US Welcomes MBS: Khashoggi Murder Now a Distant Memory
President Trump is gearing up to roll out the red carpet for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), complete with a White House fly-by and cannon salute, fresh off a 2018 visit shortly after the gruesome killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. France 24 frames this as discussions on 'defence, AI and nuclear deals'
(https://www.france24.com/en/video/20251118-trump-hosts-saudi-crown-prince-to-discuss-defence-ai-and-nuclear-deals). One might wonder if the 'democracy promotion' rhetoric only applies to nations without strategic oil reserves or hefty arms contracts, which totaled $64.1 billion in US arms sales to Saudi Arabia from 2018-2022, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI). This isn't merely transactional; it's a spectacle. The pomp celebrating a leader whose hands are stained with Khashoggi's blood, and who oversees a devastating war in Yemen (resulting in an estimated 377,000 deaths, per UN figures), stands in stark contrast to the US's performative outrage over human rights abuses elsewhere. How many 'strategic partnerships' require us to conveniently
forget state-sanctioned murder? Apparently, 'state-level pageantry' is the going rate.