Canada/Saudi Arabia tiff over human rights, guess who Trump backed?

Last night on Canadian National (news) I caught a story about Canada feuding with Saudi Arabia over the Canadian foreign minister speaking out against Saudi human rights. I didn't hear the whole story, Saudi was expelling the ambassador. So I went looking for the details, what was this about.

CNBC: The absence of a ‘strong US voice on human rights’ is fueling Saudi Arabia’s deepening rift with Canada, Middle East expert says

Quote:

President Donald Trump's administration is exacerbating an intensifying diplomatic row between Saudi Arabia and Canada by choosing not to stand up for democratic values around the world, according to a Middle East expert. Saudi Arabia and Canada are currently locked in a deepening feud over human rights. The war of words between the two countries stems back to a series of tweets from Canada's Foreign Ministry last week, when Ottawa expressed concern over arrested civil society activists in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh called the move a violation of its sovereignty and announced punitive measures against Ottawa, including the expulsion of the Canadian ambassador. "The broad contours of U.S. foreign policy, especially under President Donald Trump's administration, clearly signal decreased appetite to engage on foreign issues or support democratization efforts," Ayham Kamel, head of Eurasia Group's Middle East and North Africa practice, said in a research note published Monday. "Absent a strong U.S. voice on human rights and democratic values, Arab leaders have become less willing to tolerate Western advice on either political reform of governance," he added.

It has since exacerbated (good for you Canada)

Quote:

Canada has since doubled down over its push for the Middle Eastern country to "immediately release" arrested campaigners and activists. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has frozen all trade between the two countries, postponed all direct flights to Toronto via its state airliner and suspended scholarships for approximately 16,000 students studying in Canada.

And bad on us:

Quote:

In response to Ottawa and Riyadh's ongoing spat, the Trump administration issued its first statement on the matter on Monday — opting not to endorse Canada. "We have asked the government of Saudi Arabia for additional information on the detention of several activists," a State Department official said in a statement Monday, calling both Riyadh and Ottawa "close allies" of the U.S. In fact, Saudi Arabia is not a treaty ally of the U.S., while Canada — a member of NATO — is.

Remember Jared Kushner had some kind of BFF going on with the Saudi Crown Prince. It appeared Kushner gave some US intell over. After hanging out all night with the Prince, the Prince proceeded to purge all his competing family members. In other words Kushner probably told the Prince who those enemies inside the palace were.

Of course, it's likely the Saudi Prince is laughing his ass off behind Kushner's back:

Saudi Arabia's crown prince reportedly bragged about having Jared Kushner 'in his pocket' after being told classified information meant for Trump

Quote:

The top-secret information included US intelligence on Saudi royals opposing the crown prince, the report said. Shortly after meeting with Kushner, Salman began what has been described as a large-scale crackdown on corruption that has led to the arrests of more than 200 Saudi officials.

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/2OilhCH