[W:15]What Should We Do With Saudi Arabia?

[FirstTracksGirl]

[emphasis added by bubba]

i could be mistaken, but my understanding was saudi arabia was directed by osama bin laden to have American bases vacated in that country immediately after 9/11. and that was done by the ****scared saudi royals

I probably could have researched it better and clarified my words better. It doesn't look like we have bases there but I guess what I meant was being able to have a military presence in that region. They cooperate with us with that sort of thing.

 

[DaveFagan]

As a realistic answer. Monkey see, Monkey do! Take out MBS. CIA/Mossad specialty. Blowback!
/

 

[Xelor]

1. Invent a reason to invade.
2. Invade.
3. Decimate the existing military forces.
4. Drive the current ruler into a hole in the desert.
5. Install a provisional government favorable to the US.
6. Spend several months looking for him.
7. Find him.
8. Hand him over to that government so they can try him for whatever they want and then execute him.
9. Keep our forces in place for a few years until the new government is only half on it's feet, so to speak.
10. Leave.
11. Wait for right wing extremists to move in and become too much for the puppet government we installed.
12. Go back and fight a half-assed war to eject the extremists.
13. Complain about all the money we wasted and be despised by thousands of people who used to be at least neutral and periodically positively predisposed toward the US.

 

[justabubba]

1. Invent a reason to invade.
2. Invade.
3. Decimate the existing military forces.
4. Drive the current ruler into a hole in the desert.
5. Install a provisional government favorable to the US.
6. Spend several months looking for him.
7. Find him.
8. Hand him over to that government so they can try him for whatever they want and then execute him.
9. Keep our forces in place for a few years until the new government is only half on it's feet, so to speak.
10. Leave.
11. Wait for right wing extremists to move in and become too much for the puppet government we installed.
12. Go back and fight a half-assed war to eject the extremists.
13. Complain about all the money we wasted and be despised by thousands of people who used to be at least neutral and periodically positively predisposed toward the US.

i saw what you did there














and it was ****ing brilliant!

 

[Xelor]

i saw what you did there














and it was ****ing brilliant!

Thank you.

 

[Maccabee]

Re: What Should We Do With Saudi Arabia?

Ultimately, we need to cut ties with Saudi Arabia and use our own oil. That's a lengthy and expensive process, though.

 

[Moderate Right]

Re: What Should We Do With Saudi Arabia?

Ultimately, we need to cut ties with Saudi Arabia and use our own oil. That's a lengthy and expensive process, though.

It has a lot more to do than with just oil. Saudi is an important ally against Iran and terrorism in the Middle East. Hell, we have bases there which are extremely strategic.

 

[Felis Leo]

Re: What Should We Do With Saudi Arabia?

Somewhere between a slap on the wrist and telling them to shove it. Real, painful sanctions, with the agreement that they will ease in time with good behavior, but could be reinstated or worse upon further actions. Note for the record that this is based upon the assumption that the intelligence services have good evidence that they are guilty, which seems likely.

Saudi Arabia should be sanctioned using the Magnitsky Act. They should have their U.S. assets frozen and no Saudis allowed into this country. No business transactions should be done between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia until the Crown Prince is removed from his throne and replaced.

Sanctions. We should also reduce trade and oil reliance on them. This is a sign that we need to stop being so reliant upon oil, period, and move toward more renewable and climate-friendly sources of energy.

But sanctions at the least, definitely not Trump being Saudi Arabia's bitch.

I look at Saudi Arabia and all I see is a country destined to go the same way as Iran. Back in the 70's we knew the Shah was a SOB, but we stuck by him because he was our SOB. Look how well that turned out. I think we ought to learn our lesson from that and cut them loose. All of the Gulf Monarchies are living on borrowed time - the sooner we realize that, the better shape we'll be in when history turns the same corner that it did in 1979.

This is a difficult situation. But it must be asked: How are our national interests served? By going out of our way to punish Saudi Arabian Royal Family for ordering the chopping up and liquifying of a journalist unfriendly to the regime, who stands to benefit?

First, perhaps someone can articulate the point to me: What concrete interest of the United States is served by punishing the Kingdom? I understand the principled argument that we should not deal with thieves and murderers. That is understandable. But what United States' interest is served by punishing the regime in such a way that the Kingdom is put in a risk of collapse? Because if the Kingdom collapses, there will be an oil shock, to say nothing of the possibility of Arabia becoming the biggest roiling sea of violent extremism the world has ever seen.

Second, as far as I can see, the Islamic Republic of Iran is the only state that benefits from harsh treatment of Saudi Arabia. Iran which is already working day and night to establish hegemony over the Middle East by creating and maintaining Shia-run client states throughout the region, and may eventually work to create a set of nuclear bombs thus creating an umbrella over the region. Aaaaaaand that is about it. Okay. So we help tip the scales of the regional conflict into the hands of another violent, extremist regime that is exporting terrorism across the region along with its client states. Great.

Finally, if we punish Saudi Arabia by sanctioning them, we must ask: How will they respond? Will the King have his beloved son and thus his legacy thrown to the wolves in order to preserve the Kingdom? Perhaps. OR, and this is just a thought: They might turn to another benefactor state for support and military aid. Now, can anyone imagine another rising world power flush with cash and with a thirst for plentiful fossil fuel and which makes no pretense of moral scruples? A country whose name begins with a "C" and ends with an "A" perhaps? Not an unlikely possibility, since Saudi Arabia is already the second biggest supplier of oil to China right after Russia.

 

[Grand Mal]

Re: What Should We Do With Saudi Arabia?

It has a lot more to do than with just oil. Saudi is an important ally against Iran and terrorism in the Middle East. Hell, we have bases there which are extremely strategic.

You sure? I thought the US military pulled out of Saudi Arabia under Bush II.

 

[Oborosen]

like we did to the iranians in the early 50's ... that sure worked out well

Human nature is as reliable as it's ever been.

One would hope we could apply it correctly this time around and maybe find someone who isn't going to screw everyone around them, to better their own lot in life... but I'm not holding my breath on that one.