Saudi Arabia's contribution to mankind can be summed up in two words- terrorism and oil.
Their spread of Islamic fundamentalism has facilitated Al Quada, Bin Laden, ISIS and etc, has cost us thousands of lives and trillions of dollars
Their oil and our inability to change our habits, has added to the global warming disaster.
It is time to, change our habits, cut the cord and finally announce a policy that will put these oil producing countries out of business and help avert an even bigger environmental disaster.
That should be our resopnse.
28
Saudi royalty tries to screw up the world economy because the civilized world is going to punish them for being cowardly, sadistic murderers? The Rx prescription is immediate 'regime change.'
14
A loud-mouthed bully is really a coward in hiding . . . (the same, of course, can be said of Mr. Trump)...
10
Khashoggi, unlike Wald, was bothered by the humanitarian disaster unfolding Yemen, and dared to broach the subject.
10
Their only leverage is Geo-political. The other regional Muslim powers are Iran , Turkey, Egypt.
Iran - Obama tried a rapprochement with the favorable Nuclear deal and $100Bs- and got a crescent of Iranian influence from Lebanon to Iraq and Assad the Butcher. They are military close to the Russians
Turkey is run by a corrupt autocrat sitting on a financial bubble. They also have also papered over their differences with the Russians.
Egypt - unstable politically, and the current regime is distrustful of the US for the previous support of the Muslim Brotherhood. They are also making overtures to the Russians for upgrade military kit.
The moral thing is to sanction a brutal regime -but that will drive the Saudis into the arms of Putin or the Chinese, who has done the same thing themselves.
3
Article says that the Saudi sovereign wealth fund has ~$250 billion in it.... and then proceeds to cite specific investments worth about $60 billion
$250B seems WILDLY low to me, it's less than $8k per citizen.
Can that possibly be true, or is the article in need of revision?
5
The Saudis' leverage is on Trump and Jared
22
Power? Sure. If the US actually wanted to "force concessions" from the Saudis, we absolutely could do so. The reality though is that Trump loves money first and foremost, and MBS knows that and is using that to control Trump and the rest of the GOP.
24
the premise of the article would be true except for one thing: trump is president. that gives the saudis all the leverage they need.
36
Thanks to mr. Wald and nytimes for reinforcing the idea at the base of Trump's nationalism. That Saudi Arabia doesn't matter because US is economically and energetically independent.
This is a zero-sum ideology.
It ignores the geopolitical situation, that there are allies who count on US for their energy, oil, and for free living. I would say almost all the Middle East, which is of course none of US responsability, as it wasn't during the 2 Iraqi wars.
Good to know, next time some liberal is going to scorn the lack of international leadership of the USA where to point them for advices from leftists.
1
With all that's at stake, especially for Saudi, we can be assured of:
- a fall guy or guys (from the group of 15 assassins)
- an elaborate cover story, concocted by Saudis and blessed by Trump.
- GOP further complicity with Trump by "buying" the story.
17
Yea, Canada has heard the Saudi threats. Of course, there was no way we were changing any of our values becasue of that autocratic murderous regime. You want to leave, there's the door. You will see us later unless we see you first.
I just hope that one day soon our friends in the USA can retrun your country back to a position of morale strength.
38
35 years ago the Saudis had a term for less reliance on America. It was called "Saudisation". This meant "everything Saudi" and less American or Western. They predictably threw hundreds of millions at universities, grants, projects, schemes, scholarships but the whole thing ended being a misguided farce, since they actually needed less reliance on oil, rather than America, or the West per se. As a result, not much has changed. America has huge political, economic and geopolitical leverage to solve this crisis but I have grave concerns that the intellectual capital in Washington in this regime, is able, ready and willing. Trump's new isolationist stance, from bitter trade and NATO disputes, means the allies are nowhere to be seen. Trump now cuts a lonely and worrying figure on the world stage, speaking his mind, more openly and less diplomatically than someone in his position should be. However the administration should be aware that in the region there is only, and has only ever been for decades, one top dog and that is Saudi Arabia. Ego, bravado, kudos and gilded swagger top the bill and are part of the ultimate problem here. Our leaders need to take account in any formulated, bi-partisan solution. They could start with Salisbury, Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, all backdrops for state-sponsored killings, attempts or disappearances by Russia, North Korea and China. The void of true leadership is palpable as state actors play their hands unchallenged, in this lawless new normal.
10
Of course the US has economic leverage over Saudi Arabia. We hold much more leverage than we did in 1973. These are indisputable facts. However, the question of US policy is not an economic question. We are discussing ethics. What is the appropriate ethical response to Khashoggi’s murder? With our ethically devoid commander and chief, I'm afraid the answer is as little as humanly possible and then a little less. Trump is incapable of standing up to people who reflect his own personal values. Unfortunately, his own personal values share company with murderers, frauds, sexual abusers, dictators, liars, thieves, cheats, racists, sexists, and incompetents. I could go on.
In any event, I don't hold much hope for a moral victory in the instance of Saudi Arabia. The US is once more diminished under Trump's tutelage.
17
Or, Trump could use this opportunity to ask the Saudis to pay a visit to some of his favorite journalists.
5
One hears of "arms sales" as being something of a brake on Trump's reluctance to state the obvious about the level of Royal involvement in the death of Mr. Khashoggi and propose sanctions. My question is "what do they need so much arms materiel for?" Aside from their ill-advised war in Yemen, to which we are now a part if US arms have been used against the Yemenis, the Kingdom doesn't appear to be under any existential threat which would justify continued purchase of same. The last thing we need to be doing is throwing more weaponry into the volatile tinderbox that is the Middle East. It can't come to any good end.
14
No leverage? Forget about arms sales, oil, and the Saudi Investment Fund. All the Saudis need to do is direct a few dollars into Trump's pocket and he'll do whatever they want.
26
Which makes the presidents weak response even more understandable. Once you take away the possibility that the Saudi's have more control of the United States than we had previously thought you are left with only one thing. It's not about the US it's about DJT and his family of grifters. Does he care if the US of A gets a black eye while he protects his financial alliances?
No he absolutely does not.
12
Very sad to see POTUS kowtow to a Saudi prince. Its ridiculous to think that the MAGA'd USA would feel a threat from this small, weak, backward country. Makes me wonder if he has money at risk? His performance is reminiscent of the meeting with Putin where he displayed a similar sniveling deference to another international monster pariah.
13
The real question that nobody dares ask? Why are the Saudis allowed to invest billions of dollars in American companies, hoping to make insane profits because they see them as the best opportunities to make ROI? (Otherwise they'd invest elsewhere . . . )
Not just the Saudis. The Chinese, and many others who might not have America's best interests at heart at the end of the day?
I'm not necessarily talking about government investments, rather those made by private billionaires whose gains may be questionable at best. How does communist China have billionaires in the first place?
Who knew global investing and the worldwide economy could be so complicated?
But what we clearly have are American firms gladly taking Saudi petrodollars despite 9/11, their funding of madrasas across the globe preaching political Islam, the war in Yemen, their deplorable HR record.
It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham. Is that what these companies want, to be tied to the starving masses in Yemen? Things to ponder when you arrange for a ride from Uber?
13
Since the Saudis play such an "influential and vital role in the global economy", they should let either the Chinese or the Russians run interference for them in the world. We'll see what happens when about 20 of the Saudi's hand-picked murderers fly planes into buildings in Moscow, Stalingrad, Beijing or Shanghai. It will be very interesting to see what goes down when the Russians put military bases all over the Saudi peninsula and expand out from there to Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, etc. What happens in the mid-east in general once Putin or the Chinese Central Party Committee puts the heel of its jackboot on the mess "our partners" the Saudis have created. I doubt that either the Chinese or the Russians would be as responsive to the decrees of the Saudi "royal family" or their dictates as the U.S. stupidly has. Can you spell "execution of the Romanov family" ? How about "Chinese labor camps" or "mass starvation" ? "Cultural Revolution" ? Personally, I'd like to see us Americans desert that god-forsaken "kingdom" and its "royal family", never buy another drop of their black, carboniferous poison, and never, ever look back. I'd also like to see both the Chinese and Russians wade in that miasma. Not only can we do just fine without Saudi oil ; we'd be better off. And, all three of these entities really deserve each other.
13
This absolutely is the time to force some changes in Saudi behavior.
They need the foreign help and the nvestments.
I am appalled at the behavior of the Saudis, who safeguard Mecca and other of the holiest sites of Islam. This would be a good time for the Saudis to completely abandon beheadings and whacking off fingers and limbs. Their punishment and deterrence methods should come out of the barbaric Middle Ages and into the 21st Century.
3
Of course Saudi Arabia has leverage, over Trump.
28
If Saudis have no leverage, why administrations of both the parties have been acting like slaves for decades? We have ignored their financing of Madrasas through out the world. It gave birth to worldwide terrorism. We said nothing about 18 (out of 20) terrorists of 9-11. We accept every human right violation in Saudi Arabia, and we say nothing about atrocities in Yemen.
Either they go something on us or we are stupid cowards. They have to have some leverage. Is it support for Israel? Is it, possibly, our nukes based there against Russia?
20
@Jack asks why US administrations act like slaves to Saudis. The answer is that US politicians don't understand their own leverage. In the winter of 2008 GW Bush went cap in hand to Riyadh to beg King Salman to take pity on America - high oil prices would sink the US economy. Salm an laughed at
W's sycophancy. Salman raised oil prices and the Great Recession destroyed the American middle class. US administrations never learn that appeasing a dictator - like a blackmailer - is a ticket to more demands from the tyrant. Americans have also forgotten the motto of the Commonweahlth of Virginia: SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS.
3
If Saudi Arabia think they can fight or take action against the US, it is wishful thinking. It is also based on a false assumption that the kingdom holds an indispensable position in the relationship with the US. Saudi Arabia has no leverage.
With all the oil wealth the Saudis pride in, Ms. Wald explains in her Opinion, problems and drawbacks prevalent within the country. The Saudis do have a problem. They should spend time to fix and correct those issues, and have their house in order.
Most of us here in the US, do not look at the Saudis as a reliable or indispensable ally. They are merely a transactional partner. Even that position does not deserve the recognition. We have yet to know the exact motivations of the 9/11 perpetrators, and who were behind the initiative. Not to forget the murderous Osama bin Laden.
The recent incident relating to Mr. Kashoggi's disappearance does not speak well of the Saudi government, and the country's rulers. The US has vital interests in the Middle East region, that has an effect on world stability. Instead of having to just depend on Saudi Arabia to develop strategies, it is better for us to establish relationship with other countries in the region.
3
It's obviously not that simple Ellen. Otherwise we would have forced Saudi Arabia to give women equal rights, to stop discriminating against homosexuals, to put an end to certain barbaric practices like cutting off the hands of thieves and to stop sponsoring Sunni terrorism.
11
The Saudi government has the ability to destabilize the World's economy and anyone who says otherwise is ignorant. They can increase the supply of oil by 5% or more and drive down oil prices to $30 a barrel making much of the worlds oil industry uneconomical and bankrupting thousands of companies. Then they can reduce production by 40% and drive oil prices up over $150 a barrel. By swinging the price up and down, they can make it impossible for companies to plan or budget. They can also return to sponsoring terrorism, if they ever stopped.
@Mike
Treating oil prices like that would only hurt Saudi Arabia more in the long run.
3
@Mike
I don't know about that. They flooded the market a few years back in an attempt to drive our shale production out of business. Didn't work. Furthermore, we have capacity and production that's become very efficient and far more nimble. We can survive in a low price environment and we can survive in a high price environment.
The Saudis, though, really can't thrive in a low price environment because that's all they do, that's all they have. A big pile of sand with oil in it. Keeping prices low just shoots them in their own feet.
I would prefer that we not accept their money for investment here until they clean up their human rights act. Terrorism? They sent most of the 9/11 pilots but are getting a pass because they are our 'allies.' Oh, and they said they knew nothing about it. Just like with Mr. Khashoggi. We are being so used by them, it's just pathetic. I wish people would understand that money isn't everything.
5
So, if the information in this article is accurate, the US places a discrete phone call to the young wanna be running Saudi Arabia and suggest he ‘fess up’ and end this nothing story to pay attention to more important things such as keeping your nose clean and quit embarrassing yourselves.
4
Ms Wald is forgetting that the occupant of the White House is the greatest deal maker in the world: He has not wasted any opportunity to take a loss yet.
3
Suggestion: Both the Prince and Donald resign....
15
Great analysis but Wald forgets one element in the equation, i.e Trump's personal self-interest in the Kingdom. He wants to make sure the Trump empire stays with the Saudi empire even after he is gone in the same way that he is beholding to Putin. Our nascissistic, psychophant president is well aware that his time in the WH is fleeting but the Saudi royalty and the Putin empire lasts a much longer time.
15
Yes! The US is in control. However, this completely reverses when you look @ The Orange One vs the Saudis.
Other than through the efforts of K Street lobbyists, politicians dependent on those lobbyists, and Wall Street, dependent on Saudi cash and the big PR firms and both political parties is there any reason we tolerate the monarchy there? While we are asked to support millions of hungry Muslims in Europe with jobs, child care, education and health care and tolerate their violence against Gentiles and Jews it is astounding that SA offers to build 200 mosques for refugees in Germany.....that is all. Meanwhile MBS luxuriates on his 700 million dollar yacht with beautiful women. The only reason the Saudi monarchy exists and can influence the US is because the US stupidly gave them the money and that money is used to influence the US political process. The US discovered the oil, developed the oil and the infrastructure and created the market. What did the US get for it....?? Nothing. The best thing that the US could do is remove the monarchy and use the oil revenue to better the lives of the Moslems in Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Moslem Africa and even Moslems in Arabia.....all massive refugee exporting areas....Make Arabia a US protectorate and eventually perhaps a state. The US bought and paid for it many times since the 1973 oil embargo. Sovereignity meant nothing in Iraq or Afghanistan....why is it of any meaning in SA?
4
@AS Mess with SA and you mess with all Islam because of Mecca. To do it right you would have to convince the Muslim world that you intend to do an even better job than SA at protecting Mecca and making it available to pilgrims. Find an Islamic country willing to run it for you. Maybe just make SA all part of Jordan.
1
9/11...anyone?
7
If Saudi Arabia wants to be part of the World body it has to starting acting like they are civilized people and not barbarians. Do not forget 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, ruthless, blood-thirsty, savage, despots.
2
15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudis. Nuff said.
18
Yes, and where was Saudi in the travel ban? We'll make an exception....
6
As the comments indicate, the writer feigns naivete. Good luck with that. We know what tails wag that dog in the white HOuse
6
"If the Unites States determines that Saudi Arabia is at fault"......Do you think it might be the tooth fairy? The unrelenting assault not only on the truth but logic and deductive reasoning by Trump and his band of hacks even prompts an expert as distinguished Wald to doubt herself. This is how autocrats put down roots.
10
This article is sickening. This reporter is saying that the Trump admin could use their option to ignore the murder of this journalist in exchange for support for Israel and other things. That is disgusting. A journalist appears to have been murdered; a free press is one of the pillars of a free democratic society; to cover up such a dangerous crime in exchange for anything is an aborent idea. Shame on you for even suggesting it.
3
OK, here's what I don't get. This assassination was so poorly covered up.
It was sorta like...Flynn, x chief of Defense Intelligence getting tele-surveilled because he was talking to the Russian Ambassador, a virtual synonym for "spy." He doesn't know that he is being surveilled? Or Dr. K fooled him? Or Sessions, the little trapped weasel. These guys are this dumb?
Saudi agents dumb that they'd conduct their assassination with grisly details not knowing cameras and recorders are everywhere in every diplomatic consul the world over? No dice.
So they wanted to get caught or they are extraordinarily dumb, which international intelligence agencies are not famous for. I smell a rat. What's the deal?
All the journalist had to do was disappear....No? His death had to do more? Why?
2
A) all they need to do to prevail is to keep stuffing America's top crime family with personal bribes B) Amerika's ruler & sole decider is fully on board with MBS values: autocracy & misogyny.
6
It would be suicidal for Saudi Arabia to threaten the US. What a pathetic thought!
So says a guy who's totally protected by the Secret Service . . .
And just like that, we see the whole problem in a nutshell. Ms. Wald is exactly right, in a normal world, but exactly wrong because it's been anything but for at least the last 20 years. The United States as a whole is exponentially more powerful and resilient as the premise of Ms. Wald's approach makes clear, i.e., that we're not dependent on Saudi. So then, what in the world might be the reason 9/11 happened, the subsequent wars, most notably the Syrian Civil War, the reaction to the Arab spring, ISIS, and now Yemen? No seriously, we're not remotely leveraged by SA according to Ms. Wald, but then how are we to conceptualize the sum total of tragedy of the aforementioned in comparison to one journalist, who albeit, met a grisly end, but, is it exponentially worse than the child starving over the corpses of his parents in Yemen or Syria? How about the family in Yonkers who had to live these past 18 years without their father who was pulverized in the Twin Towers. Right, Saudi doesn't have any leverage, and yet, everything we do to protect them against our interest is in someone's interest. Who might that someone, or collection of somebodies be? Could it be the fossil fuel, military, and financial industries? Might the dollar be tied to the perpetuation of oil dependence and SA is the swing producer? Might it reveal a handful of people have hijacked an entire country and world to serve their ends? I wonder why that story has never been resolved?
4
"Saudi Arabia is not in a position to harm the United States."
But it is in a position to inspire this government. A newly emboldened Donald Trump celebrated the violent assault on a U.S. reporter from the Guardian just yesterday. The murder and torture of Jamal Khashoggi is clearly an inspiration to him. He wants to use it as the backdrop to his own threats of violence against the press. It is foolish for us to think of it as just rhetoric or the expression of violent fantasies. As dangerous as that in itself would be. He and his band of compliant thugs might actually have real plans up their sleeve.
6
Renewable energy now.
15
@Vin Ordinaire
gulf sand dunes oil producers conduct oil trades in petrodollar and we provide military muscle. they also buy billions of expensive toys from us. it's all about oil in friendly hands we can exert control.
you forget Hussein and Kaddafi? how about iran and Venezuela? both countries dropped petrodollar in oil trade.
it's all about worldwide market share of USD.
1
They may have no leverage over the US, but that doesn't mean they have no leverage over our POTUS. Puppet?
14
The world is becoming too much unpredictable. Cunning Sly behaviors effecting all of us is no longer overlooked in today’s digital technologies. It is time to form an international investigation body under the UN supervision to conduct an independent investigation against international crimes
1.) 9/11
2.) Jamal Khashogshi
3) Saad Hariri (Undergoing by UN already)
2
A dismal unemployment rate of 9% in 2022 if jobs are created !
Try South Africa's current unemployment rate of 30+ percent.
Anyway time to let the middle east stew in it's own juice.
1
Well, this is rather anticlimactic. I was assuming -- though Wald has actually not said so -- that this call at not fearing the Saudis was based on standing up to Caligulesque tyranny, but no, it's all about taking advantage of righteous fury to press on the (alleged) weaknesses of Saudi Arabia relative to the US and force it to ground down the Palestinians, relieve Qatar and its American base, and buy more arms (so that the massacre in Yemen could continue I suppose). I started the piece in anger against the Saudis and finished it almost rooting for them, because of this immoral conclusion.
7
And the author wrote a book?
No leverage? Huh?
1) oil. The saudis would need to trim down their oil supply not stop it for the barrel of oil to hit 150 or 200. Oil is a fixed quantity. It is not about how much the US is importing. It is about what is accessible. This would spark a massive economic blowback. Not sure if the author ever consulted an oil expert on that point.
2) Military. Again, the author is transactional in referring to the relationship with Saudi Arabia. We have been allied with them since the early 1930s. Our oldest Mideast ally. If they shift sides to the Chinese, they can more than afford to upgrade their military and aftermarket parts. After all, their 100b dollar budget was dedicated to mainly new weaponry.
3) geopolitics. My goodness. The author is living under a rock? The Saudis (and rest of the Gulf- Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Oman) may open up military cooperation with Russia. This would constitute a tectonic shift in the Mideast. An absolute geopolitical disaster. It is the idea that the relationship is purely transactional that misses the entire point. Wow. What is the author thinking?
4) Military. Huh? They have a stronger military than Iran’s. Add the UAE. They have five times 3rd and 4th gen fighter jets, submarines, frigates. List is very long. We use their bases as counterweight.
5)US Treasury bonds. Saudi Arabia owns over 1% of the total value of marketable U.S. Treasury debt. A liquidity event would be very damaging.
Need I go on?
1
We are worried about what a nation of cafe tablecloth head scarves wearing "princes" dancing with other men and women covered in burqas while driving as a sign of new found freedom can do to America?
We are talking about a nation more backward than any other not including the still primitive and isolated indigenous peoples of Africa.
What is Trump and Kushner really after? It is surely not an important alliance with Saudi Arabia for national security, anti-terrorism, or even millions of dollars in weapons sales.
It must be one thing - Israel.
5
The cost has to be the toppling of MSB, and the liberalization of the entire country. They use religion to gain and mostly maintain power over the population, including a lot of Muslims outside their country. This has worked for them for close to a hundred years but today it’s tenuous at best. For them to feel threatened by a single journalist tells us all we need to know. The oil dynamic is slowly going the way of the hoofed animals. If we think we have a problem with automation and modernity, in Saudi Arabia, the population is much younger and they have one product, a product that is being replaced by the sun.
7
Saudi Arabia (SA) is a rogue state.
Osama Bin Laden was from SA. 15 of the terrorists who flew hijacked airplanes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and tried to add the Capitol were SA citizens.
The slaughter of school children and civilians in Yemen is all being done by SA with the help of our military.
SA buys favors from our government with billions flowing into our Military Industrial complex.
Saudi Arabia's main export is radical Wahabbi ideology and hatred that poisons the minds of millions of radical Islamists, contaminating the honest peace loving Muslim world.
SA demonizes other middle East countries in order to control the lives of those living there.
It is time to re-evaluate our relationship with SA, but Trump and Kushner have too much to loose to expect them to do other than whitewash SA's corruption. They will accept a token scape goat and continue to support SA and Israel in opposition to doing what is right with Iran and the Palestinians.
We should be seeking peace with Iran, not destroying international treaties that greatly favored us and our allies.
Saudi Arabia is interested in the US only to the point that they profit from us.
10
Thank God an Op-Ed columnist has had the intelligence to expose the Saudis for the empty vessels they are. If the Saudis take even the slightest action against U.S. economic interests they risk losing U.S. protection on which the so called 'royal family' (read: Glorified Bedouins) depend.
The Saudis' wealth can easily be confiscated abroad and the addicted, drunken billionaires would be left at the mercy of a population on which they have heaped brutality and misery through their selective application of Islamic Law.
Threaten to withdraw protection and see how fast the gold-braided Bedouins come begging for mercy.
Oh, and if you finally realise which nation in the region is your natural ally, you need look no further than Iran. We will make up the oil shortfall with your assistance. No problem. At least your conscience will be clear that Saudi Arabia, and not Iran, was responsible for the tragedies of 9/11, the Pentagon, Orlando, L.A., Little Rock, Fort Hood, Boston Marathon, San Bernardino, Hudson River, Bali, Mumbai, Barcelona, London, Manchester, Madrid, Nice, Paris and so on.
Isn't it high time you re-evaluated your principles and your priorities?
31
@Hamid Varzi You raise some good points. I wonder the same thing.
4
Hamid, Your unnecessary disparagement of Bedouins aside, I’ll agree that Iran’s Persian derived civilization represents a more natural ally to the west. Let’s get to work on that.
6
I think Mr. Varzi raises any number of excellent (if biased) points. I am not a sophisticate where American foreign policy is concerned, but it seems to me America's commitment to its "strategic interests" often just reveals how clueless American foreign policy is. Our various incoherent positions in the Middle East are the clearest indication. Accidentally (or not) giving tacit approval to Iraq to invade Kuwait (and then invading it to make up for that error in judgment), attacking Iraq in response to 9-11 (clearly an operation planned and implemented by Saudis), expecting democracy to flourish in the aftermath, enabling the same in Libya, hoping for the same in Egypt, imagining an "Arab Spring" because everyone had a cell phone--someone with a better memory could make this a much more comprehensive list. We clearly have no gift for predicting outcomes. We enact current foreign policy based on events and assumptions that are wildly out of date. American hostages in Iran (40 years ago)--Iran bad! Saudi Arabia manipulating oil production and creating lines at the pump (45 years ago)--Saudi Arabia powerful! None of that makes sense anymore. Add in the personal (and financial) relationships between American politicians and the Saudis and it's a corrupt mess. I don't know that Iran is our "natural ally" in the Middle East--there is no relationship in the Middle East that isn't a complicated one. The shame is we don't have more complicated thinkers in our government.
4
The founding fathers and mothers of this nation couldn't have imagined such a grotesque scenario. The citizens of the country they worked so hard to establish are allowing it to be utterly debased. The Republicans' plan to dumb down enough people has worked.
6
Really?
For decades, the Saudis have had a passkey to the executive branch of the US government.
This family was installed by Britain and has seen American presidents doing their sword dances and, more importantly -- excusing their barbarity and the harm they do in the name of oil, economics and aggressive geopolitics.
They, not Iran, have been the major source of terrorism in the world -- their madrassas are the finishing schools for the global jihadi movement. Osama bin Laden was not a rich Persian acting out their Wahhabi fanaticism.
I expect nothing will come of this, and Saudi Arabia's enablers -- both Democrats and Republicans -- will wait for the furor to vaporize into the news cycle and a pile of redacted documents.
6
We are witnessing the 'regular' everyday politics of a Saudi Monarchy in action, this time on a global stage. It would not normally have been covered, but the word 'journalist' was used.
Arms dealers one day, journalists the next- these Khashoggis sure know how to get around.
To the Saudis they simply executed one of their own Nationals on their own soil (is that how the Turkish Embassy is viewed?). It's an internal Saudi matter, and the rest of the world can go figure.
Except, maybe this time we won't. As the author says, this situation presents very powerful opportunity and perhaps we have bigger fish to fry? Maybe not, we'll see.
3
"Saudi Arabia Has No Leverage"
Except for one little detail called "petrodollar".
1
That is not trump's concern. It's his personal connections that he is more concerned about. He couldn't care less about national welfare and economy. "‘Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million,’ Trump told a crowd at an Alabama campaign rally in 2015. ‘Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.’…
"In 1991, when Trump was nearly $900 million in debt from failed casino projects, he sold his 281-foot yacht to Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal for $20 million. (The boat had been originally owned by late Saudi billionaire and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, a cousin of Jamal Khashoggi.)
"A few years later, the prince bought a stake in Trump’s Plaza Hotel by agreeing to pay off some of Trump’s debts on the property.”
why do you think that was he first international visit?
8
Buy an electric car, walk and bike if you can. Oil is killing the planet while fueling the worst scoundrels.
5
I was following the logic until the author suggested we use our leverage to pressure the Saudis to support Jared Kushner's "peace deaI" between the Israelis and Palestinians. It is a blatant lie to call what Jared Kushner is doing a peace deal, It is Jared's attempt to elevate his status as a Hero of the Israeli nation by giving them all the land and getting rid of the Palestinian refugees. Actually , pressuring Saudi Arabia to support the handing of further Palestinian land to the Israelis will surely backfire against Trump and Kushner. Remember MBS was all in on this deal until he was overruled by the King who removed him from dealing with all issues related to Palestine. Using the tragedy of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to pressure the Saudis to support this tainted deal dishonors the memory of a big supporter of the Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation and likely give an out to the Saudis to tell its public and the surrounding countries that the US is punishing them for refusing to give in on the Palestinian rights
5
Absolutely, finally somebody is not afraid of losing the arms deal
3
@Someone Right! Just afraid of losing his credit line.
Is a journalist more valuble than an ordinary person ?
The media is making such a BIG deal out of this horrid murder, for a moment let us consider why Khashoggi went into the embassy . It has already been established that he was a thorn in the side of the Saudi rulers. So why would he enter into the lion's den ?
For a story is the answer.
I cannot imagine what ran through his mind as they began their brief interrogation. I can only imagine once his fingers were being cut off that he realized he had made a terrible mistake.
How far do you go for a story and is it fair that this one death is different than the countless deaths occuring in Chicago, or the occupied Gaza strip or the terror stabbing victims in Germany ?
How far do you go ? Was this story worth his life ? I would think that this story is sooo much bigger than he ever imagined, yet I wonder : what makes his death any different than the countless meaningless deaths that happen daily ?
He was a reporter, that is why the media is beating this particular drum.
2
@Tom ,Retired Florida Junkman It has been reported that he entered the consulate to get papers he needed in order to get married.
Stalin is reported to have said "the death of one person is a tragedy; the death of a million people is a statistic."
3
Saudi Arabia is safe as long as its stooge Trump is in office. Money, and only money, count with him, certainly not a mere journalist.
4
they can't drink oil. they have to sell it.
6
The US will never force concessions. Bush didn't after the Saudi government committed 9/11. He didn't while Saudi backed terror squads murdered our soldiers in Iraq.
President Obama did nothing for eight long years.
We will do nothing now- because the folks that are angry aren't angry at Saudi Arabia- they are angry at Trump.
It is ironic that we did nothing after 9/11 when thousands of our citizens were killed. But one Saudi journalist? The sky is falling.
It just goes to show: Saudi Arabians are just more important than American citizens. To our government and, definitely, to our media conglomerates.
2
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was shocking in it brutality but it was also shocking in its stupidity and the ham-handed way that it was done. It was undoubtedly ordered by MBS. What does it say about the temperament and intellectual ability of MBS? If a journalist like Khashoggi rattles him what would he do in a serious crisis? As I understand it, MBS is largely responsible for the catastrophe in Yemen. Just because someone is rich and powerful doesn't make him/her smart.
A question -- why does the United States love Saudi Arabia and hate Iran? The Con Don's love for Putin must be because of a hold that Putin has over the Don because of sex, business dealings, finances, etc. The same must be true in regard to the Saudi's. It is the only explanation that makes sense. In my opinion, the Saudis are worse than the Persians.
9
@Aubrey They are worse, Aubrey. Precious few Americans know that Iran was a Democracy after WWII that was overthrown by US and UK for their oil. When the Iranians had enough of our Shah torturing and disappearing people they took it back and took over the US Embassy there. Then we demonized them for that also.
The Iranians want peace with the West but Israel needs to keep them in a persecutor position so they can continue to be victims that the US will continue to rescue.
It is all history available on the internet, but Trump and Kushner, the Israelis and Saudi Arabia (who are Wahabbi Sunni vs Iran Shia) need them as villains to keep their religious holy war alive.
2
Maybe another priority for the US is to make Saudi Arabia allow food and medicine in to the starving 12 million people in Yemen.
Letting them starve will be another strike against the morality of the US.
15
The Saudis say:“The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the Kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy and that the Kingdom’s economy is affected only by the impact of the global economy.” The worst they have done so far is 9/11. What next. These people are not our friends, Never were.
8
Should we allow the thought that there are times when NATIONAL INTEREST may trump MORAL JUDGEMENT?
David asks a correct question and a gives a correct answer., “What leverage? do we have against Saudi Arabia! “That is just silly talk”.
Mark Shyres expects this issue to become, “…old news…” He notes that “The media is making a big deal over it at the moment because it happened to "one of their own". He correctly adds, “They were pretty quiet when 500,000 Syrians were being killed.” And I add, the Obama Administration and Congress were all mum. Their justification was that we had no national interest in intervening. American media rarely reported on Syria except when a major chemical attack happened. If it were not for BBC news it would have been impossible to know what the civilian population was subjected to. In addition to the above opinions, I would add that in Yemen, the U.S. has been officially quiet about this war that is fought with American weapons.
I did not vote for president Trump and I oppose most of his policies. In this situation with Saudi Arabia, I believe he is correct to not rush to judgement.
The Khashoggi killing is abhorrent. The question remains, recognizing the moral dilemma, what is the national interest in this situation? Is there interest in disrupting both countries economies; is it in disrupting efforts of bringing a solution to the Palestinian problem, Is it in leaving Iran menacing the Middle East?
1
I often wonder why Saudi Arabia is an ally, and Iran is an enemy. Both are highly religious Muslim theocracies, both disrespect human rights and fundamental freedoms, both have a lot of oil, both are undemocratic, both are officially hostile to Israel, both intervene in neighbouring countries. You could say that one is friendly and the other hostile, but that is the definition of ally-enemy, so it doesn't explain it. Is it just the historical event of 40 years ago, the fall of the Shah and the hostage taking? And all the rest would follow from that. Then it's amazing how relations can be shaped not necessarily by current commonalities or divergences but just by old grudges.
4
@Den Barn You are wrong that both Saudi Arabia (SA) and Iran are undemocratic or Theocracies. SA is a kingdom, Iran is a theocratic democracy, they elect a president, Mr. Rouhani, and the Ayatollah is elected by a body of 70 Mullahs, like the Pope is elected by the Cardinals.
The Shah was installed by the US and UK after we overthrew their Democratically elected president in 1953 who was going to nationalize the petroleum industry in order to lift his people from poverty and ignorance. That would have cut BP out and Churchill could not abide that, so he got his buddy Eisenhower and they agreed to overthrow the democracy and install the Shah for Petro $.
The Saudis hate Iran because they are Sunni and Iran is Shia, the two main branches of Islam, the split in the church on the death of Mohammad.
There is more, it is all history available on the internet, it is just that most of my fellow Americans are too ignorant of the truth.
1
The Saudis have leverage over Trump Inc.,
and that will be quite enough to weather this 'dust up'.
7
It bothers me that the intelligence community KNEW that the Saudis were planning to get him back to Their country and did not informed him of the danger.
4
If ever there was a need to scrutinize Trump’s and Kushner’s personal and business tax returns, it is now. We need grownups in the room to handle this in all its complexity, not fools who are shaking with fear that their personal business interests will suffer.
7
True killers anywhere must be punished! But how does punishing American workers and businesses help in disciplining the Saudi regime? America may cancel the deals but others would jump to fill the gap. Moreover, punishing or disciplining a regime must the job of global institutions led by the UN.
Kashoggi was the typical secret service operation, although it was a bit botched. Haven't secret services from other countries done exactly the same type of killings for decades?...think Russia and polonium, think Iran, think Israel and what about our very own extraordinary rendition? I agree it's not a good situation, but let's not pretend to be outraged when the US and others have done similar, if not worse atrocities in the name of our countries
@Marc Sandon
Let's be outraged when ANYONE does something like this. I don't think anyone is suggesting we ignore atrocities by anyone else (though I wasn't aware that the CIA or other US agency had dismembered any journalists). You're simply trying to change the subject, for some reason.
Whereas this is a thought provoking piece, it missed one major boat.
"Saudi Arabia Has No Leverage" ... that we know of!
Surely Trump has enough skeletons in his closet to sink the entire Arabian peninsula. He's far from the sharpest tool in the shed, but Trump has his reasons for not holding the Saudis accountable.
9
So many of the reader comments seem spot-on: the Saudis have the power because Trump and Kushner want things from them. Greedy fools that they are. Why do virtually all of the editorial page writers seem oblivious to this and focus solely on macro factors?
9
Right. The Saudis may not have much leverage on our country as a whole, but maybe they have leverage on Trump and Kushner.
15
In what universe can the financial relationship to foreign countries be held in secrecy?
Answer- The one we are living and hopefully voting in.
2
I'll be pretty blunt here: if the US allows the Saudi and US economies to become more intertwined, the US will fall. Saudi Arabia will bring down the United States.
This is one of the most primitive, non-humanistic nations in existence, and most of their population does not like the US. They have nothing to offer the world except a backward view of human rights, and their attempts to provide funding for new green energy companies like Tesla and others should have range alarm bells all over the US government and US industry. Just the fact that Musk even entertained this notion of using Saudi funding proves that he is no longer capable of running Tesla for the betterment of the US or the world. I see no value in the company at all. You shouldn't be trying to build vehicles in Silicon Valley. It is absolutely ludicrous.
This is just one more example of putting money and finance over values, and it is just one more nail in the coffin of the United States. It is nearly over.
3
You are right; in strict justice, the Saudis ought not have any leverage over these United States. But they do, for as long as our corrupt ugly American in-chief has personal interests there, however deleterious to the moral standing here. Trump has no morals and it shows. But being president, it stinking- splashes on the rest of us...to our shame. The Saudi regime is an awful show of arrogant abuse of it's own people, with human rights' trampling as a matter of course. This has been going on for years, so Trump is not the first to contribute to bowing to a repressive kingdom in the interest of the uninterrupted flow of oil. And our uncalled- for support of a stupid war in Yemen, and the slaughter of thousands of innocent people is an outrage. If Khashoggi leaves any trail worth following, we ought to act decisively and stop this injustice, perhaps even demand humane reforms in a kingdom geared to satisfy self-entitled sterile pleasures at other's expense. In that sense, as Venezuela knows already, oil riches have become a curse. And permission to abuse their power, and satisfy their jealous god, Greed. The latter a terrain Trump feels most comfortable, in spite of his ill-gotten wealth, from shameless deceit and fraud.
3
Saudi Arabia is building up a tertiary education sector by hiring foreign scientists and inviting students. Some scientists and some students come from Arab countries and many others from everywher, inclusing the Americas and Europe.
It would be utterly naive to assume that the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate will be unnoticed by foreign scientists and students working or learning in, or considering to work or learn, in Saudi Arabia.
4
It's a blessing we nowadays have the possibility to communicate and even cooperate in global institutions like the UN with our adversaries.
However, non-democratic countries like Saudi Arabia can and will never be our friends.
They're just not on a level playing field with us, liberal democracies and we tend to forget that .
Consider the name of the country: SAUDI- Arabia.
Such insolence: the Saud family/gang is even proud of the hijacking and exploitation a whole country.
4
The Saudis are not in any position to threaten the wider American economy.
But they are in a position to threaten the Trump economy--no group of oligarchs, other than the Russians, has put more into Trump's coffers--and you can bet the administration's response to the l'affaire Khashoggi is going to be greatly influenced by that.
On the other hand, I'm still waiting to see what sanctions Jeff Bezos (if he has the stones) is willing to impose on the house of Saud, as he does own the paper that Khashoggi wrote for. I wonder if the Kingdom is going to be getting those prompt Amazon deliveries very much longer.
9
The Saudi's pre-meditated barbaric,torture and murder of Mr. Khashoggi complete with a bone saw negates the economic reforms MBS is trying to institute. The reforms are window dressing if ancient, primitive customs and attitudes are not reformed too. Mr. Kahshoggi's horrifying death has reminded the world just what and who the world is dealing with when practicing diplomacy with the Saudis.
6
While I don’t dispute the economic realities described,Ms. Wald has ignored the Saudi “revolving door” which as corrupted for decades innumerable high level U.S. officials in our military and diplomatic ranks, among others, who use their influence to lobby for Saudi interests in exchange for lucrative consulting contracts.
Chief among these corrupted officials are Donald Trump and Jared Kushner (Kushner is reportedly urging Trump to stay strong in supporting MBS).
It is an ugly and corrosive alliance as is evident from what we have for so long tolerated are what we are now witnessing.
2
I have been suffering a severe case of cognitive dissonance when it comes to the US alliance with Saudi Arabia ever since I was old enough to read and understand reporting in newspapers, which are now in the process of dying out. Memories are not always reliable but some are undeniable: OPEC and the oil embargo; the cynical conflation of Saudi and Israeli interests, the decades old enmity towards another theocratic regime, Iran; looming over it all, the nexus of the entire reason for our involvement: our dependence on fossil fuel. The climate changes, that are baked in now, will end the charade once the water runs out over there, as was noted in another article. My question is, when will politicians finally tell the truth? Hopefully, it will be during what is left of my lifetime but I’m not betting on it.
7
Saudi can secretly sell its vast amount of oil in Euro, RMB, Japanese Ren, and Korean Won. Eager buyers including China, India, Japan, European countries, and S. Korea are waiting in line. If that is the case, no one will want or need US dollars like before. Our US dollar credibility will take a nose dive and forcing our interest rate sky rocketing. Saudi knows that. We know that, too. Our national debt rely on our government credibility. That is why we can have such a huge debt of 21 trillion dollars without near term crisis and consequence. Donald Trump knows that. When the long term dues comes, he will not be in the office of the presidency. So he doesn't care. Thus, he will not do anything significant to hurt the Saudi-US near term relationship.
1
@Usok:
This makes no sense at all.
First of all, Donald Trump knows very little about macroeconomics, so the belief that he's playing 11-dimensional chess is ludicrous.
Second of all, it isn't possible to have a large-scale loss of credibility in the US dollar unless we lose our manufacturing base and thus our trading clout. Even if that does happen, the downfall doesn't happen through a rapid interest rate rise as long as the Federal Reserve does its job properly.
The financialization of the US mind is/was the danger, and it is probably too late to correct it. We will lose trading clout with time, but finance will not be the cause nor should it be a major concern.
1
On the one hand the Saudis are dependent on the United States for everything from weapons to security to oil revenue. On the other hand American politicians, especially Trump and Kushner, are dependent on the Saudis for personal wealth.
This is not symbiosis, this is a disaster in the offing.
18
American officials, at many different levels, love the Saudis because the Saudis can fund activities outside normal budget and approval routes.
For example, the Saudis funded large purchases of guns in Bosnia at the request of the CIA.
10
The same applies to Saudi threats to change arms suppliers. The one area the US -or rather Trump -may be vulnerable is their investments in his properties.
25
@T.R.Devlin - I'm sure if Trump had the decency he would divest in the interests of America. I wonder what their holding in his properties is ?
1
Perhaps the statement from Riyadh means they consider themselves part of the globe, in contrast to "Make America Great" meaning "Make the Trump symbol richer." Is that a threat? The rest of this article follows the same logic, as though we owned the Saudi embassy in Ankara where the global economy has been put on hold so that Trump can continue to take. Compare the FBI building with the Trump hotel in DC rather than the Ritz Carlton to Auschwitz. It wasn't like that, either historically or politically, if we reconsider the source of this "bluster."
1
Ummm, No. Doesn’t matter if Saudis can’t pressure with oil politics, they have influence directly on Trump and Kushner.
35
DJT is leverage enough for the Saudis! Let's see Trump's tax returns and we will know why.
25
The Saudis are a medieval country in a modern world. The bluster and bombast of their threats have the sound of threats made in the days of castles and battlements. The kind of murder that they enacted on poor Jamal Khashoggi has the ring of a kings execution from that time. Severing the fingers that wrote the offending words. Although the prince made a plan to change the Saudi economy, he enacts the most public of murders at the beginning of his plan. It is a case of hubris and running true to form. Medieval mind in modern clothes.
67
Of course Saudi has no power over the US economy. However, over some individuals in important positions.. it may be a different matter altogether.
42
Leverage over Trump Inc real estate holdings.
Exposing Trump real estate shenanigans.
Substantial position in U.S, Govt bonds. Their exit, combined with the Chinese could raise borrowing costs for an uncontrolled govt deficit.
Sink the Defense industry by cancelling orders.
It would be a hoot if the were to buy from Israeli Industries.
That's leverage.
2
What leverage? That is just silly talk - a leftover of the delusional American exceptionalist mindset which for some reason continues to plague US doing it no favours. There is nothing US can offer to Saudi Arabia which Saudis could not get from other sources. They can get protection and security from Russia, investments from China, business and technological expertise from Japan, manpower from India and Pakistan. There is literally nothing SA critically depends on US for. The only thing US had going for them was their ability to regime-change the Sauds at any moment and at will. But after the Syrian debacle that is also gone forever. But more importantly, that supposed "leverage" critically depends on American corporations being prepared to give up those billions of dollars in lucrative contracts and potential profits. And they, the actual rulers of America, are to greedy to even contemplate that. And Saudis know that. So that's it, check and mate. You either play the righteous indignation and lose the money, or keep the money and shut up. And we all know what is it going to be.
19
@David
Putin and China will give the Saudis protection?
Like the fox gives protection to the chickens.
Saudis are extremely vulnerable because they have enormous wealth which is essentially undefended militarily without the US.
@David - So let the Saudi's do that then. In time China Russia and the like will be writing off huge bad debts!
@David
Let them go somewhere else.
This will be old news by next week. I am not saying it's right, just the way it always is. The media is making a big deal over it at the moment because it happened to "one of their own". It helps uplift their own sense of importance. They were pretty quiet when 500,000 Syrians were being killed. I guess Stalin was right all along.
8
@Mark Shyres
No they were not quiet when 500000 Syrians were being killed or when school children were killed in Yemen.
4
@Mark Shyres
Looks like you've missed the dozens and dozens of articles in the NY Times alone about the civil war in Syria.
3
There is a really serious question as to whether Trump has the intellectual capacity and integrity to handle this Saudi crisis, or any other normal responsibility of the Presidency?
60
The Saudis keep inventing new stories, running them up the flagpole ... and nobody salutes.
The latest is a variant on the killing of Thomas a Becket; the claim is that it was a rogue operation by General Azziz, a high-level subordinate of bin Salman's.
There are several obvious reasons to disbelieve this story, among them that bin Salmon's "body man" was among those seen going to the embassy.
Bin Salman must go, plain and simple.
19
Saudi Arabia has no leverage over the US.
But it has plenty of leverage over its president.
Saudi money in his business and personal coffers is a crucial factor in Trump's handling of the Khashoggi.
51
We are or should be fairly energy independent at this juncture in this country. Why are we continuing to foster this unhealthy relationship with a Violent Dictatorship? Why are we selling them $100 Billion dollars of military equipment so they can continue to bombard the innocent people of Yemen and Qatar, where by the way we have a huge Naval installation? I wonder who is benefiting from the selling of death to Saudi Arabia and why America has now become the most prolific purveyor of death and misery in the world? And you want me to be proud to be an American?
27
@Valerie Wells - Spot On. America must do the right thing now. Drop SA like a hot cake !
4
How cynical and amoral. In the end, just use this barbaric Saudi crime as a bargaining chip for, among other things, pressuring the Saudis to sell out the Palestinians in a “peace” deal (which of course would be an undeserved feather in Kushner’s cap). Does the fact that the world is watching even matter? (Oh, wait, it hasn’t mattered for two years and counting.) Moral leadership? Hah!
18
Unemployment numbers in Saudi Arabia is measured largely on one gender. If the husband isn't working, most wives don't have opportunity or options to work. Women make up 13% of the workforce. If the Saudi's were slapped by sanctions, households, not just persons, suddenly have no income and no options. 60% of university educated Saudi's are women. Their 12% unemployment numbers in my view are severely understated. This means the author here isn't just "correct", the analysis on US leverage cannot be understated.
5
There was a time when the Middle East was a buffer against the expansionist threat of the Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia was the leader of the OPEC cartel. The US deployed massive CIA, 5th Fleet and foreign aid resources in the region to protect the status quo and oil shipping lanes.
But then the Soviet Union collapsed, US gained energy independence from the Middle East and China became a far larger threat to actual US interests in the Pacific.
Absent some fantasy about protecting America from terrorism, the only remaining US interest in the Middle East is Israel, which is worth defending. But we have even more leverage with Israel, since they have few allies.
So we should employ US leverage with both Israel and Saudi Arabia for political stability while continuing the Obama pivot to Asia, reducing our presence in the Middle East.
16
Saudi Arabia needs the U.S. more than the U.S. needs them but that is not what Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, would have us believe. When Trump talks about the arms sales promise from the Saudis, he embellishes to the point of hyperbole. They may have promised to buy $ 110 billion in arms but there is no guarantee that they will fulfill those commitments. And they can't purchase those arms from other countries. It's clear that Trump and Kushner are primarily concerned with protecting their present and/or future investments in the kingdom. If it's the welfare of the U.S. vs. Donald Trump, it's easy to guess which one he will choose.
28
@Whole Grains was GWB not in exactly the same boat vis a vis the Saudi's - in my humble opinion the saudis are hell bent amongst other nations like Russia & China on destroying the USA.
1
From the perspective of the planet, a Saudi oil blockade would actually be a good thing.
While it might be tough for some years, forcing up the price of oil would really drive the installation of renewable energy power stations (wind and solar), and especially electric vehicles. That in itself will help inoculate the world against the Saudi regime (and, incidentally, Russia).
28
The US had all the same advantages and more in 1974 during the Oil Embargo.
Now the Saudis could make the world economy stumble just by producing their normal oil, without the 50% extra they are pumping to make up for the US adventures destroying production elsewhere, in Iran, Iraq, Libya, and the strangling of Venezuela's production.
9
Our Emoluments-Clause-Violator-In-Chief is the entire issue here:
"@realDonaldTrump
For the record, I have no financial interests in Saudi Arabia (or Russia, for that matter). Any suggestion that I have is just more FAKE NEWS (of which there is plenty)!"
- Oct 16 2018
----
"Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million," Trump said during a presidential campaign rally in August 2015.
"Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much."
At another 2015 rally, Trump said of 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 hundred of millions."
When Trump announced his White House bid in 2015 in Trump Tower, Trump said, "I love the Saudis."
"Many are in this building"
At Trump World Tower in NYC, the Saudi government bought an entire floor for $4.5 million in 2001.
The Washington Post reported earlier this year that revenue at the Trump Hotel on the West Side of Manhattan had increased after two straight years of revenue drops.
The general manager of that hotel, which Trump's company manages, but does not own, informed investors that revenue in the first quarter of 2018 jumped due in part to "a last-minute visit to New York by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia".
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/16/trump-says-no-financial-interests-in-sau...
Donald Trump only understands money, not human rights.
90
There is more than one way to look at leverage. Ms. Wald is correct in her assessment of Riyadh's economic heft.
But where the Saudis have leverage is in their ability to corrupt or wreak havoc in other ways, in order to retain the degree of influence they've exerted for decades. Other than oil exports, the Saudis have a fundamentalist ideology we already know from our dealings with Al Qaeda and ISIS.
In Donald Trump, defense contractors and oil companies, they have greedy partners who, so far, haven't shown a willingness to opt to do the right thing and drop the Saudis cold.
Trump's first reaction was to say that too much money was involved to drop the arms deal he negotiated with MbS. Today, reports from the White House indicate that his stance and his advisors' haven't changed.
In February 2016, Trump said:
"It’s hard for me to turn down money because that’s what I’ve done in my whole life. I grab and grab and grab. You know I get greedy. I want money, money.
I’ll tell you what we’re going to do, right? We get greedy, right? Now we’re going to get greedy for the United States. We’re going to grab and grab and grab. We’re going to bring in so much money and so much everything. We’re going to make America great again, folks, I’m telling you folks, we’re going to make America great again.”"
He just didn't specify who he'd be grabbing from...
Finding Sobriety in 2016: Sanders, Clinton & Trump: "We’re going to grab and grab..." Edition
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-23F
25
Interesting to see what the author expects the US demands to be - none with what affects Saudi sense of right and wrong.
3
well, the young prince has ten digits so some degree of negotiating range is at hand, so to speak...
2
Really, the Saudis need not worry in the slightest about blow back from the U.S. - America showed the Saudis and the world their lack of appetite for "forcing concessions" with their reaction to 9/11.
Maybe the Bushes ties to the Saudis had an impact... and maybe Trumps ties to the Saudi's will have an impact on what America does now...
One thing is for sure, the world sees Americans as hypocrites huffing and puffing about "democracy" when it suits them and looking the other way when it doesn't.
61
@Sophie Indeed - the best country in the world - so sad.
1
Trump and his Republicans are tolling America's death knell. So very sad to witness this ignominious ending to the glorious American Revolution.
2
Jared, Trump and Mr. Bone Saw have apparently settled on a fall-guy and believe that will sweep everything under the rug. What these three have in common is that they were born into money, achieved nothing on their own, have no moral sense, and feel themselves to be untouchable; no wonder there's a lovefest. Let's see if Lindsey Graham's latest hissy fit actually translates into punitive measures or if he, as I expect he will, once again becomes Trump's ottoman.
116
Trump has a plan for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians? He want to settle the problem KSA has with Qatar? Perhaps if we had the slightest inking of what these plans were, the suggestion might be credible. As it stands now, you seem to suggest that the hideous murder of Jamal Khashoggi is just a useful prod to sell more weapons. Talk about non-sequiturs!
13
"Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million . . . Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.” - Donald Trump, 2015
I think this article is an academic analysis that overlooks the reality of how the US government operates in 2018. It's Donald Trump's personality that drives US foreign policy, not some tenuous commitment to international law. And everything up to this point indicates Trump is on the side of the Saudis. If his more traditional Republican colleagues need a moral fig leaf to cover up this administration's support for murdering a journalist, then Trump will simply conjure up some slap on the wrist. But all the analysis in this article is for naught, because Saudi have all the leverage they need over Donald Trump.
41
@citybumpkin
Same with Bush. He was / is a Saudi promoter and long time friend.
3
Trump and Kushner have a lot of $$$ to lose. Trump’s known about it since it happened. These people are cheaters and grifters, amoral/immoral actors in all matters domestically and internationally. This was a gruesome murder for god’s sakes. Of a journalist. Love them or hate them, they are integral to the functioning of a real democracy. This has reminded a lot of people that the 9/11 perpetrators came from Saudi Arabia. Yes, I’m piling on. Yes, I’m paranoid. Trump and MBS are people I’m frightened of because I can’t trust one thing they do. How sure am I that Trump has financial dealings with these people? 100%. Lack of moral clarity and leadership pushes us away from engagement in our government. Don’t let Cheater Don do that to you.
Have we all forgotten that these people are our employees! Fire them! VOTE!!
93
They do have leverage: it's called funding Trump Inc
25
No leverage to threaten the American economy, but perhaps its president?
29
Thank you for the infomative essay. Now, much shorter words, maybe cartoon illustrations and try to get on fox news.Perhaps the very stable genius will then grab hold of the solution with his tiny hands.
21
So according to Trump, Kushner et al., Muslims are terrorists and can't be let in this country--unless they are Saudi royalty investing lots of money in Trump properties.
77
@Martha Shelley
It was not Trump that let the Saudis leave the country after 9/11 when no one else was flying. It was their partner, Bush.
7
@Martha Shelley - The hypocrisy is mind boggling , same with the clintons and bushes. America needs a strong honest and law abiding president. It is a shame that the best country in the world , the USA is in such a mess of late.
2
@Mark Shyres - Indeed and after one of the worst tragedies to best the USA , it seems as if it is business as usual
In essence, we have done a reasonable job of weaning ourselves from Saudi oil. Now we can wean ourselves from Saudi Arabia. They are not a good steward of the region, and we no longer need to act as though they are.
42
An article in Common Dreams states that Khashoggi has been criticizing the Saudi regime for years, but they only blacklisted his writing after he criticized Trump. Any readers have additional information? See https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/10/18/while-president-continues-p....
25
Saudi military security, and the prestige of its military, is built around F-15 jets and M1A2 tanks. Without heavy and continuous US support, all of those stop dead, completely and quickly..
Tragically, Tiny Trump is too weak to do stand up for America by cutting off support. Our strong military is useless because of our weak leadership.
31
"Mr. Trump could use this as a chance to pressure Riyadh to come around on some of his real priorities: the peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians that Jared Kushner is trying to broker; a resolution to the dispute with Qatar, which hosts a critical American military base; billions of dollars more in purchases from American industries."
The above sentence reaffirms what is wrong with American approach to Saudi. It is this transactional relationship that has produced the toxic middle-east mess.
17
@reo Isn't this generally the essence of US foreign policy? What is in it for me? How many billions of $? How much arms am I selling here? How much oil am I getting here? Deals Deals Deals Money Money Money... to stuff the pockets of the already-wealthy Americans. All the while pretending to be very righteous policemen on the world stage, just to advance their bottom line.
But here, today, it is pathetic that a journalist's barbaric criminal death is being equated with all kinds of deals.. and the president so openly, utterly shamelessly is talking about "lots of stuff they are buying from us and the arms deals" and "he is ONLY a Saudi citizen"... So much regard for human life! It's time the world understood how the US works, let alone how barbaric the Saudi regime is.
Right now it is bluster and bravado from both sides. btw: what about the US debt Saudi Arabia holds? But, never say never. Saudi Arabia does have leverage – what and how much is it prepared to sacrifice is the question. The west has always made assumptions about other countries based on what it would do in certain situation with money as the most important deciding factor, and in this it has ended up misreading and misinterpreting many situations to its cost. Money is of course important but when push comes to shove there are other things of more importance to other countries that far outweigh it. Plus, Saudi Arabia's geographical location gives it a huge edge in terms of US foreign policy, geopolitical strategy and allies.
Shame there is no US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia or Turkey, (a career diplomat not a crony of the WH) someone who is knowledgeable about the history, culture, regional entanglements and politics, it would definitely help.
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@angel98
It would only help if Trump would listen.
@franko I assume you're talking about Ambassadors. I wasn't even thinking about Trump he is a lost cause. I was thinking about relationships developed between diplomats and leaders of foreign countries, in this case the Crown Prince, King etc., which may have even have prevented the murder of Khashoggi. As is the Crown Prince is getting feedback from Kushner and Trump and they are opportunists, concentrating on only what benefits them personally with no thought of advancing the ideals of democracy and human rights, nor of encouraging ethics or morals.
No leverage?
The Saudis have already publicly discussed giving the Russians a strategic military base at Tabuk, in the northwest of their country, near Israel and Jordan. They are also considering switching to trading oil in yuans, the Chinese currency, instead of US dollars.
Nations generally prefer allies who offer them benefits rather than threats.
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On the contrary, Saudi Arabia has all the leverage they need. There is a reason the Saudis have spent decades cultivating close ties with traditional Republican power brokers like the Bush family. There is a reason the Saudis have gone out of their way to ingratiate themselves with Donald Trump, who once said that he loved the Saudis because they spend "40, 50 million dollars" buying apartments in the United States.
This analysis loses sight of the fact that governments are run by people, and the Saudis don't need leverage over the United States. They just need to have leverage over the people who run the United States. All of those people are currently bending over backwards to shield the Saudis. Given the nature of American politics, they just need to do it for another week or two and public attention will have shifted onto something else.
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A very smart, informative essay. I learned stuff I didn't know. Which is what journalism is supposed to do and why I subscribe to the NYT.
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The US should respond to this Saudi murder by withdrawing all support for the murderous war in Yemen.
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A great column right up until this line:
"Mr. Trump could use this as a chance to pressure Riyadh to come around on some of his real priorities: the peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians that Jared Kushner is trying to broker; a resolution to the dispute with Qatar, which hosts a critical American military base; billions of dollars more in purchases from American industries."
So our reaction should be to prove the Saudis right, that they can just flash a wad of cash and buy their way out of this?
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Yes, "Saudi Arabia is not in a position to harm the United States," but they are in a position to harm Donald Trump. That's all we need to know to understand what's going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The U.S. has made a huge mistake in joining the Saudis in a religious civil war between their radical version of Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam of Iran that has us involved in a genocide in Yemen. Saudi Arabia is a medieval monarchy that sent the majority of their native son, Osama bin Laden's, terrorist to attack us on 9/11. They have spent huge sums to promote their radical version of Islam around the region. They, not Iran, are more of a threat in the region than Iran which has a highly educated modern population now under its own radical theocracy. It's time to say "NO!" to the Saudis and their 15th century ruthless male patriarchy and withdraw from our entanglement in the ongoing war between their radical Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam and Iran and Iraq's Shiite Islam. If we want real peace in the Middle East as well as justice for the brazen and brutal assassination (an Arabic word) of Jamal Khashoggi, now is the time to part ways with the Saudis and become, once again, an honest broker for peace in the region.
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@Paul Wortman
"The U.S. has made a huge mistake in joining the Saudis in a religious civil war between their radical version of Sunni Islam and Shiite Islam of Iran that has us involved in a genocide in Yemen."
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That seems only partially right.
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Yes, the 1944 USS Quincy Agreement was undoubtedly an enormous blunder, by a nation that did not understand the region well.
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The struggle against Iran is about regional hegemony. It is fundamentally an economic struggle, not a religious one, although it often appears to be driven by religion.
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Saudi Arabia is inherently weaker than three neighbours, all of whom have long histories of sophisticated civilizations and empires: Egypt, Persia, and Turkey.
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The current Saudi prominence is an historical accident.
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Long historical truths - and the laws of economics - will eventually prevail.
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The Saudis, meanwhile, might read up on King Knute, who had the humility to demonstrate to his people that he knew he was not a God.
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@Paul Wortman "now is the time to part ways with the Saudis and become, once again, an honest broker for peace in the region."
Nice thought Paul but well beyond our current regime's ability or desire. Balancing all the various interests in that region, and working towards peace, requires very intelligent, sophisticated diplomacy and an honest desire. We are currently lacking.
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What about 'face'?
MSB has a country to rule (whether in name or fact). Can his people, the Saudi hoi polloi, be allowed to see that MSB has erred? Can he even imply that he is fallible?
He may choose to whether any storm that comes his way, knowing that no Saudi wind is fierce enough to blow down the royal palace.
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@Karl Gauss
To anyone who might read the above: Please note that cannabis became legal in Canada yesterday.
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@Karl Gauss
Congratulations! May the land of the free follow suit soon.
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It seems that Saudi Arabia has much bigger leverage over US government officials, including the US president than over US economy.
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Isn’t the question less how the Saudis can threaten the US and more how the Saudis can threaten Donald Trump and Jared Kushner and their respective pocketbooks? Do we have any idea what the financial entanglements of the Trump/Kushner interests are with the Saudis? Or what other kinds of blackmail MSB, et al may hold the strings to?
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@Karen
Saudi Arabia is the oldest American ally in the Middle East (since 1937).
Don't deny paternity on this.
You don't think they have leverage in threatening to remove financial support from certain members of the executive branch?
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