While reading conservative pundit Jennifer Rubin’s latest on the Kashoggi tragedy, in particular this part:
Trump told Fox Business Network on Wednesday: “We’re not going to walk away from Saudi Arabia. I don’t want to do that.” Is that because he foolishly built a Middle East policy based on a misreading of Saudi Arabia, or is it because he hates to walk away from Saudi money? In any event, he’s already signaling he doesn’t want to find out if Saudi leaders knew something. (“I hope that the king and the crown prince didn’t know about it. That’s a big factor in my eyes.”) Gosh, if he found out the unvarnished truth, he might have to react appropriately.
It occurred to me – as it did too many other Americans, I’m sure – if we weren’t addicted to oil and all of its products, this murder wouldn’t be such a tense drama for all concerned.
We’d conduct a due investigation, possibly in conjunction with Turkey, and, if as expected the Saudis are found to be responsible, we’d have a sane assessment of the best way to punish them. It might involve sanctions, it might involve demands that those who executed the deed be handed over for trial, and if President Trump was feeling particularly ballsy – which he wouldn’t even in this fantasy scenario – he’d demand those guilty of conspiracy also be handed over, even if that included Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
Instead, we find ourselves in a bit of a hard place because the Saudis supply a great deal of the oil we, and our allies, consume. Yes, there really are consequences if we try to punish our uneasy ally in the Middle East.
Yet, in my opinion, shirking that duty would have knock-on effects down the line as well. International assassinations would increase. Maybe they’d even knock off actual American citizens of some importance, rather than just American residents of foreign origin. How would we feel about that?
Well, it wouldn’t matter because we’ve already rolled over for the Saudis. At least until Trump is chased out of power. Then we’ll have the unpleasant task of rebuilding our moral position in the international order. Not that it was all the strong after the Bush debacle, but Trump is making it far, far worse.
All that said, I can’t help but notice that this is also a bit of a hit on free trade. One of the results of free trade in which transport is cheap, as it is now, is that nations tend to specialize in what they do well and efficiently, and let other industries fade away as other countries take over in those areas.
In the past, as many of my friend will attest, I’ve advocated for strong trade ties via free trade because I believe the chances of war are lessened when there’s so much to be gained through free trade.
But a situation in which we become dependent on that free trade, a term which may be almost oxymoronic in some ways, places us in unpleasant situations when a strong trade partner indulges in repellent, immoral behaviors – such as murdering journalists residing in other countries.
Free trade certainly has some advantages, but, at the national level, it can also have some distinct disadvantages. Something to keep in mind next time you’re debating free trade – it’s neither an unalloyed good or evil.
