Making Sense of Saudi Arabia’s Political Chaos

FEATURING MEDEA BENJAMIN – If you have been seeing the name Saudi Arabia in news headlines in recent days and are wondering what the fuss is all about, we’re about to explain it as best as we can.

Last weekend, Saudi Arabia’s 32-year old Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman surprised everyone by rounding up about 200 wealthy businessmen, princes, and government officials in an “anti-corruption” probe claiming that $100 billion had been misappropriated through embezzlement and other means over the past several years. The accused are being held at a hotel and their personal accounts frozen.

At the same time the Saudis ratcheted up tensions with Lebanon after that nation’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri inexplicably flew to the Saudi capital Riyadh and resigned from his position. The Saudi government then ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon and said it faced an effective declaration of war from Lebanon.

Saudi forces, with strong US backing and weapons have been waging a cruel and relentless war against their impoverished neighbor to the south, Yemen, for several years now.

Medea Benjamin, Co-founder of human rights group Global Exchange and the peace organization CODEPINK. She is a long-time political activist who has also written a number of books including Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of the Unjust, Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control and more.