Saudi Arabia’s extremist monarchy is out of control, and the Trump Administration has proved unwilling or unable to rein it in.
This week, Saudi Arabia’s monarchy elevated as its heir Mohammed bin Salman – the man most responsible for the Saudi war and blockade in Yemen that has deliberately pushed Yemen to the brink of famine and ignited a deadly cholera outbreak across the country. [1]
Then, when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Saudi Arabia to articulate “reasonable and actionable” demands for ending its blockade of U.S. ally Qatar – which hosts the largest U.S. base in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia responded by demanding that Qatar shut down broadcaster Al Jazeera, expel non-Qataris from Qatar, stop funding other news outlets including Middle East Eye, and shut down Qatari diplomatic posts in Iran.
Left to its own devices, the Trump Administration is not going to save millions of Yemenis from Saudi-imposed famine. Saudi Arabia has defied the UN Security Council’s call for ceasefire. Congress must act.