MBS, the man who undoubtedly ordered the kidnapping, murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, has imprisoned and tortured Saudi citizens, has victimized the 12 percent of Saudis who belong to the Shia sect of Islam, has plundered the state treasury to finance the lavish lifestyle of his tribe and who has relentlessly bombed dissident Yemeni Houthis and their civilian families for over four years, now condemns the Houthis and their Iranian backers as terrorists. The horrors of Saudi war crimes, with military support of the United Arab Emirates, intelligence and mid-air refueling supplied by the United States and sophisticated military hardware bought from the United States, the United Kingdom and France have been well documented by the United Nations.
All the while, the Trump Administration has given its wholehearted support to this same MBS. And on September 14, Secretary of State Pompeo has took his wholehearted support of MBS one step further by attributing the attack on Saudi oil facilities to Iran. The Trump Administration’s hubris and sanctimonious lectures on who is and who is not a terrorist and on the sanctity of human rights will fall on deaf ears. The Trump Administration should well remember that a country is judged by what it does and who it supports, not by what it tweets.
The United States has been unwilling to blame MBS for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi who was a legal resident of the United States and a contributor to the Washington Post. The United States has enabled MBS’ war crimes in Yemen and yet condemns the Houthis who are after all Yemenis fighting for their cause, whether we agree or disagree with their cause and tactics. If Saudi Arabia bombs the Houthis and their civilian families, surely one can understand the Houthis for retaliating against Saudi Arabia in any way that they can? If the United States supports Saudi military intervention in Yemen and its indiscriminate bombing, surely Iran has the right to support its Houthi allies? As an aside but in the same region, the United States also supports Netanyahu’s crimes, internationally illegal on many counts, against Palestinians and their human rights.
Sadly, the Trump Administration has squandered all the goodwill, admiration and respect that the United States may have accumulated over the years. Trump’s sanctimonious lectures and tweets are falling on death ears. The company America keeps in the Middle East region — MBS, Sisi and Netanyahu — and the actions that it supports — the suppression of human rights — are odious and reflect deep-seated American values focused on business interests alone. America has dissipated its soft power. Military power can be readily acquired and bought but the acquisition of soft power takes dedication, integrity and years to accumulate. The loss of soft power will haunt the United States for years to come as it looks back and appreciates what it lost in the span of a few myopic years.
First published in Medium
ZZ/MNA