Following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, there is a profound need for a fundamental rethink of U.S. policy toward the Middle East.
It is deeply ironic that continuing U.S. loyalty to the murderous Saudi princes is partially being justified with some instability in the world's oil market. That instability is largely the consequence of the ill-fated U.S. move to impose as many sanctions as possible on Iran.
By shutting Iran's access to the global oil market, the Trump administration is trying to get Iran's economy to crater. The hope is for regime change. Calling this policy approach a failure is not to put the ayatollahs' regime in any rosy light. One cannot do that. Rather, the point that must be made is that the Saudis are no better and, in some ways, even worse.
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