Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Articles & Testimony
With friends like these in Washington, no wonder the crown prince believes he can get away with outrageous actions.
If the crown prince or anybody else in his government is responsible, they clearly believed Saudi Arabia could get away with Khashoggi’s abduction and killing without U.S. disapproval. There is a reason for that: MBS has developed such a close relationship with the Trump administration that he has gotten almost everything from it that he wants. In his mind, he may have concluded that, as far as U.S. policy goes, he can act with impunity. His tightest relationship is with Jared Kushner...
