Saudi Leader Defies Threats to Isolate Him

“President Biden vowed during his quest for the White House to make the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, a ‘pariah’ over the killing and dismemberment of a dissident. He threatened the prince again last fall with ‘consequences’ for defying American wishes on oil policy,” the New York Times reports.

“Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator, called Prince Mohammed, the oil-rich kingdom’s de facto ruler, a ‘wrecking ball’ who could ‘never be a leader on the world stage.’ And Jay Monahan, the head of golf’s prestigious PGA Tour, suggested that players who joined a rival Saudi-backed league betrayed the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — carried out by hijackers who were mostly Saudi citizens.”

“Now, their words ring hollow.”