Trump Meets MBS: 'Strategic Alignment' or Just Another Arms Deal?
The Hill frames the alleged meeting as a discussion of 'strategic alignment' and 'economic cooperation.' What they don't highlight is the historical alignment of US presidents and Saudi princes: a mutually beneficial exchange of oil, arms, and geopolitical appeasement. It’s the same tango that saw the Bush administration literally flying Saudi nationals out of the country after 9/11 while flights
were grounded, and the Biden administration conveniently forgetting its 'pariah state' promises as MBS’s petrodollars smoothed things over. (Remember the Khashoggi murder? Or the Yemen war? The mainstream media often prefers to focus on 'economic opportunities' when inconvenient truths arise.) One might wonder if 'strategic alignment' ever includes a discussion about human rights, press freedom,
or the ongoing bombardment of Yemen. Or perhaps those topics are reserved for countries without vast oil reserves and an appetite for Lockheed Martin's finest exports. The 'takeaways' appear to be little more than a thinly veiled reiteration of a transactional relationship that has long prioritized profit and perceived stability over inconvenient moral stances. Truly groundbreaking diplomacy.