BTRTN: Dancing Sheik to Sheik... Trump's U.S. Can't Take the Moral High Ground with MBS
Born To Run The Numbers on the absence of official U.S. moral outrage at the murder of a journalist:
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/10/btrtn-dancing-sheik-to-sheiktrumps-us.html
Excerpts: "This President is unable, unwilling, or frightened to bring the pressure of moral righteousness to bear on the Saudi Prince for this repulsive murder. Unable, perhaps, because weighing decisions and acting on the basis of moral and ethical imperatives is not part of the philosophy that guides Donald Trump’s existence. If you lead an amoral life, you never learn how to use a moral compass to guide your actions. Unwilling, perhaps, because in the purely transactional universe where Donald Trump lives, he literally does not see the value of raising a ruckus over one dead journalist when billions of dollars and his personal reputation are at stake, and when we have painted ourselves into a corner of the Middle East that leaves us absolutely no option but to cling to our relationship with Riyadh. Frightened, perhaps, because Donald Trump has conducted a great deal of personal business with the Saudis, and may even be exposed to violations of campaign finance laws with a second sovereign government. Because we have no access to Donald Trump’s taxes, we have no way of knowing the degree to which he is vulnerable to the pressure of exposure from the Saudis...
"Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman are in this together, each dancing with the person that brought them to the party. Neither of them seem capable – or interested -- of seeing an issue through a moral or ethical lens. Each appears eager to come up with a palatable reason why the world should just move on. Neither seems terribly concerned that courageous journalists all around the globe are getting a message: f--k with us and you could end up dismembered, and nobody is going to be held to account. That great nation that has judiciously exercised moral leadership in the world for decades? It is now just going to turn its head and hope the world forgets."
