December 11, 2018 "Information Clearing House" -     There were two big stories in US news media last week. The state funeral of former President George HW Bush; and the increasing moves by Congress to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia.

Yet, as far as mainstream media coverage was concerned, the two stories appeared completely unrelated. Except, in reality, they intimately connected. It was George Bush Senior as the director of the CIA who brought the US and Saudi Arabia into close partnership for global repression.

Since the brutal murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, there has been a growing disgust among US public, the media and lawmakers with the despotism of the House of Saud, in particular Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom. He is accused of ordering the heinous killing of Khashoggi, whose body was hacked to pieces and disposed of, according to Turkish investigators. Even the CIA has pointed fingers at the Crown Prince.

US Senators last week introduced a resolution calling for the heir to the Saudi throne to be held to account over the murder. The senators are also calling for an end to the horrendous Yemeni war and the Saudi-led blockade of neighboring Gulf state Qatar, events which the Crown Prince has personally directed.