Here's the thing: 🇸🇦 paying 🇺🇸 for protection is nothing new
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But even outside such a scenario, 🇸🇦 pays 🇺🇸 for protection.
history.state.gov/historicaldocu…
jstor.org/stable/4328102…
nytimes.com/1979/07/17/arc…
As the above chart shows, 🇸🇦 caught up with🇺🇸oil production...
A famous a-hole move:
duckofminerva.com/2019/03/asshol…
But by the 1980s? Well, Saudi willingness to make economic concessions for continued US protection was more clear.
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