Saudi Arabia rejects US Senate’s ‘interference’ in kingdom

[Allen773]

There are probably multiple motives involved. Even if increasing freedom wasn't really one of them, it's probably not just a PR stunt. I think it's also an assertion of primacy over the hard-line clerics in the country. MBS is asserting dominance over them. And if he succeeds at that, that's probably a good thing in the long run. Decreasing the power of the clerics opens up space for even more freedom in the future, so that even if that wasn't really the goal, it might still be the effect.

MBS has opened up space for more freedom? That would be news to all of the human rights activists and critics of his rule whom he's locked up or "disappeared."

I suppose being more pro-US, pro-Israel, and pro-foreign corporate investment automatically counts as "freedom" to some.

 

[Allen773]

I'm not talking about "speaking out", nor am I suggesting we should do nothing. But invading Saudi Arabia wouldn't just cost us. It would cost the world. It would probably lead directly to the deaths of millions of people, quite possibly tens of millions. That is seriously wrong, far more wrong than the assassination of one person.

Wait, didn't you support the US invasion of Iraq, or am I confusing you with someone else?

 

[Ziggurat]

Wait, didn't you support the US invasion of Iraq, or am I confusing you with someone else?

The cost in lives of that invasion was orders of magnitude smaller. Whether or not it was a mistake is mostly about what happened in Iraq, which isn't the case with Saudi Arabia. The world economy was never dependent on Iraq the way it is on Saudi Arabia.