House Of Ibn Saud Remains Under Intense Scrutiny
Pressure from the State Department in the United States regarding the Jamal Khashoggi murder has put Saudi Arabia’s monarchy into the spotlight, a position it tried to avoid for the last 12 months. With an increasing humanitarian crisis in Yemen as well as their fractured relationship with Qatar, the Kingdom of Ibn Saud is feeling the blow-back…which is coming straight from the highest levels of the U.S. government. But Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, stated that the relationship with Saudi Arabia is still “ironclad”. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia will prosecute the suspects in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “On the issue of extradition, the individuals are Saudi nationals. They’re detained in Saudi Arabia, and the investigation is in Saudi Arabia, and they will be prosecuted in Saudi Arabia,” he added. Meanwhile insiders close to the Saudi monarchy, have stated that Bin Salman’s recent purge of those he deemed “traitors” have made him unpopular in the private sector, a purge which saw numerous economists and advisors under house arrest and harsh acts of torture.
Bin Salman’s handling of the Yemen humanitarian crisis, the largest crisis in the world, is also another reason for the King’s recent suspicion of expulsion from his position. United Nations as well as many human rights organizations worldwide have tirelessly pressured the United States to advocate a more reasonable outcome. Nevertheless, the United States unremarkable relationship with the largest exporter of Salafist terrorism in the world remains, as Mattis previous stated, “ironclad.
