Saudis Lift Travel 'Ban' on American, US Remains Silent on Khashoggi
Al-Monitor reports Saad Ibrahim Almadi, imprisoned in 2021 for tweets questioning Saudi corruption and naming Jamal Khashoggi's murder, can finally leave after a travel ban. The 'good news' arrived as the Biden administration continues to normalize relations with the Kingdom, despite the CIA's assessment—disputed at the time by Trump—that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered Khashoggi's
assassination. Perhaps the U.S. only cares about free speech when it doesn't interrupt oil deals or arms sales? One might wonder if Almadi’s freedom is less about justice and more about optics before the next lucrative arms package. His crime was tweeting about Khashoggi; the Saudi government’s crime, per U.S. intelligence, was murdering him. Yet, Washington still rolls out the red carpet for MBS,
while Almadi’s family fought for years. Prioritizing 'stability' (and petrodollars) over principle seems to be the enduring U.S. foreign policy.