[careinke]

I wonder how many of those were actually just political opponents of the royal family?

This made me laugh. There are no political opponents in the KSA, it's a KINGDOM. The only elections they have are for minor advisory positions. It is not a democracy.

Enemies yes, political opponents no.

Peace

Even kings have opponents (often family members) and the running of the governments bureaucracy is politics in a different form then ours but political nonetheless.
Getting your head lopped off is one sure way to not get into office or a position of power.

Agreed, I wrote a much nicer and longer response explaining the power structure in the Kingdom and how it works. I spent more than a few years in Saudi, working with the military, which includes a lot of royalty.

Unfortunately, using the preview mode now seems to make my response disappear.

Peace

[AdamB]

August 14, 2022 — Riyadh (AFP)
Oil giant Saudi Aramco on Sunday unveiled record profits of $48.4 billion in the second quarter of 2022, after Russia's war in Ukraine and a post-pandemic surge in demand sent crude prices soaring.

Link

[theluckycountry]

Saudi Arabia sells oil in dollars, invests dollars in US bonds in US banks. Hide all bad acts under carpet, Saudi Arabia Good. Saudi Arabia talks to BRICS, talks to Putin, cuts production of its oil. Saudi Arabia Bad! Saudi Arabia Evil, Leader of Saudi Arabia deranged.

More than 500 retired U.S. military personnel — including scores of generals and admirals — have taken lucrative jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, mostly in countries known for human rights abuses and political repression, according to a Washington Post investigation.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, 15 retired U.S. generals and admirals have worked as paid consultants for the Defense Ministry since 2016. The ministry is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investig ... di-arabia/

Perhaps it was the US Generals advising on the war in Yemen? It sounds a lot like a US prosecuted war, carpet bombing and all that.

Beginning in March 2015, a coalition of Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia launched a campaign of economic isolation and air strikes against the Houthi insurgents, with U.S. logistical and intelligence support...

In 2016, the United States conducted an estimated 35 strikes in Yemen; in 2017, it conducted about 130. In April 2016, the United States deployed a small team of forces to advise and assist Saudi-led troops to retake territory from AQAP

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tra ... /war-yemen

Dirty hands dirty hands