[hutzlibu]

"they own the country after all."

They still need good relationships with the west. Open slavery would not be tolerated.

[tacomonstrous]

But it is already. Lots of otherwise heinous activities are tolerated just fine by the West. When was the last time the name Khashoggi found its way into Western mainstream media?

[NateEag]

I suspect it would, at least until the dependency on Middle Eastern oil is gone.

Humans are amazing at justifying actions. There's a whole school of ethical thought devoted to it (utilitarianism).