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David Rothkopf Profile picture
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26 Feb, 4 tweets, 2 min read
I'm afraid that on this, I think the WH blinked. By not specifically sanctioning MBS they send the message that top officials worldwide have impunity in the eyes of the US. They also imply that we need the Saudis more than they need us...which is untrue. An error.
I should add that the Biden policy of exposing the truth and penalizing the Saudis is light-years better than Trump's effective defense of them and rewarding them despite abuses. But being better than Trump cannot become the "don't do stupid shit" of Biden foreign policy.
Having said that, the swift declassification of the Khashoggi report, the introduction of meaningful sanctions, the broader lessons drawn by the admin, and the communications regarding their rationale was handled extremely well.
We have professionals in charge, starting w/@POTUS. While we won't always agree with every nuance of their policy they are demonstrating they will act with intelligence, expertise, respect for process, respect for the law and with US national interests as their guiding priority.

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More from @djrothkopf

David Rothkopf Profile picture
27 Feb
A (v. brief) thread on the Biden Admin decision not to directly sanction MBS for his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi:

As I noted yesterday, I was disappointed in the fact that the admin did not impose more direct penalties on MBS for being the architect of the murder.
I did feel they generally handled the matter well otherwise, making a declassified version of the intel findings public, sanctioning Saudis close to MBS, launching a program penalizing others who persecute journalists and naming it after Khashoggi, respecting process, etc.
Not sanctioning MBS directly does send a message that top government officials who have interests that intersect with those of the US may act with impunity. It also suggested that the US so needed the Saudis that we dare not offend them by doing what is right.
Read 12 tweets
David Rothkopf Profile picture
14 Feb
When I wake up in an optimistic mood, despite yesterday's frustrating Senate outcome, I think that with each such exercise Trump is revealed more clearly, is pushed further into our past. We've had many Trump-free days since 1/20 & they are all better than the alternative.
No doubt he remains as do the malevolent fools who still do his bidding in the Senate, the House and elsewhere. But they have failed repeatedly politically, are ever-more tarnished, and are certain to be more so as the crimes of the past few years are revealed & prosecuted.
The mob remains, the threat remains and we must not be complacent about defeating it and every last vestige of it until it is gone. But with with the House Dem's victory in 2018, with Joe Biden & Kamala Harris' victory in Nov, with the small but growing GOP rejection of Trump...
Read 6 tweets
David Rothkopf Profile picture
13 Feb
I've written about this before, but I am haunted by the fact that Donald Trump occupied the same office as did George Washington, that this man with no scruples nor any value at all as human being was given the same responsibilities as one with such a code of honor.
And I feel the same way as I look at the Republicans in the US Senate and think that when one generation had its Hamiltons or Jeffersons or Madisons we have Hawley and Cruz and McConnell. The hopes and aspirations of the country are no less.
The challenges are if anything greater. And yet, our government is at risk as it has been seldom before in its history because it is so full of men and women of dubious character if they have any at all.
Read 9 tweets
David Rothkopf Profile picture
11 Feb
Many commentators are saying that the House impeachment managers case is so compelling and that it lays out the truth so clearly, that it will become the defining legacy of the Trump presidency. And face it, a president orchestrating a deadly coup attempt is a big deal.
But is it a bigger deal than the half a million who died of COVID, hundreds of thousands of whom would have lived had Trump not put his political interests before the public health of the US? Bigger than the massive economic crisis that accompanied that public health catastrophe?
Is it bigger than the fact that Trump was a traitor who sold out the country to Russia? Bigger than the fact that he was impeached twice? Bigger than the fact he separated families and put babies in cages? Bigger than his corruption, and nepotism?
Read 7 tweets
David Rothkopf Profile picture
5 Feb
I've said this before, but it bears repeating, the "centrists" of the past four decades have primarily served Wall Street and corporate interests, bought into "trickle down-lite" economics and fueled inequality. Their influence among Dems is fading because they hurt millions.
The party and the country have moved on from 80s, post-inflation crisis, macro, bond-market driven formulations, hyper-concern about deficits, focus on top line GDP and stock mkt performance to metrics like wages, income growth, inequality, and equity.
It's not that we've abandoned the center. It's just that we realized the "centrists" were serving the few and that we needed to focus on the economy through the eyes of all Americans, notably those left behind or disadvantaged for the past forty years.
Read 4 tweets
David Rothkopf Profile picture
4 Feb
As a trained foreign policy professional who has worked at a fairly high level on these issues in DC for nearly three decades, I would like to give you my in-depth assessment of @POTUS' foreign policy speech: It was excellent.
I will not be writing an article about the speech because, well, I don't have much more to say than that. @JoeBiden brings more high level foreign policy experience to the Oval Office than any of his predecessors. By far. And it shows. Experience matters.
He is fluent in the issues. He is well advised by an exceptionally good team. And he has not only a clear vision for America's role in the world but he seeks to restore the best of American values to our international actions and policies.
Read 8 tweets

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