Why the U.S. and Saudi Arabia Are Suddenly Involved in a Tense Geopolitical Drama

Anxiety runs through the palaces of Saudi Arabia, where the expectation of permanent United States support has declined. The U.S. is putting its leverage on the table: A bill in the U.S. Congress to hold the Saudis liable for 9/11. It could mean large payments from Saudi holdings to compensate the victims of the attack. It might also mean that the 28 redacted pages of the Joint Congressional Inquiry on 9/11 could be released. What lies behind the black marks is not so hard to imagine—and if it were made public, it would introduce a shift in America's historical memory about a very painful episode, no small thing. Saudi Arabia will come off poorly if these are in the public domain. An emboldened Iran, a disparaged Saudi Arabia: this is not the geopolitical scenario King Salman would like to see. He had hoped for the opposite.