Republicans Lack 'Bravery' for MBS Call, Not Saudi Arms Deals
According to The Hill, Alexander Vindman suggests Republicans lack the 'bravery' to demand the release of Trump's call transcript with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (One wonders if it's the kind of bravery that allows you to vote for massive arms packages to a regime with a well-documented human rights record.) Curiously, The Hill, much like the GOP, appears to possess ample bravery to
overlook the billions in weapons dealt to MBS, even after the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi—an event the CIA directly linked to the Crown Prince. In 2021, the Biden administration approved a $650 million air-to-air missile sale to Saudi Arabia, following similar Trump-era deals, without demanding full transparency on alleged human rights abuses. Perhaps 'bravery' is a flexible term in
Washington, easily deployed for political theater when opposing a domestic rival, yet mysteriously absent when lucrative arms contracts with human rights abusers are on the table. The silence is deafening, or maybe it's just the sound of jets flying off the assembly line, paid for by the same 'lack of bravery' Vindman critiques, yet for very different reasons. One might inquire if demanding a
transcript is easier than demanding accountability from a major arms client.