Saudi Arabia’s influence over U.S. strategy runs deeper than most people realize, and Colonel Roxane Towner-Watkins returns to map out the hidden pressure points shaping today’s geopolitical landscape. She and Keith Malinak explore the unspoken leverage that keeps the U.S.–Saudi relationship locked in place, even as global alliances shift and domestic institutions crack under their own weight.

This conversation breaks down:

• How Saudi oil, military dependency, and historical power shape a quiet influence on Washington
• Why global alliances are shifting faster than the public sees
• How Venezuela’s instability connects to CIA operations, cartels, and regional pressure
• Why exploding drug boats signal something deeper than “drug enforcement”
• How institutional failures inside the FBI weaken American leverage abroad
• Why do global players like China use these fractures to accelerate their own strategy
• And how all these pressure points sit on one interconnected geopolitical board

Rather than walking through headlines, this episode connects the forces driving them: state power, covert influence, resource battles, and the hidden negotiations that shape the modern world.

Chapters:

• 00:00 – Thanksgiving, Headlines, and a Chaotic Week
•  02:33 – Arctic Frost and Surveillance Tech Concerns
•  08:18 – Venezuela’s Crisis and Regional Fallout
•  11:34 – CIA Influence and Power Players Inside Venezuela
•  18:16 – Drug Routes, Raids, and Hidden Operations
•  27:41 – Chemical Warfare Framed as “Drug Policy”
•  35:12 – Saudi Arabia’s Past and Violent Power Foundations
•  40:23 – Middle East Power Games and Shifting Deals
•  49:22 – MBS, Influence, and the Modern Saudi Equation
•  56:47 – FBI Failures and the Institutional Breakdown
•  01:24:46 – China, Colombia, Venezuela, and the Next U.S. Strategy Shift

Creators & Guests:

• Keith Malinak – Host
• Colonel Roxane Towner-Watkins – Guest
• Produced by 2nd Floor Studios (Dallas, TX)

Guest Links:

Colonel Roxane Towner-Watkins (Twitter): https://twitter.com/@ColonelTowner

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/at-the-mic-with-keith-malinak2022/donations