Opinion column by NR's Jonah Goldberg on the dilemma facing Western democracies when dealing with repressive states like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran. Pretty much a no win situation.
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The biggest mistake the Trump administration made in the Jamal Khashoggi case occurred while Khashoggi was still alive: letting Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, think he could get away with something so heinous — and so heinously stupid.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/...arabia-turkey/
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One of the more cynical talking points among those calling for new leadership in Saudi Arabia is the idea that reformers in backward authoritarian nations don’t do terrible things.
The shahs were reformers, supporting Western-style modernization and women’s rights. They were also brutal dictators.
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And there is a certain level of hypocrisy by some that lacks self awareness.
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Some of the most outraged American voices in the Khashoggi affair had no problem working with Iran’s brutal regime. The Obama echo chamber made realist arguments about the nature of reform under the mullahs, but these same people are now morally aghast at our realpolitik with the House of Saud.
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