Behind the Bastards

Part Four: Prince Mohammed Bin Salman: The Tyrant of Saudi Arabia

January 29, 2026

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  • Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) consolidated absolute power by eliminating rivals like Mohammed bin Nayef (MBN) and neutralizing the religious police (Mutawa/Haya), despite simultaneously being the architect of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 
  • MBS gained initial public support by cracking down on the widely despised religious police and promising social liberalization, such as allowing women to drive, while simultaneously engaging in unpopular austerity measures against the populace. 
  • The consolidation of power culminated in the November 2017 Ritz-Carlton detentions, a mass shakedown operation where hundreds of powerful elites were forced to surrender assets under threat of psychological abuse or torture. 
  • Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) brutally punishes activists, such as cleric Salman Al-Auda and women's rights advocates like Loujain Al-Hathloul, who embrace social change or criticize the regime even shortly before MBS implements those same changes. 
  • The Ritz-Carlton detentions were conducted in a secretive manner, with vague accusations of espionage, resulting in punishments ranging from release to potential execution, highlighting the arbitrary nature of MBS's consolidation of power. 
  • MBS's personal enforcers, the Rapid Intervention Group overseen by Saud Al-Qatani, were responsible for the torture of activists and the assassination and dismemberment of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with training provided by a firm owned by Cerberus Capital Management. 
  • The Saudi-led coalition's actions in Yemen, including civilian strikes and the destruction of aid infrastructure, have resulted in catastrophic humanitarian consequences, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths and widespread dependence on relief. 

Segments

Recap and MBS’s Energy
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(00:00:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Mohammed bin Salman’s key advantage over older Saudi royals is his perceived energy and willingness to act decisively.
  • Summary: The episode resumes by recapping MBS’s actions, including the genocide in Yemen and the sidelining of Mohammed bin Nayef. The host compares MBS’s drive to that of actors willing to do anything for a role, suggesting his energy is a defining factor in his success within the royal family structure.
War on Religious Police
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(00:06:34)
  • Key Takeaway: MBS launched a war against the religious police (Mutawa/Haya) in 2016, capitalizing on widespread public frustration fueled by social media.
  • Summary: The religious police, responsible for enforcing vice and virtue, had become notorious for abuses, including causing deaths while chasing suspected rule-breakers. MBS banned them from stopping citizens in public, a move predecessors feared to attempt, gaining popular support from the under-30 demographic.
Economic Crisis and Austerity
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(00:17:05)
  • Key Takeaway: King Salman and MBS inherited a severe economic crisis due to collapsed oil prices, forcing cuts that slashed the average Saudi man’s income by 50%.
  • Summary: Oil revenue collapse led to a massive budget deficit, with the country estimated to run out of money within four years without cuts. Government benefits and subsidies were slashed, leading to public resentment, which forced the King to reverse the cuts via a royal decree in April 2017.
Silencing MBN and Power Consolidation
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(00:29:25)
  • Key Takeaway: MBS removed his primary internal rival, Mohammed bin Nayef (MBN), on June 21, 2017, by coercing his resignation under duress at a palace in Mecca.
  • Summary: Following the unpopular austerity measures, MBS neutralized MBN, who had criticized his policies, by denying him access to his guards and necessary painkillers. This action, combined with the earlier neutering of clerics and the deaths of other senior princes, completed a successful consolidation of power within two years.
The Line City Announcement
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(00:34:22)
  • Key Takeaway: MBS promoted the futuristic, $500 billion NEOM project, including the massive wall-city ‘The Line,’ at a major investment conference while ignoring the imprisonment of women activists who campaigned for the right to drive.
  • Summary: MBS played down Wahhabism and announced women would soon drive, positioning himself as a reformer to attract foreign investment. The Line was presented as a ‘civilizational leap’ involving a massive, climate-controlled wall city staffed by robots, reflecting a desire for futuristic aesthetics over addressing fundamental societal issues.
Ritz-Carlton Purge
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(00:46:02)
  • Key Takeaway: MBS launched a massive anti-corruption purge in November 2017, detaining hundreds of powerful elites, including billionaires, at the Ritz-Carlton to force them to sign over assets and solidify his absolute control.
  • Summary: This operation targeted royal family members and financiers whose wealth relied on state funds to cover bad investments, sending a clear message that no one was untouchable except MBS. Detentions involved psychological abuse and torture, serving as a major power consolidation move.
Jamal Khashoggi’s Fatal Mistake
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(00:48:42)
  • Key Takeaway: Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, initially a supporter of MBS’s reforms, was murdered after MBS authorized him to publicly report on the Prince’s modernization efforts, a move that proved fatal.
  • Summary: Khashoggi was an influential insider who had previously criticized religious hardliners and supported the initial reforms against the religious police. After being given permission by MBS to publish details of private reform discussions, he began speaking truth to power, leading to his eventual assassination.
Detention of Cleric Salman Al-Auda
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(00:55:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Cleric Salman Al-Auda was imprisoned for advocating for a constitutional monarchy, despite his past fundamentalism and recent progressive stance.
  • Summary: Salman Al-Auda, once an extremist, had become a popular progressive voice on social media, promoting upbeat messages about Islam and modern life. His downfall was embracing the idea of a constitutional monarchy, suggesting the government should listen to its people rather than solely follow the whims of Mohammed bin Salman and his father. He was arrested in September 2017 and has remained in solitary confinement, facing a potential death penalty.
Ritz-Carlton Crackdown Details
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(00:56:24)
  • Key Takeaway: The Ritz-Carlton detentions were vaguely justified by accusations of espionage and foreign intelligence activities, with specific outcomes ranging from release to execution.
  • Summary: The Saudi government publicized broad strokes of the Ritz-Carlton affair but never released a comprehensive list of names, vaguely accusing detainees of espionage for foreign parties. Consequences varied widely, including prison terms, home detention, or immediate release with a warning. Many detainees spent weeks held without formal charges, and some were certainly executed, though exact numbers are unknown.
Women’s Driving Ban Paradox
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(00:57:21)
  • Key Takeaway: MBS ended the ban on women driving while simultaneously torturing the very activists who campaigned for that right.
  • Summary: Saudi Arabia officially lifted the ban on women driving on June 24, 2018, leading Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to praise MBS. However, weeks prior, MBS’s police arrested at least seventeen women and men for campaigning to end the driving ban. Testimonies indicated some activists were subjected to electric shocks, flogging, and sexual harassment by interrogators.
MBS’s Control Over Progress
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(00:59:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Mohammed bin Salman demands credit for social progress, punishing anyone who embraces change before he officially sanctions it.
  • Summary: MBS’s attitude toward social progress involves doing the absolute minimum necessary while brutally punishing those who advocated for change ahead of his decree. This is exemplified by the PR push surrounding a Saudi female race car driver who was warned not to comment on women’s rights during a celebratory event. He requires public worship and gratitude for any concessions granted.
Loujain Al-Hathloul’s Activism and Torture
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(01:00:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Loujain Al-Hathloul was subjected to severe torture, including waterboarding and sexual harassment by the Rapid Intervention Group, after publicly challenging Saudi guardianship laws at the UN.
  • Summary: Loujain Al-Hathloul, initially arrested in 2014 for attempting to drive into Saudi Arabia, continued her activism against guardianship laws after her release. After directly calling out kingdom representatives at the UN for denying the existence of guardianship laws, she was kidnapped from Abu Dhabi and later swept up in the mass arrest just before the driving ban repeal. She was tortured by officers of the Rapid Intervention Group, including waterboarding, under the direct supervision of Saud Al-Qatani.
Jamal Khashoggi Assassination
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(01:02:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated and dismembered by MBS’s Rapid Intervention Group, whose operatives were trained by the US-based private security firm Tier One Group.
  • Summary: The operatives who murdered Jamal Khashoggi were members of the Rapid Intervention Group, the same unit used to torture activists. Khashoggi, who criticized the Ritz-Carlton detentions, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a team that included a coroner, indicating premeditated dismemberment. These operatives had received training in surveillance and marksmanship from Tier One Group, a mercenary firm owned by Cerberus Capital Management.
Yemen War Catastrophic Toll
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(01:06:35)
  • Key Takeaway: The Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen has caused catastrophic civilian death tolls and widespread famine by systematically destroying essential infrastructure.
  • Summary: Saudi strikes in Yemen have directly killed over 12,000 civilians, leading to only half of hospitals remaining operational. Naval blockades have cut off food and supplies, causing starvation, and a cholera epidemic afflicted 800,000 civilians. The Saudi-led coalition destroyed 130 bridges essential for humanitarian aid delivery, contributing to at least 233,000 civilian deaths in the civil war.