The U.S. Needs To Realize Saudi Arabia Is NOT Its Friend

 

The following op-ed is by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner:

The news today that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are slashing oil production is a boon for Russia and a slap in the face of the United States. And especially President Biden. It is the result of a dysfunctional relationship long in the making. And it ushers in a new era of America’s interactions with the Middle East.

 

Gas prices will likely rise, just in time for the midterm elections. Was this the point? It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to start putting some troubling pieces together. 

You have a regime in Riyadh that was chummy with Donald Trump and his inner circle, especially son-in-law Jared Kushner, with whom the Saudis “invested” $2 billion. And let’s be clear, nobody who is actually looking for a return on their investment would invest in Jared. What was that really about? 

The Saudis are led by Mohammed bin Salman, a young autocrat with a reputation for ruthlessness, whose treatment of his own people is marked by atrocious human rights abuses. U.S. intelligence says he personally gave the go-ahead for the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and critic of the regime who wrote for TheWashington Post. What a “prince” (well, he’s technically a prince, but you get the point).

The Saudis have been forging stronger ties with Russia, which desperately wants higher energy prices to help it evade Western sanctions and put more pressure on the West to back away from support for Ukraine. So this move clearly reflects the triumph of Putin’s interests over America’s (again bringing us back to the specter of Trump).

Then there is the matter of the missing top secret documents Trump had at Mar-a-Lago. We have seen no proof that the Saudis are involved in that saga, but it’s understandable that so many conspiracy theories would revolve around such speculations. 

After all, there is so much about America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia that is shady, and this is just what we know about.

One thing is certain: Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states have made a very strong statement in rebuffing requests from the United States not to cut production at a perilous time for the world economy. You could try to use the vocabulary of diplomacy to put what happened into context. But another way of looking at it is that the United States sent a long text message to its supposed “friend” group in the Middle East imploring them not to do this and got in return a single emoji with a raised middle finger. 

For decades, the United States has walked a tenuous line — dependent on Saudi crude (and happy for a bulwark against Iran) while overlooking a human rights record that is among the worst in the world. 

Along the way, the U.S. saved the Saudis from Saddam Hussein and Iraq when they were severely threatened near the end of the last century. And more recently has been protecting them from Iran. 

These dynamics offer a real-world example of realpolitik, a foreign policy based on a cost-benefit analysis measured in energy prices and the complexities of the Middle East instead of the values of freedom and democracy that the United States has long espoused. Critics who say all this talk of American values represents rank hypocrisy often have pointed to Saudi Arabia as example 1A. 

So where do we go from here? One imagines that the Biden administration had to be planning for this contingency. The president traveled to Saudi Arabia in July to try to ward off the kind of action we saw today — a trip for which he was heavily criticized by those rightly outraged by the Kingdom’s atrocities. Now, that effort has obviously failed. 

It is past time for a reckoning between the United States and Saudi Arabia, something that should have happened long ago — such as after 9/11 (15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi). Any notion that the Faustian bargain we’ve forged with the Kingdom makes sense should be shattered by this latest development.

 

All options are now, or should be, on the table. Should we halt military sales to Saudi Arabia? Should we find ways to break up the power of OPEC? There is reporting from The Wall Street Journal that the Biden administration may be turning to Venezuela. What other pressure points can be exerted?

 

What is also clear is that we are seriously overdue to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels — for the sake of the planet, as well as our national and economic security. The Saudis have played their hand. Have they overplayed it? Perhaps they can ask their friend Vladimir how things are turning out.

President Biden Explains Why He Is Going To Saudi Arabia

 

The following post in The Washington Post was written by President Biden:

Next week, I’ll travel to the Middle East to start a new and more promising chapter of America’s engagement there. This trip comes at a vital time for the region, and it will advance important American interests.

A more secure and integrated Middle East benefits Americans in many ways. Its waterways are essential to global trade and the supply chains we rely on. Its energy resources are vital for mitigating the impact on global supplies of Russia’s war in Ukraine. And a region that’s coming together through diplomacy and cooperation — rather than coming apart through conflict — is less likely to give rise to violent extremism that threatens our homeland or new wars that could place new burdens on U.S. military forces and their families.

Avoiding that scenario is of paramount importance to me. I’ll pursue diplomacy intensely — including through face-to-face meetings — to achieve our goals.

The Middle East I’ll be visiting is more stable and secure than the one my administration inherited 18 months ago.

One month before my inauguration, our embassy in Baghdad faced the largest rocket attack in a decade. Attacks against our troops and diplomats had increased fourfold over the preceding year. My predecessor repeatedly ordered B-52 bombers to fly from the United States to the region and back again to deter these attacks. But it didn’t work, and the attacks continued.

The war in Yemen was escalating, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with no political process in sight to end the fighting.

After my predecessor reneged on a nuclear deal that was working, Iran had passed a law mandating the rapid acceleration of its nuclear program. Then, when the last administration sought to condemn Iran for this action in the U.N. Security Council, the United States found itself isolated and alone.

In my first weeks as president, our intelligence and military experts warned that the region was dangerously pressurized. It needed urgent and intensive diplomacy. To restore deterrence, I ordered airstrikes in response to the attacks against our troops and began serious diplomatic outreach to bring about a more stable region.

In Iraq, we ended the U.S. combat mission and transitioned our military presence to focus on training Iraqis, while sustaining the global coalition against the Islamic State we forged when I was vice president, now dedicated to preventing ISIS from resurging. We’ve also responded to threats against Americans. The frequency of Iranian-sponsored attacks compared with two years ago has dropped precipitously. And this past February, in Syria, we took out ISIS leader Haji Abdullah, demonstrating America’s capability to eliminate terrorist threats no matter where they try to hide.

In Yemen, I named an envoy and engaged with leaders across the region, including with the king of Saudi Arabia, to lay the foundation for a truce. After a year of our persistent diplomacy, that truce is now in place, and lifesaving humanitarian assistance is reaching cities and towns that had been under siege. As a result, the past few months in Yemen have been the most peaceful in seven years.

With respect to Iran, we reunited with allies and partners in Europe and around the world to reverse our isolation; now it is Iran that is isolated until it returns to the nuclear deal my predecessor abandoned with no plan for what might replace it. Last month, more than 30 countries joined us to condemn Iran’s lack of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency on its past nuclear activities. My administration will continue to increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Iran is ready to return to compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, as I remain prepared to do.

In Israel, we helped end a war in Gaza — which could easily have lasted months — in just 11 days. We’ve worked with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan to maintain the peace without permitting terrorists to rearm. We also rebuilt U.S. ties with the Palestinians. Working with Congress, my administration restored approximately $500 million in support for Palestinians, while also passing the largest support package for Israel — over $4 billion — in history. And this week, an Israeli prime minister spoke with the president of the Palestinian Authority for the first time in five years.

In Saudi Arabia, we reversed the blank-check policy we inherited. I released the intelligence community’s report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, issued new sanctions, including on the Saudi Arabia’s Rapid Intervention Force involved in his killing, and issued 76 visa bans under a new rule barring entry into the United States for anyone found to be involved in harassing dissidents abroad. My administration has made clear that the United States will not tolerate extraterritorial threats and harassment against dissidents and activists by any government. We also advocated for American citizens who had been wrongfully detained in Saudi Arabia long before I took office. They have since been released, and I will continue to push for restrictions on their travel to be lifted.

From the start, my aim was to reorient — but not rupture — relations with a country that’s been a strategic partner for 80 years. Today, Saudi Arabia has helped to restore unity among the six countries of Gulf Cooperation Council, has fully supported the truce in Yemen and is now working with my experts to help stabilize oil markets with other OPEC producers.

I know that there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia. My views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be during this trip, just as they will be in Israel and the West Bank.

As president, it is my job to keep our country strong and secure. We have to counter Russia’s aggression, put ourselves in the best possible position to outcompete China, and work for greater stability in a consequential region of the world. To do these things, we have to engage directly with countries that can impact those outcomes. Saudi Arabia is one of them, and when I meet with Saudi leaders on Friday, my aim will be to strengthen a strategic partnership going forward that’s based on mutual interests and responsibilities, while also holding true to fundamental American values.

On Friday, I will also be the first president to fly from Israel to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. That travel will also be a small symbol of the budding relations and steps toward normalization between Israel and the Arab world, which my administration is working to deepen and expand. In Jiddah, leaders from across the region will gather, pointing to the possibility of a more stable and integrated Middle East, with the United States playing a vital leadership role.

Of course, the region remains full of challenges: Iran’s nuclear program and support for proxy groups, the Syrian civil war, food security crises exacerbated by Russia’s war against Ukraine, terrorist groups still operating in a number of countries, political gridlock in Iraq, Libya and Lebanon, and human rights standards that remain behind much of the world. We must address all these issues. When I meet with leaders from across the region, I will make clear how important it is to make progress in these areas.

Still, compared to 18 months ago, the region is less pressurized and more integrated. Former rivals have reestablished relations. Joint infrastructure projects are forging new partnerships. Iraq, which had long been a source of proxy conflicts and regional rivalries, now serves as a platform for diplomacy, including between Saudi Arabia and Iran. My friend King Abdullah of Jordan recently referred to the “new vibe” in the region, with countries asking, “How can we connect with each other and work with each other.”

These are promising trends, which the United States can strengthen in a way no other country can. My travel next week will serve that purpose.

Throughout my journey, I’ll have in mind the millions of Americans who served in the region, including my son Beau, and the 7,054 who died in conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001.

Next week, I will be the first president to visit the Middle East since 9/11 without U.S. troops engaged in a combat mission there. It’s my aim to keep it that way.

Public Disagrees With Trump About Who Is Friend Of U.S.

The charts above reflect the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between October 13th and 15th of a national sample of 1,500 adults, with a 2.7 point margin of error.

The countries that Donald Trump are the friendliest with are Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- all ruled by a strong dictator (or king). He actually seems to think these countries are our friends and allies.

The American public does not agree. A clear majority (66%) does not think Russia is a friend, and a plurality says Saudi Arabia (40%) and Turkey (43%) are not our friends. Americans do think the Syrian Kurds are our friends though (a plurality of 46%) -- but sadly, these are the people Trump has betrayed.

Senate & Public Repudiate Trump's Defense Of Saudi Arabia

The chart above shows the results of a new NBC News / Wall Street Journal Poll -- done between December 9th and 12th of a national sample of 900 adults, with a margin of error of 3.27 points.

While Donald Trump wants to still consider Saudi Arabia as our friend and ally, and denies the overwhelming evidence that the Saudi government ordered the killing of a journalist living in the United States and working for a U.S. newspaper. The American people don't agree. Only 6% of Americans have a positive view of Saudi Arabia, while 59% have a negative view.

And a few days ago, the United States Senate unanimously voted to condemn Saudi Arabia for that government killing of a journalist. They also, by a lesser vote, condemned the U.S. supported Saudi war in Yemen.

Here is what the editorial board of The Washington Post had to say about the Senate action:

THE SENATE has taken an important step toward holding Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. On Thursday, it unanimously approved a resolution that assigns responsibility to the crown prince for the killing and says the regime’s “misleading statements” about the case “have undermined trust and confidence” in Saudi-U.S. relations. The vote was a powerful repudiation of President Trump’s refusal to accept, or act upon, the truth about the crown prince — and it should cause the president to reconsider.

The resolution’s passage came on the heels of a 56-to-41 vote in favor of another resolution ending U.S. support for the Saudi war in Yemen under the War Powers Act. House Republicans have already moved to block consideration of that measure. But if Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) wishes to end his congressional career with a touch of honor, he should schedule a vote next week on the Khashoggi resolution. House members should have the opportunity to show whether they stand with U.S. intelligence professionals who have concluded that Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for this act of wanton brutality — or with a president who would bury the facts in service of (largely phantom) weapons sales. They should have a chance to stand up for the American values, including support for human rights, that Mr. Trump has repudiated.

The evidence connecting Mohammed bin Salman to the killing is overwhelming. According to The Post’s reporting, the 15-member team sent to Istanbul to attack Mr. Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate on Oct. 2 included several of the crown prince’s personal bodyguards. It was headed by another close associate who called a top aide in Riyadh to say that he should “tell your boss” that Mr. Khashoggi was dead. The CIA discovered that the aide, Saud al-Qahtani, and the crown prince exchanged numerous texts during that time period.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and a sponsor of the resolution, was fully justified in telling the Senate: “I absolutely believe [Mohammed bin Salman] directed it. I believe he monitored it. And I believe he is responsible for it.”

The Senate’s action ought to make clear to Mr. Trump, as well as King Salman, that the U.S.-Saudi relationship cannot continue without change. There must be, as the resolution puts it, “appropriate accountability for all those responsible” for Mr. Khashoggi’s murder. The war in Yemen must be brought to a swift end. And the reckless foreign adventures and crushing internal repression that have been the most prominent features of the crown prince’s rule must end.

Notably, the resolution calls for the release of political prisoners jailed for advocating peaceful reforms, such as the right for women to drive. It names Raif Badawi, Samar Badawi and the women’s rights activists rounded up this year and reportedly subjected to torture and sexual assault. If the Saudi regime wishes to preserve its relationship with the United States, it should act swiftly. The Senate’s vote shows that Mr. Trump cannot protect the kingdom from the consequences of the crown prince’s criminal acts.

Trump Is Out-Of-Step With The Public On Saudi Arabia

Donald Trump has cast his lot with the murderous monarchy in Saudi Arabia. Even though the rest of the world has seen and accepted the evidence that Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered and oversaw the horrible murder of a Washington Post journalist, and our own CIA has said the evidence is certain, Trump refuses to accept it.

It once again puts him in opposition to the wishes of the American public. Most people do not like the way Trump is handling Saudi Arabia by a 13 point margin (a 16 point margin among registered voters). And the public opposes the U.S. continuing to sell arms and military equipment to Saudi Arabia by a whopping 33 point margin (and an equal 33 point margin among registered voters).

The charts above reflect the results of a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between December 2nd and 4th of a national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,286 registered voters). The margin of error for adults is 3.1 points, and 2.9 points for registered voters.

Trump Continues To Cover For Murderous Saudi Prince

(Cartoon image is by Patrick Chappatte in The New York Times.)

Since the horrible murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Donald Trump has refused to place the blame for that murder where it belongs -- on Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He continues to say that there is no proof that the prince ordered the murder.

Senators have tried to get to the truth, and asked the administration officials to appear before them. A few days ago, Trump sent Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary of State Mattis to inform them. Both men stuck to the Trump administration line that there was no real proof that Prince bin Salman was guilty of ordering the murder.

To their credit, those senators demanded to hear from the CIA director, and yesterday they got that chance. Evidently, the CIA director told them the truth, because both Republican and Democratic senators emerged from the closed meeting convinced of bi Salman's guilt.

This brings up the question -- why has Trump refused to accept the findings of his own CIA? Why does he continues to cover for a murderer?

He has tried to claim the U.S. would lose over $100 billion in arms sales to the Saudis. That is just a lie. There are less than $10 billion in arms contracts with the Saudis (all signed during the Obama administration). No new arms sales agreements have been signed since Trump took office.

A few days ago, he gave the Saudis credit for the low gas prices in this country. That's another lie. The U.S. actually produces more oil than Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis don't have the power in OPEC they once did.

It's far more likely that Trump is considering his own personal wealth. The Saudis have bought many millions of dollars of his properties, and they continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars at his hotels and other properties each year. I think Trump just doesn't want to kill the golden goose feeding his personal wealth -- and he's willing to use American foreign policy to do that. It shameful!

A "Clueless Clown" Caring Nothing For Human Rights

(Cartoon image is by Signe Wilkinson at philly.com.)

With his reaction (or non-reaction) to the brutal murder of a journalist working for an American newspaper, Donald Trump shows himself to be a "clueless clown" who cares nothing for human rights. His non-action damages the reputation of the United States, and gives aid and comfort to the dictators of the world.

Here's how Eugene Robinson puts it in The Washington Post:

In Riyadh, they must be laughing at President Trump. In Pyongyang, too, and in Tehran. In Beijing and, of course, in Moscow, they must be laughing until it hurts. They look at Washington and they don’t see a champion of freedom and human rights. They see a preening, clueless clown.

Trump’s reaction — or non-reaction — to the Saudi regime’s brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a holiday-season gift to autocrats around the globe. It shows them that if you just shower Trump with over-the-top flattery, feed him some geopolitical mumbo jumbo and make vague promises to perhaps buy some American-made goods in the future, he will literally let you get away with murder.

Recall what happened: The Saudi government lured Khashoggi, a contributing columnist for The Post, to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where a team of assassins lay in wait. Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered. The CIA has reportedly concluded with “high confidence” — as close to certainty as the agency gets — that the assassination was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the nation’s de facto ruler.

After weeks of hemming and hawing, the White House put out a statement Tuesday from Trump making clear that for the murder of Khashoggi — who lived in Virginia, was a permanent U.S. resident and had children who are U.S. citizens — the Saudi regime will face no consequences. Zero. Not even a slap on the wrist.

Despite the CIA’s assessment that the crown prince ordered the killing, the White House statement waffles on whether he even knew about it in advance: “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” Trump said the same thing later to reporters, adding, “We are with Saudi Arabia. We’re staying with Saudi Arabia.”

Even more appalling, the statement — which is littered with exclamation points, suggesting Trump himself had a hand in writing it — attacks and defames the victim. Khashoggi was a respected journalist who sometimes criticized the Saudi government. The president of the United States suggests he deserved to die.

“Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an ‘enemy of the state’ and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that,” the statement says. That is a rhetorical device known as paraleipsis — saying something by professing not to say it — and its use to suggest the Saudis were somehow justified in killing Khashoggi makes me want to throw up.

In the statement — which is headlined “America First!” — Trump emphasizes what he calls the “record amount of money” that Saudi Arabia is supposedly prepared to spend in the United States. Trump goes on to make a series of false claims. No, there is no agreement for the Saudis to spend $450 billion on U.S. goods, despite Trump’s assertion. No, there is no firm agreement for $110 billion in arms sales; the actual figure is $14.5 billion. No, what Trump reckons as “hundreds of thousands of jobs” are not at stake. And no, the Saudis could not simply decide to buy Chinese or Russian arms, instead.

The truth is that in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, the United States holds all the cards. We don’t need the Saudis’ oil and can easily do without their arms purchases. By contrast, without U.S. military assistance and American-made spare parts, the Saudi armed forces could not function.

But leave aside Trump’s inability to calculate the power equation here — perhaps he should read “The Art of the Deal” — and consider the factors that are absent from his thinking. There is no mention in his statement of human rights, no mention of freedom of the press. There is no notion of the United States as an advocate for liberty or a foe of despotism. There is only the amoral pursuit of what Trump sees — not very clearly — as U.S. national interests.

The Saudi royals got on Trump’s good side by hosting his first foreign visit and fawning over him as if he, too, were an absolute monarch. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un was gracious and deferential to Trump at their summit — and now continues his nuclear and ballistic missile programs unmolested. Russia’s Vladimir Putin complimented Trump’s political skill — and escaped any meaningful punishment for meddling in the 2016 election. There cannot be a strongman ruler in the world who fails to see the pattern — and the opportunity.

Lavish Trump with praise. Treat him like a king. Wave a fistful of money in front of his face. And if you want to, say, kill an inconvenient journalist, he’ll look the other way.

Trump Will NOT Punish Saudi's For Murdering Journalist

(Cartoon image is by Daryl Cagle at cagle.com.)

It is beyond any doubt now that Saudi strongman Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of a Washington Post journalist. The Central Intelligence Agency now verifies it. That doesn't matter to Donald Trump.

He's still trying to claim that it's not known whether the Saudi government ordered the murder or not. And he says our relationship with the Saudi monarchy is too valuable to punish them even if they are guilty of that murder. It's a shameful position for an American president to take -- and it shows the world that the Trump administration has no regard for human rights.

Here is the operative part of the statement released by Trump:

Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!

That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. It is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!

I understand there are members of Congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction – and they are free to do so. I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America. After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing nation in the world. They have worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels – so important for the world. As President of the United States I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm. Very simply it is called America First!

It's pretty obvious that Trump is putting his own financial well-being over human rights and the reputation of the United States. But when some people stated that truth, Trump was quick to deny it. He said:

“I have nothing to do with Saudi – just so you understand, I don’t make deals with Saudi Arabia. I don’t have money from Saudi Arabia. I have nothing to do with Saudi Arabia. I couldn’t care less…. Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with me.”

That statement is just another of his thousands of lies. Here's the truth from Steve Benen at MSNBC.com:

That’s not quite right. Consider Rachel’s report from September on Trump’s business relationship with the kingdom.

“In 2015, before he was president but around the time he started running, Donald Trump registered eight shell companies that all included the word ‘Jeddah’ in the company name… Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. 

“Trump creating eight shell companies with that city name in the company name – based on past Trump organization practices – that would seem to indicate that the president was planning to build a hotel in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. He didn’t build that hotel, at least he hasn’t yet. Those companies were dissolved shortly after he was elected president. 

“But then three days after Trump’s inauguration, lobbyists working for the Saudi government went out of their way to make sure the American press reported that they were spending almost $300,000 to put up a gigantic Saudi entourage at the Trump Hotel in Washington. 

“The Trump Hotel in Manhattan has sort of been on hard times recently. Its revenues have declined for two straight years. But in the first few months of this year, that hotel turned its fortunes around, basically got bailed out. For the first time in years, revenue at the Trump Hotel in Manhattan increased thanks specifically to a very, very, very profligate and expensive visit from the Saudi crown prince – and his entourage too. 

“Donald Trump has a business history and a business present with Saudi Arabia, and that’s the kind of thing we never have had to factor in before when considering why president was acting a specific way toward a specific country.”

During his presidential campaign, Trump went so far as to boast, “Saudi Arabia, I get along with all of them. They buy apartments from me. They spend $40 million, $50 million. Am I supposed to dislike them? I like them very much.”

It was also during his candidacy that the future president boasted that he makes “a lot of money” to the tune of “hundreds of millions” of dollars selling stuff to Saudis.

As we discussed in October, this is just the stuff we’re aware of. The president has kept much of his finances hidden from public scrutiny – we’re still waiting on those tax returns, for example – and it’s impossible to say what other foreign dealings he’s explored.

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But while Trump doesn't want to punish the Saudi government (which operates now as a Trump piggy bank), he's eager to punish innocent American citizens. After he assumed office, Trump tried to order the prosecution of Hillary Clinton and James Comey -- even though numerous investigations have shown them to have committed no crime. He was unable to do that, because his attorney told him he does not have the authority to order any prosecution.

Trump was disappointed, and he is very envious of the dictatorial powers possessed by his heroes in Russia and Saudi Arabia.