Quote Originally Posted by drone View Post
Judging from the disconnect between Tillerson and Trump, it looks to me like the Saudis manipulated Trump into giving them the go ahead for this during his visit. Had he consulted with Tillerson (or better yet Mattis), maybe he would have realized that blockading a country in a strategic location hosting 10K US military personnel might be a bad thing.

A nice template for any future foreign presidential trips, throw a lavish bash and you can probably con him into doing anything for you.
Read a story somewhere about the Chinese Communists and Nationalists chasing some millionaire's money to fund their war. The Nationalists gave a lavish bash with no expenses spared, while the Communists gave him a bowl of rice with salted vegetables. The millionaire opted for the Communists. Probably a proverbial story concocted by Mao's supporters, with shades of the tomb of Cyrus (supposedly sparsely fitted as befitting a warrior, but decidedly unbefitting archaeological evidence).