25,
May 2020 A former Saudi chief’s dilemma
A prominent Saudi
official is hiding abroad fearful what might happen to him if he returns home. Saad Aljabri, a former intelligence chief, fled abroad
when he ran afoul of the de facto Saudi ruler commonly known as MBS. The Saudi
prince wants him to return home concerned that the secrets he posses might compromise
the security or embarrass the Kingdom. He was one of Saudi Arabia’s top
intelligence officers, an expert in artificial intelligence who played a major
role in the kingdom’s fight against Al Qaeda and served as a security liaison
with the United States.
But Saad’s career
ended abruptly during a power struggle between two powerful princes over who
would rule the Kingdom.
Shortly after this
fallout he fled to Canada resisting pressures to return home terrified he might
be the next “Khashoggi” victim. Each country seems to have their favorite
recipes for eliminating political opponents. Russian dissidents conveniently
fall off tall buildings while MBS’s political opponents are locked up in hotel
rooms until they pledge fealty to the ruler and handed over their riches. Those
who resist are often subject to flogging, disappearances or dismemberment. MBS deserves a special place in Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors.
Unable
to persuade Saad to return to home, the Kingdom has turned their attention to
his two sons and his brother holding them incommunicado and freezing their bank
accounts.
MBS
is especially nervous what state secrets Saad might have shared with his main
primary American interlocutors, the CIA. American intelligence experts said the
Saad’s former employer, the Saudi Interior Ministry vast surveillance network
was a treasure trove of the kingdom’s dark secrets. However, all these
activities do not seem to dissuade the Trump administration, the Russians,
Chinese and other governments in negotiating trade deals with the Saudi Kingdom.
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