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Update: top Saudi official issued "death threat" against UN official investigating Khashoggi's murder


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9 minutes ago, SFLUFAN said:

My thought exercise is how would a theoretical Clinton administration attempt to weasel out of this one.

 

We know it wouldn't be nearly as ham-fisted as the Imbecile-in-Chief, but there is little doubt in my mind the the general trajectory of US policy vis-a-vis Saudi Arabia would more or less remain the same because that "devil's bargain" with the House of Saud transcends political parties.

 

You're discounting whether Saudi would have been this bold under a Clinton presidency, though. 

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19 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

 

Except now Trump won't even do any sanctions symbolically or otherwise.

We did "sanction" 17 Saudis connected to the case, so that's "something".

13 minutes ago, Jason said:

 

You're discounting whether Saudi would have been this bold under a Clinton presidency, though. 

While that is absolutely true, I'm speaking on a purely theoretical level that the Saudis decided to "go off the reservation".

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11 hours ago, SFLUFAN said:

If they are genuinely serious about punishing Saudi Arabia, then they have to explain to the American public the very real economic and security consequences of taking on the House of Saud.

Are most people even capable of understanding said explanation, though, in any real sense?  98% of the nation has lived its entire life with the dollar as the global reserve currency and all its attendant privileges, most of them just assuming it has that status because ‘America is the bestest!’ and not for any particular, historically contingent  economic reasons...can they even envision a world where it’s not, and all the consequences of the fall of King Dollar?  I’m doubtful.

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39 minutes ago, Signifyin(g)Monkey said:

Are most people even capable of understanding said explanation, though, in any real sense?  98% of the nation has lived its entire life with the dollar as the global reserve currency and all its attendant privileges, most of them just assuming it has that status because ‘America is the bestest!’ and not for any particular, historically contingent  economic reasons...can they even envision a world where it’s not, and all the consequences of the fall of King Dollar?  I’m doubtful.

No, they're not, but at least they can't say they weren't warned :p

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1 hour ago, Signifyin(g)Monkey said:

Are most people even capable of understanding said explanation, though, in any real sense?  98% of the nation has lived its entire life with the dollar as the global reserve currency and all its attendant privileges, most of them just assuming it has that status because ‘America is the bestest!’ and not for any particular, historically contingent  economic reasons...can they even envision a world where it’s not, and all the consequences of the fall of King Dollar?  I’m doubtful.

 

For those of us with only a rudimentary understanding of the US-Saudi alliance and all it entails, what would be the cliff notes consequences that would happen if the US split from Saudi Arabia and the Saudis did their worst?

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7 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

For those of us with only a rudimentary understanding of the US-Saudi alliance and all it entails, what would be the cliff notes consequences that would happen if the US split from Saudi Arabia and the Saudis did their worst?

(1) The Saudis could cause a significant disruption in the world oil markets by enacting an embargo on the United States.  Of course, this will hurt the Saudis, but it could be somewhat made up for with increased sales to China and India (at a discount, of course).  In the near-term, this would be a significant economic shock to the United States.

 

(2) The Saudis could instruct the imams at their Salafist/Wahhabist madrassas to issue jihad fatwas that would target American interests in the Muslim world.

 

(3) The Saudis could begin divesting themselves of US dollar-based investments that their sovereign wealth fund has been involved in.

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30 minutes ago, SFLUFAN said:

(1) The Saudis could cause a significant disruption in the world oil markets by enacting an embargo on the United States.  Of course, this will hurt the Saudis, but it could be somewhat made up for with increased sales to China and India (at a discount, of course).  In the near-term, this would be a significant economic shock to the United States.

 

(2) The Saudis could instruct the imams at their Salafist/Wahhabist madrassas to issue jihad fatwas that would target American interests in the Muslim world.

 

(3) The Saudis could begin divesting themselves of US dollar-based investments that their sovereign wealth fund has been involved in.

 

So this would provide a pretty sever economic disruption in the short-term, but wouldn't the US be fine in the medium and long term, especially as it would spur more US oil development?

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1 minute ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

So this would provide a pretty sever economic disruption in the short-term, but wouldn't the US be fine in the medium and long term, especially as it would spur more US oil development?

That's correct, but since when have Americans been willing endure any "pain", even in the short-term?

 

It would also benefit you all a lot too, eh? :p

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3 minutes ago, SFLUFAN said:

That's correct, but since when have Americans been willing endure any "pain", even in the short-term?

 

It would also benefit you all a lot too, eh? :p

 

Oh definitely! Canada's oil industry is in the biggest crisis of it's history due to a massive oversupply resulting from US refinery shutdowns. There is talk of legislation mandating reduction in production.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/us-saudi-arabia-sign-2415b-missile-defense-system-deal/vi-BBQgqjz

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The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have officially inked a deal for a $15 billion missile defense system. It's a major step forward in an agreement that was finalized last year . Saudi Arabia will buy 44 of Lockheed Martin's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, launchers, missiles and other equipment, which is meant to help boost Saudi Arabia's security against Iran and other threats in the region. This advancement comes amid sharp criticism of...

 

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