Here is what the US is going to do about Saudi Arabia’s alleged murder of a dissident reporter at its consulate in Turkey: absolutely nothing. And here is what the US is going to do about the disappearance of the Interpol President in China: absolutely nothing. It’s entirely possible that President Trump or State Department officials will say negative things the rulers of those two countries and their brazen acts, but it’s not going to make a lick of difference.
And it’s not because the President doesn’t care (even though he really doesn’t) or because the American people don’t care (because we really don’t). It’s because we owe those countries one. Actually, we owe them billions and trillions. China and Saudi Arabia own vast amounts of US debt. In the case of Saudis, it’s about 168-BILLION dollars. We owe China the most of any other country at 1.17-TRILLION dollars.
There’s an old Biblical adage that “The borrower is slave to the lender”. And as globalization grows, so too does the power that “lending” countries have over “borrowing” countries. The weapons of the future may not be pilotless drones or satellites with nuclear weapons on them, but rather the simple threat of calling in debt.
Further complicating matters is that Saudi Arabia and China control large segments of the US economy. OPEC follows the Saudis’ lead. If they turn off the oil spigot, America is suddenly facing an energy crisis (although we are greatly increasing our own oil and natural gas production as a buffer against this threat). And China is the leading manufacturer of goods made in this country. Forget the impact of tariffs by the Chinese, consider instead the potential nationalization of those production facilities and the assembly lines being shut down.
Much like the Mutual Assured Destruction theory of nuclear weapons usage during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, such draconian measures by our bond-holders would do them as much damage as us. But holding that power in reserve makes countries like Saudi Arabia and China far less responsive to American demands for adhering to human rights and answering for their actions. It’s pretty tough to send out the warplanes and ships against the countries that helped you buy them.
