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Saudi Arabia's "Saturday Night Massacre" Might Play into U.S. Interests
(The Hill) John Hannah - Most of us have told our kids that the ends don't justify the means. But what if your objective is something as audacious as rapidly modernizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? What if your aim is to break the kingdom's support for the extremist form of Islam - known as Wahhabism - that has served as the essential source material for ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the jihadist ideology that American troops have been at war with since 9/11? How much centralization of power would you put up with to see that revolutionary program succeed? Saudi Arabia, however inadvertently, has played a greater role in fueling the rise of radical jihadism than any other country in the world. If successful, this revolutionary program to transform Saudi society would unambiguously serve U.S. interests. The writer, senior counselor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is former national security advisor to former Vice President Dick Cheney.