Mohammed Bin Salman Owes America More Than A Weapons Order

We know what Arabia was.  A land of warriors and a religious cadre, the Wahhabis.  The warriors gave way to the rulers enriched from soon discovered oil.  The Wahhabis could now spread the Salafist form of Islam far and wide.

In the short run, it worked marvelously.  In the long run cracks are beginning to show in this Islamic nation.  Where submission to ancient writings is valued over all else and where heresy is one of the most fearsome of charges, there can be little scientific progress.  There may be some room for scientific progress but it will come mostly from Muslims who have been exposed to western ideas by studying in western countries.

It would seem the Saudi ruler has become aware of this.  He wants to modernize his country.  That he has opened the way for Saudi women to be given the right to drive is an indication of this.  However, the fear and trepidations with which he has taken even this most tiny of steps shows clearly his concerns with changing his society too quickly.  And, these fears are very likely well founded.

This is where America might step in and offer a helping hand.  There are in our ranks trained individuals who have studied cultures and societies and who might offer ideas to the king as to how he might safely reshape his nation.

One idea might be to help moderate Islamic scholors review and recast the Hadith and the Sunna.  This might create an opening to a recast Sharia.  This won't be easy and it won't be fast.  A first step might be to fund some mosques in America to be led by progressive Islamic scholars.

Associations should be formed in this country where progressive imams can meet and discuss with one another and their members ideas as to how Islam can cooperate with Christian and Jewish institutions.  And, finally, such moderate institutions must reach out to Jews and end their war with Israel.  The Palestinians won't like that, but it's got to be.  If the king can end hatred towards Israel, much can be accomplished.

It's little enough to ask for our president's coverup of MBS's elimination of Khashoggi.

Khashoggi -- Casualty of Islamic Politics

Khashoggi was a believer in political Islamic.  His idea idea was to spread Islam by secular means.  He felt that the Muslim Brotherhood had the right idea.  Depending on whom he spoke to, Khashoggi would express admiration for the Muslim Brotherhood.  He had been a member.  However there were people with whom he'd speak and where he'd distance himself from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Khashoggi's views were unambiguous as to Turkey which he much admired.  They were equally unambiguous as to El-Sisi of Egypt who Khashoggi strongly disliked.  He was a Saudi citizen but felt strongly that Saudi Arabia should not involve itself in the ongoing struggle in Yemen.  This more than anything else, marked him as an enemy of Saudi Arabia and a supporter of Iran.

The brutal fighting in Yemen results from Iran trying to gain a foothold in that sorry state.  They supply the Houthis rebels with all sorts of weapons, starting with assault rifles and going up to rockets which have been fired against Saudi cities, as well as against an oil tanker passing through the Bar el Mandeb Strait, that separates Yemen from Africa. It is this strait that Iran seeks to control.

If Yemen were located in some other part of the world; say, somewhere in Africa, far from the  Strait,  it is unlikely the Iranians would give it a second thought.

Arab politics is no bean bag affair.  Think for a moment how Hamas and Arafat dealt with one another.  Think of how the Muslim Brotherhood was about to take over Egypt before el-Sisi and the Egyptian military entered the fray.  In a showdown between Khashoggi and Mohammad bin Salman, Khashoggi never stood a chance.  And from the American point of view that's a very good thing.  The last thing America needs is for Iran to control the Bar el Mandeb Strait.

Regrettably, the manner in which the Saudi ruler disposed of Khashaggi has left America, and, more specifically, President Trump, with a problem.  The Saudi ruler eliminated Khashoggi in such an amateurish way that it has become a public relation disaster for Trump.  If Mohammad bin Salman wants to bump off his enemies, he's got to begin taking lessons from Turkey's Erdogan, or Russia's Putin, or China's Xi, or even North Korea's  Kim Jong-Un.

As to Khashoggi being a reporter:  So too was Kim Philby, who was placed in Beirut as a reporter for several British papers by British Intelligence.  Russian intelligence is well known for its use of reporters to gather information.  But, of course, American reporters would never allow themselves to be used in that way.  Then again, Khashoggi wasn't an American.