Saudi Arabia’s various versions of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi all center on one vital point, that the crown prince knew nothing and was totally uninvolved. A new report in Turkish media is threatening to blow this report wide open.
Turkey’s Yeni Safak, which has broken previous information on the case, says that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the consulate and spoke to Khashoggi by phone immediately before his murder.
The report cites Turkish officials as saying Khashoggi was detained by the 15-man kill team, at which point the prince called and “offered” to let him return to Riyadh. Khashoggi refused, unsurprisingly. He was killed almost immediately thereafter by the kill team.
Saudi officials had been trying to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia for years, offering him high-profile jobs. Khashoggi had confided in others that he was sure he’d be murdered if he returned to Saudi Arabia, and that they’d never keep their promises of safety.
If the crown prince made that call at that particular moment, while a team with a lot of his closest contacts “detaining” Khashoggi, that would be a substantial reason to believe that he was involved in the scheme, and knew what happened. It’s the one thing the Saudis dare not admit to, but seems increasingly certain whether they admit to it or not.
Nah, I dunno. I’m still pretty sure that Iran did it. 🙄
No way, it was totally Putin.
While there is no doubt that Saudi Arabia organized this spectacle to finally get some real attention — thus obsession with soap opera “what Prince knew” is childish. He is the head of givernment and this business concerns the act of State, not playing games of fhrones. Really, Prince had nothing better to do but personally to attend to the issue of a minor irritant in the person of a minor journalist that most prople never heard of before he was so spectaclularly kilked.
The more shocking news is, why? Why did Saudi Arabia decide to create such a spectacle knowing full well that the large show performed in the consulate coukd not possibly go unnoticed.
Another why. Why did Saudi Arabia seem to offer a story, and then decided to muddle it up? If it stuck to the same story, Trump would have accepted it, Congress and media would have performed the usual theatrics of outrage, and Saudis some contrition — all done. But it is not the case, as Saudis must have something else in mind. They are dragging this, willing to force US into escallation. Knowing that the regime change crowd that was unhappy ever since MbS was appointed — was going to come out in force. This will eventually undermine Trump good cop role, and the deterioration will be on its way. Basically if Saudis wanted it — the crisis would have been defused.
The real issue now is hiw strong is Saudi internal political structure, and what is exactly the reason they need a bit of a distance from US. There are many potential candidates — Yemen, Iran, Syria, oil price, Qatar, oil trade with China in gold yuan, etc.
Every time things get murkier, means Saudis are not happy with the deal yet. Or they do not want a deal, leaving relationship in limbo. Any premature escallation on Trump’s part may be a mistake. Demonization of leaders does not work — just the opposite. Plenty of examples in the region. Trump should stick with Iran did it, and Congress — Putin did it personally. Or may be Erdogan did it, trying to sully the reputation of our good ally.
“The real issue now is hiw strong is Saudi internal political structure ….” ????!!!!
Saudi Arabia is a family owned gas station masquerading as a country with no constitution and not even a real name (it is like calling USA as the United States of Trump or the United Kingdom of May). Then consider that a young and impulsive MbS who lacks both experience and wisdom is the defect ruler.
Hillary got Khadafy killed and that was worse than this murder.
Obama got Ghaddafi killed. The witch might have had convinced him to do it, but he was still responsible.
Phone records exist somewhere, probably lots of places. All we need to confirm this 99% is to find out if a call did come into the consulate from where MBS was at that time. Highly incriminating… so much for this “ally” having come clean.
As US-Saudi relations head south, the two world leaders in oil exports, KSA and Russia, are improving their relations with Russia moving closer to Saudi Arabia diplomatically. The tentative formation of OPEC+ (non-OPEC exporters) will be extended indefinitely, with Russia in charge, cooperating with the Saudi-led OPEC as described here.
This move, along with other recent developments in the Middle East, will do nothing to strengthen the Carter Doctrine which has governed US behavior in that part of the world for almost forty years.
wiki – Carter Doctrine
That’s always the dilemma of tyrants. On the one hand they run everything, are involved in everything, decide everything. But when it hits the fan they want to pretend they don’t know a thing. Doesn’t work that way. If you hunger for absolute power and have it, deal with the consequences.
Since the “dissident journalist” knew the danger it seems pretty stupid to go to the Saudi embassy. After all, a marriage at the age of sixty is not exactly an obligation these days to live with a person of the opposite sex (or the same sex, of course)in the “free world”.
The “dissident journalist” was actually a Saudi insider who was a long-time Saudi and Wahabbi (and ISIS head-chopper) backer, involved in many foreign affairs, and as a recent convert to Muslim Brotherhood was about to blow the whistle on the Saudis. . .here
And yes, Hadica Gengiz, Khashoggi’s “fiance,” was unknown to Khashoggi’s family and is a questionable character in this affair.
So shed no tears for Khashoggi.
I had no intention of mourning for him.
news report
The US will punish those responsible for killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi by revoking visas and possibly imposing Global Magnitsky Act sanctions, but Saudi Arabia remains an important ally, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Twenty-one Saudi citizens will have their US visas revoked or be declared ineligible for them as part of the response, the State Department said on Tuesday. In a short press conference, Pompeo said the US was “exploring” the option of imposing sanctions as well.
The White House is legally required to conduct a probe of Khashoggi’s death under the 2016 Global Magnitsky Act, and impose sanctions on individuals it declares responsible. So far, the Trump administration has resisted calls by many US politicians to halt weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.
wiki
The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in December 2012, intending to punish Russian officials responsible for the death of Russian tax accountant Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009.
(Sec. 3) This bill authorizes the President to impose U.S. entry and property sanctions against any foreign person (or entity) who:
is responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals in any foreign country seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms;
acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person in such activities;
is a government official or senior associate of such official responsible for, or complicit in, ordering or otherwise directing acts of significant corruption, including the expropriation of private or public assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, bribery, or the facilitation or transfer of the proceeds of corruption to foreign jurisdictions; or
has materially assisted or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such activities. . .here
So the contention is that Khashoggi was “seeking to expose illegal activity carried out by government officials, or to obtain, exercise, or promote human rights and freedoms”
It is interesting that the USA may be caught by its extension of the Bill Browder Magnitsky Act, a pathetic McCain/Ben Cardin effort to blame Putin for the death of Browder’s accountant who was the fall guy for Browder’s crimes. I suppose you have found the film of Andrei Nekrasov “the Magnitsky Act- behind the Scenes” despite Browder’s very successful efforts to suppress it, as it shows that none of the main assumptions by the Russophobes in the West are true. I have twice found it online and watched the two hours (Nekrasov was anti-Putin and believed Browder until he really started investigation for the film) and it shows how much the West will lie to punish Russia.
Also,Khashoggie was a friend of the Muslim Brotherhood who spawned every Muslim terror organization including Alkaida, ISIS, Hezbollah and others.Was friends with Ben Laden Family. A harsh critic of US middle east policy demonized Israel and Zionism, falsely claimed that the wailing wall was built by Muslims. He was not a friend of the US.