Blowback on MBS from Khashoggi murder saved many other journalists, says expert

Blowback on MBS From Khashoggi Murder Saved Many Other Journalists, Says Expert | GZERO World

US-Saudi relations were strained after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the CIA says was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS. And he knows it was a risky move.

"I don't think that they will ever do anything like that again," says Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and MBS insider.

Still, he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, the regime will continue to be very repressive and authoritarian, doing things like mass executions of convicted terrorists from al-Qaeda and the Islamic State but also dissident Shiites.

Haykel says no one in the US will shed a tear for the former, but the latter "certainly did not deserve execution."

Watch the GZERO World episode: Saudi Arabia’s repressive power politics

More from GZERO Media

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks, on the day of the 114th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution, in Mexico City, Mexico November 20, 2024.

REUTERS/Raquel Cunha

The lower house of Mexico’s Congress approved the text of a constitutional proposal to scrap oversight bodies on Wednesday, a first step in the ruling Morena party’s goal of eliminating autonomous institutions and consolidating power.

World leaders assemble for a group photo at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on November 19, 2024. The gathering was overshadowed by Donald Trump's impending return to the White House.

REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

With Trump about to take power again, one of the world's most important multilateral gatherings was an exercise in cowardice and smallness.

Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party Pete Hoekstra speaks during the Michigan GOP's Election Night Party.
REUTERS/Emily Elconin

Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped former Michigan congressman and Netherlands ambassadorPete Hoekstra to be US ambassador to Canada.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony for the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 29, 2020.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Donald Trump’s election win has Canadian premiers worried about the future of free trade. Trump has promised to levy across-the-board tariffs of between 10 and 20%, but it’s unclear whether Canada would be included.

Striking Canada Post workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW).
REUTERS/Carlos Osorio

After years of struggles with their employer, Canada Post, posties in Canada have gone on strike as the holiday season settles in.

In this photo illustration, a Google Chrome logo seen displayed on a smartphone with a Google Logo in the background.
Reuters

The Department of Justice is fighting to force Google to sell off its Chrome browser in an antitrust action against the company.