Saudi intelligence official calls Mohammed Bin Salman a "psychopath with no empathy"

[NewYorkExpress]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/25/saudi-crown-prince-a-psychopath-says-exiled-intelligence-officer

A former senior Saudi intelligence officer has claimed that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a “psychopath with no empathy” who once boasted that he could kill the kingdom’s ruler at the time, King Abdullah, and replace him with his own father.

In an interview on US television, Saad Aljabri, who fled Saudi Arabia in May 2017 and is living in exile in Canada, also said he had been warned by an associate in 2018, after the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, that a Saudi hit team was heading to Canada to kill him.

Aljabri told 60 Minutes on CBS he was warned “don’t be in a proximity of any Saudi mission in Canada. Don’t go to the consulate. Don’t go to the embassy.” When he asked why, he said he was told “they dismembered the guy, they kill him. You are on the top of the list.”

Some details of the alleged murder plot, which were detailed in litigation in the US and Canada, have already been reported. But the 60 Minutes interview represents the first time Aljabri has publicly spoken about his break with Prince Mohammed.

He also spoke of the plight of his two youngest children, Sarah and Omar, who were arrested and are in prison in Saudi Arabia in what is widely seen as an attempt to force their father back to the country.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Serious question: what, substantively, does this description tell us about MbS that we didn't already know?

[Silent Hunter]

And considering how old King Abdullah was at the time, MbS didn't really need to murder him. Salman himself is 85. All he's got to do is wait a few years and he'll become King in his own right, which is when things will get really interesting.

[PSOL]

It’s clear there’s going to be a civil war after Salman’s death. What’s more, there’s going to be an invasion of the valuable eastern provinces into the UAE unless the Omanis don’t get in on the spoils.

[Silent Hunter]

It’s clear there’s going to be a civil war after Salman’s death. What’s more, there’s going to be an invasion of the valuable eastern provinces into the UAE unless the Omanis don’t get in on the spoils.

Why do you say that?

[PSOL]

It’s clear there’s going to be a civil war after Salman’s death. What’s more, there’s going to be an invasion of the valuable eastern provinces into the UAE unless the Omanis don’t get in on the spoils.

Why do you say that?

The various purges and hostile atmosphere; coupled with delusional spats with other gulf nations, failing military expeditions he spearheaded, and the megaproject proposals that are incredibly unrealistic has shown the world just how weak a position the Saudis are in. With the coronavirus pandemic sinking the economy and with their only response being just tying up the Saudi state into overvalued Tech stock, it really does seem like it just needs one final push after the current king is dead for the swords to be unsheathed.

Since 2014, the GCC has fallen apart with the UAE as the top dog who has saved the most face and has the better army. It’s only a matter of time now.

[CumbrianLefty]

The "imminent" implosion of KSA has been predicted many times before, though.

[PSOL]

The "imminent" implosion of KSA has been predicted many times before, though.

This time it’s really going to happen in the 2030s

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Clearly a fit and proper person to own an English football club!

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Clearly a fit and proper person to own an English football club!

A bit late to start applying standards for that distinction.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Clearly a fit and proper person to own an English football club!

A bit late to start applying standards for that distinction.

'The man is an actual murderer' is a line that had not been crossed before and probably was a useful one to maintain.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Clearly a fit and proper person to own an English football club!

A bit late to start applying standards for that distinction.

'The man is an actual murderer' is a line that had not been crossed before and probably was a useful one to maintain.

I wouldn't be quite so certain about that given the proliferation of Russian oligarch owners and if we count actions by states the UAE and Qatar have plenty of blood on their hands which in Qatar's case includes blood being shed to build soccer stadiums.

Not to mention arsenal accepted a 30 million dollar vanity sponsorhip from Rwanada(one of the worlds poorest countries) that was mostly driven by it's dictator Kagame being a fan of the team.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Huh, never would have guessed.

[CumbrianLefty]

Clearly a fit and proper person to own an English football club!

A bit late to start applying standards for that distinction.

'The man is an actual murderer' is a line that had not been crossed before and probably was a useful one to maintain.

I wouldn't be quite so certain about that given the proliferation of Russian oligarch owners and if we count actions by states the UAE and Qatar have plenty of blood on their hands which in Qatar's case includes blood being shed to build soccer stadiums.

Not to mention arsenal accepted a 30 million dollar vanity sponsorhip from Rwanada(one of the worlds poorest countries) that was mostly driven by it's dictator Kagame being a fan of the team.

Arsenal also had Alisher Usmanov, buddy of Islam "boil 'em alive" Karimov, as a major shareholder for several years.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

Clearly a fit and proper person to own an English football club!

A bit late to start applying standards for that distinction.

'The man is an actual murderer' is a line that had not been crossed before and probably was a useful one to maintain.

I wouldn't be quite so certain about that given the proliferation of Russian oligarch owners and if we count actions by states the UAE and Qatar have plenty of blood on their hands which in Qatar's case includes blood being shed to build soccer stadiums.

Not to mention arsenal accepted a 30 million dollar vanity sponsorhip from Rwanada(one of the worlds poorest countries) that was mostly driven by it's dictator Kagame being a fan of the team.

Arsenal also had Alisher Usmanov, buddy of Islam "boil 'em alive" Karimov, as a major shareholder for several years.

One pro of being a Liverpool fan is that your owners are a bunch of boring american billionares instead of dictatorial maniacs. Helps me feel less conflicted cheering.

[EastAnglianLefty]

People who take money from vicious despots or who care very little about the lives and working conditions of their employees are terrible human beings and should never have passed a fit and proper person test. (Nor should their predecessors, 'dodgy local businessmen who almost certainly owe money to organised crime', but they practically count as the good old days by now.)

Nevertheless, there is a qualitative difference between both groups and people who literally give orders that their political opponents should be dismembered.

[Secretary of State Liberal Hack]

People who take money from vicious despots or who care very little about the lives and working conditions of their employees are terrible human beings and should never have passed a fit and proper person test. (Nor should their predecessors, 'dodgy local businessmen who almost certainly owe money to organised crime', but they practically count as the good old days by now.)

Nevertheless, there is a qualitative difference between both groups and people who literally give orders that their political opponents should be dismembered.

Paul Kagame has been documented doing that multiple times, with public youtube videos where blatantly admits to having done that(Not to genocidaires but rather former allies who've criticized him). He was still allowed an arsenal sponsorship.

[EastAnglianLefty]

Yes, but sponsorship and ownership are not the same thing. It can be perfectly true that the governance of the Premier League is rotten and has been for years, and also be true that this marks a new low.

[All Along The Watchtower]

You say all that but have you considered that Saudi Arabia is an indispensable ally in the region

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

You say all that but have you considered that Saudi Arabia is an indispensable ally in the region

Besides, MbS says he's putting reforms in place! Now, we don't know what the reforms actually are (what are we supposed to do, learn about the place? Pshaw!), but they must be good; otherwise, he wouldn't call them reforms!

[All Along The Watchtower]

You say all that but have you considered that Saudi Arabia is an indispensable ally in the region

Besides, MbS says he's putting reforms in place! Now, we don't know what the reforms actually are (what are we supposed to do, learn about the place? Pshaw!), but they must be good; otherwise, he wouldn't call them reforms!

He's certainly been busy "reforming" Yemen, in a manner of speaking!

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

You say all that but have you considered that Saudi Arabia is an indispensable ally in the region

Besides, MbS says he's putting reforms in place! Now, we don't know what the reforms actually are (what are we supposed to do, learn about the place? Pshaw!), but they must be good; otherwise, he wouldn't call them reforms!

He's certainly been busy "reforming" Yemen, in a manner of speaking!

The Yemenis should have thought of that before they chose to violate Saudi Arabia's sovereignty by having people in their country who disagreed with the Saudis' regional policy goals.

[All Along The Watchtower]

You say all that but have you considered that Saudi Arabia is an indispensable ally in the region

Besides, MbS says he's putting reforms in place! Now, we don't know what the reforms actually are (what are we supposed to do, learn about the place? Pshaw!), but they must be good; otherwise, he wouldn't call them reforms!

He's certainly been busy "reforming" Yemen, in a manner of speaking!

The Yemenis should have thought of that before they chose to violate Saudi Arabia's sovereignty by having people in their country who disagreed with the Saudis' regional policy goals.

IRANIAN PROXIES SURROUND US

[Frodo]

Contrary to what most people think, being a psychopath even in that part of the world isn't a recommended prerequisite for even an absolute ruler.  Caligula, Nero, Caracalla (especially after having his brother and co-ruler murdered) and other Roman emperors I would describe as psychopaths generally didn't last too long before being assassinated.  

[CumbrianLefty]

Contrary to what most people think, being a psychopath even in that part of the world isn't a recommended prerequisite for even an absolute ruler.  Caligula, Nero, Caracalla (especially after having his brother and co-ruler murdered) and other Roman emperors I would describe as psychopaths generally didn't last too long before being assassinated.  

Commodus was arguably the "best" of those.