The fact that the West is supporting Saudi Arabia pretty much destroys any kind of credibility in the Middle East right away. I still remember how 15 of the 9/11 attackers came from Saudi Arabia but somehow major efforts were undertaken to pin it on Iraq.<p>At a minimum we should keep Saudi Arabia at a distance and stop selling weapons to them. I know there are a we billion dollars profit in that but I think the long term cost of this hypocrisy is enormous.
Saudi Arabia's Freedom House[1] score is 7/100. There are a few places that do worse but the only ones you've probably heard of are North Korea and the Sudans. Places that are significantly more free include Venezuela, Russia, China, and Iran.<p>[1]<a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2018" rel="nofollow">https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-...</a>
US imports of Saudi oil are way down.[1] About a quarter of peak. Between fracking, wind power, and solar, the US is in a very strong position with regard to the OPEC countries. It's time to pull the plug on the Middle East and let them sink back into the sand.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MTTIMUSSA2&f=M" rel="nofollow">https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=M...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37253" rel="nofollow">https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=37253</a>