(1) Question from @LarrySchweikart.
(2) King Salman was the Governor of Riyadh for 56 years. In that position, he developed connections to every high office in the country.
(3) Salman became defense minister and deputy crown prince in 2011.
His chief personal advisor was his son Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).
(4) MbS began attending cabinet meetings at the age of 12. He's a genius in all fields.
(5) I see MbS's hand in the way the Saudis are fighting in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.
(6) Salman became king in 2015, and he made MbS defense minister and deputy crown prince.
(7) Saudi politics WERE deeply rooted in family loyalty. The House of Saud WAS torn in two directions.
(8) Instead of choosing a family member as foreign minister, Salman chose the brilliant outsider Adel al-Jubeir, former ambassador to the US. 
(9) Al-Jubeir is a master diplomat, the classic iron fist in a velvet glove.
He's a friend of the Jewish people, one reason many opposed him.
Here he is with Rabbi Marc Schneider. 
(10) The Saudis fought an internal war against al-Qaeda in 2003. As a result, all the armed forces were revamped and integrated.
(11) Previously, the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) existed only to protect the House of Saud from coups. It has its own ministry.
The SANG, the army, and the Internal Security Forces now train jointly.
(12) A coup could happen at any moment.
But I'm sure it won't.
(13) As Deputy Crown Prince, MbS made surprise inspection tours of all the ministries, asking to see the books.
Then he fired everyone and replaced them on the spot.
(14) MbS hired young technocrats not connected with the family. They work 18-hour days.
These firings have made MbS wildly popular.
(15) Then this happened.
politico.com/magazine/story…
(16) For the first time in the history of the Middle East, leaders said, "We lied. What we did was wrong."
(17) Keep in mind that the CURRENT leadership didn't sponsor terrorism.
Their predecessors did. We've had two kings since 9/11.
(18) Then MbS visited Trump. 
(19) My guess is that he told Trump that the Saudis were going to roll up all the networks funneling money into US politics.
(20) And Trump said, "I'll support you 100 percent."
That's why there was such a lavish welcome for Trump in Saudi Arabia.
(21) Saudi money bought American politicians, BUT...
It was also a protection racket. The Saudis were beholden to us.
(22) What's happened is that the Saudis have BROKEN AWAY and become a full-fledged, independent state, NOT an American protectorate.
(23) The Saudis are inviting in the Chinese and the Russians. Previous American president pressured them to not do that.
Trump said, "It's YOUR country. Who are we to dictate?"
(24) While all of this was going on, Salman disbanded the religious police and began emancipating women.
(25) Salman also BROKE THE CHAIN OF SUCCESSION and made MbS crown prince.
(26) MbS is a HOLISTIC reformer-revolutionary. He reformed the military, and he's reforming the economy, social norms, and religion.
It's clear that the Gulf Cooperation Council funded Israeli weapon development.
(27) The GCC may have given Israel as much as $5 trillion. That's why we have completely unidentified weapons.
(28) A hypersonic attack jet. I was able to calculate the speed at Mach 4.5. 
(29) Kinetic bombardment.
Rods From God.
(30) And that doesn't even count the strategic special forces that the Saudis created.
They can win wars on their own.
(31) Part of this is pragmatism: The GCC is moving off oil, so it needs regional and internal stability to attract foreign investment.
(32) But part of it is a sincere desire for the region to get its act together and improve.
It's one of the most benighted regions in the world.
I think MbS sincerely wants improvement for its own sake. 
(33) With MbS as king, the Iranian mullahs will be forced to leave, one way or another.
But there will be no violent regional war.
And after the mullahs, Iran and Saudis Arabia will have a rapprochement.
(34) Also, the clash between Islam and non-Muslims is over.
Of course there will be a mopping up period, but as MbS said, the region wants to live as "normal countries."
That's an admission of a problem. Abnormality.
(35) MbS has promised that Saudi Arabia will be a responsible member of the international order.
I believe him...
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