Major political shake up in Saudi Arabia; Kushner a player on behalf of U.S.

On 25, Kusner took an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia. Who Kushner met with was not disclosed to the media or otherwise made public at the time.

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner returned home Saturday from an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia — his third trip to the country this year.

Kushner left Washington, D.C., via commercial airline on Wednesday for the trip, which was not announced to the public, a White House official told POLITICO. He traveled separately from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who led a delegation to Riyadh last week to focus on combating terrorist financing.

The White House official would not say who Kushner met with in Saudi Arabia. But he has cultivated a relationship with the crown prince, Mohammad Bin Salman, who, like Kushner, is in his 30s. Kushner arrived back in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night in time for a surprise birthday dinner for his wife, Ivanka Trump, at the Trump International Hotel.

Less than two weeks after the visit, Saudi politics took an interesting, if not dangerous, turn. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, citing corruption, ordered the arrest of some of the country's most powerful and wealthy political elites. While corruption is the reason given, this is a clear power play and attempt to consolidate power.

But in one breathtaking stroke, the men were detained by the Saudi authorities in a purge that began Saturday night and swept up some of the most powerful and recognizable names in the country, including members of the Saudi royal family, cabinet ministers, titans of media and industry and former officials. The detainees included Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a wealthy investor who owns major stakes in such companies as Twitter and Citigroup, according to an associate of his family.

On Sunday, Saudi officials cast the arrests as the first shot in a battle against the country’s notorious and deeply rooted corruption, and as part of a broader effort by the country’s young and ambitious crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to refresh the stagnating Saudi state.  

For others, though, the detentions seemed more like the continuation of a process that had been accelerating over the past two years: the ruthless consolidation of power by the crown prince before his father, King Salman, dies or abdicates the throne. That process — which included eliminating critics and rivals, but also elite figures who presided over independent power centers — amounted to a radical restructuring of the Saudi order, analysts said.

What makes this dangerous is that many of the elites arrested were "intermediaries" between the regime and the people. These elites used their power and wealth to buy legitimacy for the regime. The Crown Prince's strategy going forward - how will he replace the role of the elites now detained - is unknown. Saudi Arabia ia powder keg. So here comes the comforting news: Kushner, with absolutely no experience in politics let alone foreign affairs, potentially played a role in making this happen.

MBS is emboldened by strong support from President Trump and his inner circle, who see him as a kindred disrupter of the status quo — at once a wealthy tycoon and a populist insurgent. It was probably no accident that last month, Jared Kushner, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, made a personal visit to Riyadh. The two princes are said to have stayed up until nearly 4 a.m. several nights, swapping stories and planning strategy.

The complexity of domestic politics in Saudi Arabia is off the charts, and the U.S. potentially dispatched a naive billionaire developer to help a member of the royal family consolidate power. Kushner should not even have security clearance, so he should definitely not be strategizing for the consolidation of power in Saudi Arabia. Coincidentally, another Saudi prince died in a helicopter crash hours ago.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/29/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-244291

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/saudi-arabia-detains-princes-ministers-and-billionaire-investor-in-extraordinary-purge/2017/11/05/ea0aa25c-c1fc-11e7-af84-d3e2ee4b2af1_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.3aba6492ed2d

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41881058

Of course there cannot be a Kushner thread without Russia getting a mention. At the beginning of the month.

Russia and Saudi Arabia 'sign $3bn arms deal' as King Salman visit shows how much relations have changed
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-king-salman-visit-saudi-arabia-moscow-vladimir-putin-a7985161.html

Kushner goes to Mideast
Saudi's report a rebel missile shot down by a US Patriot system
Saudi prince amkes a major move to consolidate power

Trump meeting with Putin about N Korea during Asia trip
(Chinese are going to love that)

Pay no attention to the Fake News


http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/politics/president-donald-trump-vladimir-putin-meeting/index.html

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 38m38 minutes ago
I have great confidence in King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing....

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 37m37 minutes ago
....Some of those they are harshly treating have been “milking” their country for years!

Fascists love fascists.

The war of Mideast influence between Saudi Arabia and Iran isn't going away.

Saudi Arabia is considering the missile attack an Iranian "Act of War".

A destablized Middle East and an arms race could be real life dress rehearsal for the next generation of US and Russian weapons. Its been 14 years since the last one when the US troops invaded Iraq.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/world/middleeast/yemen-saudi-iran-missile.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

All the Saudi unrest has oil prices up, which is why gas prices are jumping.

Seeking Backers for New Fund, Jared Kushner Turns to Middle East

But the Saudis are more interested, according to four people briefed on their continuing negotiations. The kingdom’s $450 billion Public Investment Fund is negotiating with Mr. Kushner over what could prove to be a sizable investment in his new firm, two of those people said.

In a brief phone call, Mr. Kushner declined to discuss his new firm, Affinity Partners, and it is not clear which other investors he has spoken to so far inside or outside the United States. According to a person familiar with the firm’s plans, Mr. Kushner hopes to raise an amount in the low billions of dollars by early next year.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/26/us/politics/kushner-investment-middle-east.html