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For more than half a century, the promotion of human rights has been a fundamental tenet of US foreign policy.
It’s been used to justify the US embargo of Cuba and sanctions against South Africa. Restoring democracy to Eastern Europe helped define US interests in the Cold War, and ending human rights abuses helped explain interventions in countries from Nicaragua to Iraq to Libya.
Saudi Arabia—an absolute monarchy with a hideous human rights record—has mostly escaped US censure, however. It’s no great mystery why: The kingdom is an enormous oil producer and has a huge influence over energy prices; it has been a reliable regional counterweight to Iran; and the Saudi royal family has ingratiated itself to many US politicians.
The disregard of Saudi Arabia’s abuses has long exposed the hypocrisy of the US government’s rhetoric: Human rights are to be championed, but only if it’s convenient. It’s a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
Suddenly, however, with the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, things have changed. US senators are demanding answers from their erstwhile ally. Florida Republican Marco Rubio declared the US’s credibility on human rights (paywall) was at stake “if we do not move forward and take swift action” over Khashoggi’s disappearance. It’s a line in the sand that ignores Saudi Arabia’s imprisonment of political dissenters, oppression of women, and war in Yemen, which may lead to the starvation of millions.
The difference, of course, is that Khashoggi’s death—now finally confirmed by the Saudis—has spun out like an episode of CSI:Istanbul. The grisly circumstances, the tantalizing details (a bone saw!) carefully doled out by Turkish leaks, the trail of evidence leading to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman: It’s all perfectly suited for a media-consuming American public weary of domestic elections. And, of course, Khashoggi was a journalist, so the US media is taking it personally.
If Khashoggi’s death is what forces Washington to confront who it’s been in bed with, so be it. But it’s sadly telling that in a country that elected a reality TV star as president, it takes a police procedural to set the human rights agenda. —Oliver Staley
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Our best wishes for a relaxing but thought-filled weekend. Please send any news, comments, used books, and bird sounds to hi@qz.com. You can follow us on Twitter here for updates throughout the day, or download our apps for iPhone and Android. Today’s Weekend Brief was edited by Steve Mollman and Sam Grobart.