...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
has said it is creating government bodies to boost oversight of its intelligence operations, in the wake of international outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder.
The kingdom has said Khashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate on October 2 in a "rogue operation" led by the then Deputy Intelligence Chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Royal Court Adviser Saud al-Qahtani, both of whom have been sacked.
King Salman
...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians....
subsequently ordered a restructuring of the main intelligence agency under the supervision of his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016....(MBS), who has faced global criticism over the journalist's murder even though the government denies he was involved.
A committee headed by the prince has approved the creation of three departments to ensure intelligence operations are in line with the national security policy, international human rights
...not to be confused with
individual rights,mind you...
law and "approved procedures", the official Saudi Press Agency said on Thursday.
The statement made no mention of Khashoggi.
Bessma Momani, professor of political science at the University of Waterloo, said the modifications were an attempt to shift attention away from the crown prince.
"I think the optics of reform are clear," she told Al Jazeera. "The message being portrayed here is that there are checks and balances in the system, that there is oversight, but frankly is doesn't really address a bigger cloud hanging over the crown prince, that he was implicated in ordering this murder of Khashoggi.
"The key issue doesn't go away, but I think the cosmetic restructuring is meant to try and deflect attention."
"The idea here is that these three departments are going to be overseen by this committee, and this committee is going to be the crown prince. It really is, I think, quite difficult to see it as a genuine effort."
The intense global backlash over Khashoggi's killing has tarnished the prince's international reputation and left the oil-rich kingdom diplomatically weakened, analysts say.
It has also cast a fresh spotlight on the Saudi-led conflict in Yemen, which is gripped by what the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.