The big question for me is: why now?

You can have your own list of equivalent or worse actions by several allies.

So what triggered the recent reaction?

The Washington Post suggests that it’s because it humanized the action. A lone journalist — a writer whom we may have read — attacked in a brutal fashion.

But what no one mentions is that his uncle was a famous billionaire and his cousin was Dodi al Fayed.

Surely he has powerful family members who are outraged and connected.

The only problem with this theory is that the same might have been said of Bin Talal and nobody blinked at his arrest.