The author argues that the real character of Saudi Arabia's medieval kingdom is starting to surface in spite of favorable propaganda from the West's media machines. The rogue actions of their rulers might seem irrational, even suicidal given the propensity for secret agencies of the Empire to engage in regime change whenever their puppets go astray; however their hubris in defying the Empire might be because they know too many dirty secrets that the Empire's directorate can't have revealed.
The ruling family of Saudi Arabia used public wealth (generated from sales of public natural resources) and strategic alliances with some Western countries to create the Kingdom of virtual moderation. The alliance with the U.S. provided the Kingdom with diplomatic, military, and political covers that have helped it project power and influence far beyond its actual size. Importantly, it was able to cloak its genocidal sectarianism, conceal its abusive treatment of women and foreign workers, and escape any expectation of representative governance.