Transformation In The Kingdom

There was a Night of the Long Knives over the weekend in Saudi Arabia, and many people are being detained.

... Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind an anti-corruption crackdown in Saudi Arabia, claiming that its targets have been “milking” the kingdom for years.

Dozens of high profile princes, military leaders and ministers were arrested in the weekend purge soon after the creation of anti-graft commission headed by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing,” the US president, who is travelling in Asia, posted on Twitter. “Some of those they are harshly treating have been ‘milking’ their country for years!”

The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/06/donald-trump-saudi-arabia-corruption-crackdown-tweet

Then in Slate:

...Through what prism should we be looking at the latest developments in Saudi Arabia?

David Ottaway: Well, it looks like [MBS] [Prince Salman] is consolidating his power and making sure that there will be no obstacles to him becoming king when his father either dies or abdicates. His father is King Salman, and he’s 81 years old and not in very good health. So I see it as, first, a consolidation of power, but also a trend towards a new style of governance in Saudi Arabia where power is going to be concentrated in one person, whereas previously power was shared among a number of senior princes.

Is there an ideological angle to that new style?

I don’t think so. I don’t see any ideology, nor do I think that this is basically an effort to combat corruption inside the Saudi government. It’s been done under the name of this new anti-corruption committee or counsel, but I don’t think that’s what they’re getting at here...

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/interrogation/2017/11/what_s_behind_the_weekend_crackdown_in_saudi_arabia.html

This sounds suspiciously like the usual pablum we here in the USA receive: corruption.... bad!  We USA-ites don't have corruption on any level, so we just can't stand for it. Illegally detaining members of the royal family and ruling elite? Good... since they must have been corrupt, else they would not have been detained... and so on.

However, yesterday we read:

Saudi Arabia threatens Iran after Yemen missile strike
November 6, 2017

Saudi Arabia has ramped up threats to Iran, saying there will be a response “in the appropriate time and manner,” following a missile strike from neighboring Yemen, which has been under a nonstop bombardment campaign by a Saudi-led coalition for over two and a half years.

The coalition, which includes a number of Saudi Arabia’s vassal states under its command, said in a statement on Sunday that Iran was to blame for a Yemeni missile strike on Riyadh earlier in the day, presstv.com reported.

That missile was fired by the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which together with allied Yemeni army factions and tribal fighters has been fighting off the Saudi-led coalition. Riyadh and its allies accuse the Houthis of receiving financial and arms support from Iran. The Islamic Republic rejects the accusations, but is supportive of the Yemeni defensive campaign against the Saudi invasion.

The Saudi-led coalition went further in its Sunday statement, claiming that the Houthis were under Iran’s ‘direct command.’

“Therefore, the coalition’s command considers this a blatant act of military aggression by the Iranian regime, and could rise to be considered as an act of war against the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” it said, referring to the Yemeni missile strike. “The coalition command also affirms that the kingdom reserves its right to respond to Iran in the appropriate time and manner.”

Saudi Arabia has been pursuing an open warmongering policy toward Iran. Earlier this year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman threatened to move the ‘battle’ to Iran.
[emphasis mine, for I want you to be aware of just what this guy Salman is; i.e., a thoroughly bad actor.]

Obviously, such bellicose rhetoric has not remained unanswered. Iranian authorities have all along made sure that Saudi royals realize that aggression of any magnitude will be reciprocated.

The Saudi-led coalition invaded Yemen in March 2015 to reinstall a former regime that had been friendly to Saudi Arabia. It also imposed a land, aerial, and naval blockade on the already-impoverished country...

... This is while the US, under Trump, has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia 350 billion dollars in arms over a period of 10 years. A 110-billion-dollar tranche was scheduled for quicker delivery.

Iranian officials are yet to comment on the latest Saudi threat.

Shafaqna
http://en.shafaqna.com/nahjolbalaghah-imam-ali-instructions-family-little-martyrdom/

That's one answer: billions for weapons, but not one cent for children afflicted with cholera.
Another answer is to blame Iran.

In reality, many members of the extended royal family of Saudi Arabia were no longer on board with the 2 1/2 year failed war against fellow Muslims, a war which is making the Saudi resemble ISIS...

Welcome to the dinner table of Constant Warfare,Prince Salman! You are learning to attack fellow Muslims and arrest those of your family who do not agree with you. And you are entering into the full global Weaponized Society. The Prince is learning compulsion and force and violence. He is learning to ignore the words of 'Ali:

Until yesterday I was your Amir, today I am only an object from whom you can take lesson and warnings, and tomorrow I shall part company with you. If I survive this fatal wound I shall be at liberty to decide how to treat the man who attempted to kill me. If I die then my worldly life comes to an end. If I forgive my assassin then it will be to gain the Blessings of Allah for forgiving a person who has harmed you, and it will be a good deed if you also forgive him.

From now on, under the new "Westernized Weapons" Prince, Saudi Arabia will be transformed.

--

ps.
I mean, really, the praise of Trump should be an immediate red flag that something stinks about this whole affair.

pps.
How do I know of the disaffection of members of the royal family? Puh-lease! Our government already knows and probably some of the media. However, it does not fit in with our Story line.