Cú Chulainn

3/ Note how Emmons cites multiple sources, including a "U.S. intelligence official," "a source close to the Emirati royal family," and "another source who is close to the Saudi royal family."pic.twitter.com/Ob7Ri8yF41

4/ Compare this sourced report to speculation pushed by @Maddow , who has suggested that Putin was responsible both for Tillerson's hiring, and then months later, his firing: (https://twitter.com/aaronjmate/status/975067578946211840 …). Btw, to speculate re: hiring, the New Yorker's reporting had to be ignored:pic.twitter.com/sXypHy1wvm

6/ When I spoke recently to Rep. @RoKhanna , he said Saudi lobbying/influence in DC makes it all the more difficult to stop US support for the attack on Yemen: https://theintercept.com/2018/08/01/rex-tillerson-qatar-saudi-uae/ …pic.twitter.com/n016K8fzX4

7/ But note also this isn't just a Trump story. "No president since Franklin Roosevelt courted Saudi Arabia as zealously as did Obama," authorizing "more arms sales than any other U.S. President" as "a way to placate the Saudis" for the Iran nuclear deal. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/22/how-the-us-is-making-the-war-in-yemen-worse …pic.twitter.com/5yFWA7QvaH

8/ Another way to "placate" Saudi was for Obama to "[give] his approval" for US support of the attack on Yemen. In WH, "there was little real debate," despite "concerns... that the Saudi-led offensive would be long, bloody and indecisive." (fair concerns) https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/world/middleeast/yemen-saudi-us.html …pic.twitter.com/BToyTRW49t

9/ As death count piled up, Obama "officials tried to help the Saudis improve their targeting" via an "expanded" and "broadened" target list; they also "wanted to help... implement ways of investigating" to "avoid the same kind of thing happening again." https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/22/how-the-us-is-making-the-war-in-yemen-worse …pic.twitter.com/dHXQ7DXHai