How M.B.S. Won Back Washington

"On Tuesday, President Trump fêted Saudi Arabia's leader, Mohammed bin Salman, at the White House, a symbol of the remarkable reputational turnaround that bin Salman, who is known as M.B.S., has managed in the past seven years. After a military flyover and a red-carpet greeting, Trump praised M.B.S. as a "very good friend"; the day before, he promised to sell F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia, despite concerns that doing so could lead to China gaining access to the technology."

"When M.B.S. ascended to power in 2017, he was lauded by some analysts as a reformer. His international standing crashed the following year, after the assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the Saudi government. (In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump raged at a reporter who asked a question about Khashoggi. "A lot of people didn't like that gentleman," Trump said. "Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen.")"

"But, over time, M.B.S. was reëmbraced by Washington. In the past several years, the Saudi government has invested in Western sports, including soccer, golf, and cricket, and M.B.S. has embarked domestically on a wide-ranging effort to loosen legal and social restrictions on women, while at the same time cracking down on dissent, imprisoning political rivals, and ramping up executions, many of which were carried out on foreign migrant workers charged with drug crimes."

Mohammed bin Salman received a high-profile reception at the White House, featuring a military flyover, red-carpet greeting, and public praise from President Trump, who called him a "very good friend" and pledged to sell F-35 jets despite concerns about potential Chinese access to the technology. M.B.S.'s international standing collapsed after the 2018 assassination of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents, and a 2021 report concluded the murder was carried out on his orders. Saudi Arabia has since invested in Western sports and enacted social reforms loosening restrictions on women while simultaneously cracking down on dissent, imprisoning rivals, and increasing executions, including of foreign migrant workers charged with drug crimes.

Read at The New Yorker