ago every major Turkish and U.S. newspaper ran almost the exact same story (as far as the facts) and it was straight off of Erdogan's desk. Turkey has been very effective at driving the news cycle and painting the Kingdom of S.A. into a corner. The Turks have also been trying very hard to create a close relationship with the Trump White House - the very first scandal of the administration was when it was revealed that Michael Flynn had taken >$500K from a Dutch company run by a prominent Turkish businessman with close ties to Erdogan.

borkt 8y ago

It's not the event that happened but rather the reaction (which I think you are implying). The saudi regime kills people regularly who in the US would not even have committed a crime, but we allow it. This murder occurred at an embassy in a very anti-journalism country and on Saudi soil technically. He wasn't even a US citizen. The only difference I can see is that the details of this one got out because they botched it. Had his wife not been waiting outside I'd venture to say we would not have heard a word about this.

kiliantics 8y ago

There have been more than enough events to trigger this though. I find it interesting how when people like Obama or Trudeau are cosy with the Saudis, the media is mostly silent about the injustices. It was only once the story could be used to hurt Trump around the time of an election that the liberal media latched onto it. This is not to say that Trump is unworthy of the criticism but I think many other leaders, including those who vocally champion human rights, are just as culpable when it comes to Saudi Arabia.