>No question that how America behaves in this regards affects how the Saudies or Yemenis or anyone else behaves, but what it does affect is America's ability to take the moral high ground.

What high ground? All the contracts with the American American tribes were broken, they were forced off their land (by the Brits, and then by the Republic all the same), the injustice was never rectified. None of the legendary robber barons have been arrested or shot, nor was the loot distributed back to the victims. And then there's the private banks (aka FED) ruling the economy with zero accountability. Should I mention September 11th (1973!), for which there wasn't any apology to the people of Chile, not to mention dismissal of the debts Pinochet piled up... or the Iran/contra affair...
So... what high ground? The US are always willingly participating in this kind of agenda and readily taking the odium for it. And people keep electing the same party (either side of the same coin) over and over. Just like we deserved Milo[s caron]evi[c acute]. So it goes.