Scott interviews Gareth Porter on his latest article for Middle East Eye, in which he explains that there’s enough pressure now, following the death of Jamal Khashoggi, for the United States to back down a little in our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Porter doesn’t imagine a drastic cutting of ties, but he is confident something will have to change. Unfortunately, too much of our foreign policy is controlled by interests in the arms industry, particularly drone bombers these days, for a little bit of public backlash to completely upend our presence in the Middle East.

Discussed on the show:

• “A chance for the US to distance itself from Saudi Arabia” (Middle East Eye)
• Jamal Khashoggi
• “Lockheed Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” (CorpWatch)
• Khobar Towers bombing
• “10/28/18 Lecture for the Committee for Responsible Foreign Policy” (Libertarian Institute)
• “The Crown Prince of Riyadh vs. The Crown Prince of Jihad” (War on the Rocks)
• “The Khashoggi Affair and the Future of Saudi Arabia” (Consortium News)

Gareth Porter is an investigative historian and journalist on the national security state, and author of Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare. Follow him on Twitter @GarethPorter and listen to Gareth’s previous appearances on the Scott Horton Show.

This episode of the Scott Horton Show is sponsored by: Kesslyn Runs, by Charles Featherstone; NoDev NoOps NoIT, by Hussein Badakhchani; The War State, by Mike Swanson; WallStreetWindow.com; Roberts and Roberts Brokerage Inc.; Zen Cash; Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom; ExpandDesigns.com/Scott; and LibertyStickers.com.

Check out Scott’s Patreon page.

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