Saudi Arabia’s prince is doing #damage_control
▻https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/saudi-arabias-prince-is-doing-damage-control/2017/11/16/e3710ba4-cb14-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html
The Hariri episode appears to have convinced Washington and Riyadh that their interests are better served by stability in Lebanon than instability, even though that approach requires some cooperation with Hezbollah, the dominant political faction. A Saudi official told me that the kingdom plans to work with the United States to support Lebanese institutions, such as the army, that can gradually reduce the power of Hezbollah and its patron, Iran. MBS seems to have recognized that combating Hezbollah is a long game, not a short one.