Sadly some service people have already died for Saudi Arabia in the Khobar Towers bombing (1996). The presence of American soldiers in Saudi Arabia was also the impetus behind the 9/11 bombings.

A foreign policy cynic could say that this deal changes little, because the U.S. already helps SA willingly, for example, we now help them bomb Yemen because we want to, rather than because we’re legally obligated to. But I find the idea that someone would want to codify this insane, and am surprised it isn’t bigger news.

I think you’re misunderstanding the meaning of the statement if you think safely regulations are written for union job security.

My trust in him dropped after being exposed to his activity on twitter. It seemed like he had a habit of trying to apply his knowledge to things he didn’t understand or where he was missing the point. I’m no longer on twitter and can’t remember specific examples, so it may have been more that that format did not work for him.