NYT Discovers Trump, Saudi Arabia, and Royal Absolutism – Again
The prospect of Trump meeting Mohammed bin Salman is paraded as a step towards regional stability, ignoring that MBS's 'reforms' have cemented absolute power while dissenters vanish. Conveniently left unsaid: the CIA concluded MBS ordered Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder. This isn't diplomacy; it's a photo op designed to whitewash ongoing human rights violations and secure arms deals, likely
benefiting those same defense contractors who fund think tanks shaping media narratives. (Remember Boeing's $1.7 billion Saudi armaments deal under discussion?) The media routinely presents these despots as 'modernizing' partners when it suits geopolitical agendas, cycling through the same talking points as previous administrations. How many times must the public be lectured on the 'strategic
importance' of an absolute monarchy actively engaged in the world's worst humanitarian crises in places like Yemen, while our 'leaders' sell them more weapons? It seems civilian lives are only a talking point when they can be weaponized against designated adversaries, never against 'allies' who buy American.