I wouldn’t be even remotely surprised if the government of Saudi Arabia collapses before 2030.
Saudi Arabia’s terrified Crown Prince has been forced into hiding as Houthi rebels continue to hit Riyadh with deadly missile strikes, a report has claimed. Mohammed bin Salman, 41, has for the past six days been moving between heavily guarded palaces with bunkers, according to officials.
On Saturday, the Kingdom was struck by its deadliest attack in a decade when a projectile hit King Khalid International Airport, killing 13 and injuring hundreds. The Saudi capital’s airport was struck again yesterday, leaving one dead and 11 injured.
After this serious escalation in the war between the Saudi-led coalition government and Iran-backed Houthi fighters, Donald Trump warned the US could intervene.
How is the US going to intervene? The US military can’t do a damn thing to stop missile strikes; it has already been driven from 18 military bases in the Gulf. Perhaps if laser air-defense systems can be developed rapidly, something can be done at some point in the future, but as it stands, even a small, impoverished missile-equipped force can deal out more damage to a wealthy, well-equipped military than it can stand.
Now it should be very clear why the Russians have been proceeding so slowly, and cautiously, in their slow advance across Ukraine. In doing so, they have successfully neutralized the punishment that the US bases took in the Gulf and which Saudi Arabia is just beginning to be subjected.
The Arab governments are not real nations. They are artificial constructs imposed upon various Arab tribes by their former French and British occupiers. As such, they are considerably more fragile than most people commonly suppose. And given their role in maintaining the petrodollar, it is not in the interest of China, Russia, Iran, or any of the BRICS states to protect them.