Hussein Ibish

Well, I mean, yeah, well, I mean, MBS has learned. One of the big questions about him when he was a young, rash leader in, you know, beginning in 2015 when he came in as defense minister and a quick rise to where he is now, which is head of government, that is to say he's the prime minister. Saudi Arabia. So he runs the government.

And human rights issues became very serious in his early years with the arrest of the dissidents, the sort of adventure in Yemen that was ill-advised and badly done, to put it mildly, and also the jailing of Important people who are not perhaps on board fully with the changes, the reforms, the social liberalization, or other concerns that MBS had about them who were jailed at the Ritz-Carlton.

And human rights issues became very serious in his early years with the arrest of the dissidents, the sort of adventure in Yemen that was ill-advised and badly done, to put it mildly, and also the jailing of Important people who are not perhaps on board fully with the changes, the reforms, the social liberalization, or other concerns that MBS had about them who were jailed at the Ritz-Carlton.

And human rights issues became very serious in his early years with the arrest of the dissidents, the sort of adventure in Yemen that was ill-advised and badly done, to put it mildly, and also the jailing of Important people who are not perhaps on board fully with the changes, the reforms, the social liberalization, or other concerns that MBS had about them who were jailed at the Ritz-Carlton.

I was coming to that. That's the big enchilada, right, for many people, including me, because he was a friend of mine for 15 years. And I, you know, I was just, I'm still scarred by it. And I think I always will be. MBS, what we've learned about him is that He's not a sociopath in the sense that he's educable.

I was coming to that. That's the big enchilada, right, for many people, including me, because he was a friend of mine for 15 years. And I, you know, I was just, I'm still scarred by it. And I think I always will be. MBS, what we've learned about him is that He's not a sociopath in the sense that he's educable.

I was coming to that. That's the big enchilada, right, for many people, including me, because he was a friend of mine for 15 years. And I, you know, I was just, I'm still scarred by it. And I think I always will be. MBS, what we've learned about him is that He's not a sociopath in the sense that he's educable.

The question about him was always, is he young and rash and doing these things because he doesn't know better? Or is he kind of nuts? And the answer is no. He's educable. He's evolving. He's maturing. Saudi Arabia remains educable.

The question about him was always, is he young and rash and doing these things because he doesn't know better? Or is he kind of nuts? And the answer is no. He's educable. He's evolving. He's maturing. Saudi Arabia remains educable.

The question about him was always, is he young and rash and doing these things because he doesn't know better? Or is he kind of nuts? And the answer is no. He's educable. He's evolving. He's maturing. Saudi Arabia remains educable.

a real human rights violator from the point of view of human rights norms it executes a lot of people rule of law does not apply in the way we would expect dissidents when they are found when they exist suffer you know arrest and imprisonment and long sentences and even if they go as far as saying

a real human rights violator from the point of view of human rights norms it executes a lot of people rule of law does not apply in the way we would expect dissidents when they are found when they exist suffer you know arrest and imprisonment and long sentences and even if they go as far as saying

a real human rights violator from the point of view of human rights norms it executes a lot of people rule of law does not apply in the way we would expect dissidents when they are found when they exist suffer you know arrest and imprisonment and long sentences and even if they go as far as saying

parts of the country should secede or leave Saudi Arabia, they can be executed, and they are sometimes. So it's not a happy story on human rights at all, but it's just way better than it was. And there are certainly more alarming cases around the world. You couldn't really say that around the time of the murder of Jamal because Saudi Arabia was really one of the worst violators at that time.

parts of the country should secede or leave Saudi Arabia, they can be executed, and they are sometimes. So it's not a happy story on human rights at all, but it's just way better than it was. And there are certainly more alarming cases around the world. You couldn't really say that around the time of the murder of Jamal because Saudi Arabia was really one of the worst violators at that time.

parts of the country should secede or leave Saudi Arabia, they can be executed, and they are sometimes. So it's not a happy story on human rights at all, but it's just way better than it was. And there are certainly more alarming cases around the world. You couldn't really say that around the time of the murder of Jamal because Saudi Arabia was really one of the worst violators at that time.

And now I think it's almost back to normative Saudi behavior. Hardly a good standard. It's a very low bar, but it's very different than he was years ago.

And now I think it's almost back to normative Saudi behavior. Hardly a good standard. It's a very low bar, but it's very different than he was years ago.

And now I think it's almost back to normative Saudi behavior. Hardly a good standard. It's a very low bar, but it's very different than he was years ago.

Yes. I think he's trying to reduce American exposure and involvement in conflicts in the region. Not in the region, but in regional conflicts. So, for example, the lifting of sanctions on Syria is a response to Gulf countries saying to him, in effect, You say you want us to handle our problems, fine. We want to invest in Syria and build.