Let's do another thread about Kushner/Khashoggi/MbS/Trump.

[THREAD]

1/ Overview
The 30something Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) became heir apparent in 2016. Although he began his regime with a series of modest if widely-publicized reforms, these were designed to disguise his true despotic aims.

2/ Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi journalist critical of MbS, who portrayed him as the tyrant he is at heart. For this, MbS had Khashoggi brutally murdered.

Jared Kushner is chummy with MbS. Donald Trump is a staunch supporter. Both men have ulterior motives for siding w/MbS.

3/ TIMELINE

April 2017
Charles Kushner, father of Jared Kushner, asks Qatar for a loan to bail out the troubled property at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The Qataris turn him down.

4/
June 2017
Saudi Arabia organizes a blockade of Qatar, a country where the US has a major military base. Kushner leads the extreme minority view in the West Wing to support the blockade. To the consternation of the State Department, Donald Trump praises the move.