Written by Michael Thervil
Photo by Britannica
There are deals, then there are deals on the table that are structured to save one's own ass and that’s exactly what Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is doing at the current moment with America. In the Arab world, it has been long known that Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is afraid of being assassinated; and rightfully so. The crown Prince of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is currently in talks with America in terms of securing a NATO-like deal that is akin to what is known as “Article 5 Protection’. Article 5 protection in a nutshell is granted to countries that are mutually aligned with other NATO countries that provide military protection if they are attacked by another country for whatever reason.
In the case of Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, he is looking to secure unconditional military protection by the Americans just in case he faces an assassination attempt by another country in the region. Why? Because of his inclination to normalize geopolitical relations with Israel combined with his promise to buy more American made weapons. With the vast majority of Saudi Arabia against the normalization of relations with Israel, in conjunction with being seen as a puppet to be used by the United States, combined with the silent distain amongst Saudis because of their fear of being jailed or executed for expressing opposing views; these are more than enough reason for Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud to fear being assassinated.
Even more than that, the silent heightened public disdain towards Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud also stems not only from his lack of a response towards Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people; but because it’s has been discovered that he has been utilizing the Israeli/Palestinian war to benefit his own security needs. Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is also facing animosity from the Saudi Press, Media, and news outlets because of the jailing of workers and people who express opposing views.
The last head of state in the region that normalized diplomatic relations with Israel was Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who was assassinated in 1981. But more than being assassinated, Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud fears chaos and instability in Saudi Arabia which would significantly increase the chance of him being assassinated either by extremist, terrorist or by one of the average citizens in Saudi Arabia under his rule.
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