By focusing on Joe Biden’s personal relations with the murderous Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the American media is missing the much larger story. The U.S., with Israel’s encouragement, could be forming a dangerous anti-Iran military alliance along with the Saudis. Such a Washington/Tel Aviv/Riyadh agreement, masquerading as a “regional security” deal, raises the danger of war and a regional nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

Observers are puzzled — and disturbed — at why the ‘Atlantic’ just published a long article that tries to rehabilitate the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

A superb and indispensable new book shows that Saudi Arabia is now a murderous, one-man dictatorship — with U.S. elite complicity. Ben Hubbard of the NYT shows how the Crown Prince has cracked down on all opposition within the royal family, almost certainly ordered Khashoggi’s murder, and meantime seduced much of the western media.