A relatively progressive and empathetic guy who will maybe one day allow women to hold driver's licenses if he can get it past the clerics. This is the guy who consolidated the oil ministry and the defense ministry into himself - and then blockaded and carpet-bombed Yemen. What does the BND say? - BERLIN—Germany’s foreign intelligence service warned about Saudi Arabia adopting a destabilizing role, in an unusual blunt criticism of the Gulf kingdom’s growing influence in the Arab world. “The previous cautious diplomatic stance of older leading members of the royal family is being replaced by an impulsive policy of intervention,” the German Intelligence Service, known by its German acronym BND, said in a memo distributed to journalists. How 'bout RBC? - "Saudi Arabia has ... strategically placed the ball back in the court of their regional archrival, Iran, and by extension, Iraq..It almost appears that Saudi Arabia has taken a page from the Frank Underwood playbook when it comes to managing the cartel relations." How 'bout Brookings? - "The handling of these three encounters among wary adversaries underscores trends already evident in Saudi foreign policy: the increasing centrality of Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s deputy crown prince and defense minister, in shaping Saudi strategy, and the audacity—even incaution—with which he approaches the strategic schism between the kingdom and Iran. " Let's be honest - when energy, economic and military policy are in the hands of one guy - and when the f'n Brookings Institution suggests that guy is the crazy one compared to Iran - things are about to get worse, not better.One former senior U.S. military officer who recently met with the prince says the royal told him he’s ready to let women drive but is waiting for the right moment to confront the conservative religious establishment, which dominates social and religious life.