The one thing Obama dreamed of when he would be president, is absolute rule. We’ve talked (mostly me) about him being a child with a nine year old’s grasp of reality, and this is what a nine year old think. Wow, the president can do anything he wants. Well, in the real world he can’t. He does have a lot of power, but there are laws he must remain within.
This same rule applies to Saudi Arabia, not identically because they have a different form of government, but there are limits none the less.
If you’re king and you go against 40% of your populace that is your most ardent supporter, you don’t last long. There would be revolt, and the power religion holds over the populace over there, it’s more than mere politics.
Yes, I suppose you could ultimately cast blame on the leadership. I’m not convinced that’s as rewarding as you might think. I don’t think the leadership was involved.
Some folks think they were.
The opposition, including Al Qaeda and others, operate as a secret society, they run on oaths and stay out of what is in regular view of government and the general public. I would be willing to gamble that if someone stayed off the internet and/or phones in the planning as a terrorist, then not even the Saudis or the United States would really be able to do much, until the act was already committed. Exceptions exist such as whistleblowers, but still, even the most powerful cyber-intelligence has blind spots.