Posted on 10/18/2018 8:52:59 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The disappearance of Saudi journalist and former kingdom insider Jamal Khashoggi sent shockwaves across the Middle East and Washington. On October 10, President Donald Trump said that the US was “demanding” answers after the writer went missing while visiting the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Tuesday.
American Senators and congressmen have urged the White House to support an investigation into the missing man’s whereabouts and Vice President Mike Pence has offered FBI support. U.S.–Saudi relations, which have warmed under Trump after being on the rocks during the Obama administration, are now potentially at risk as it becomes increasingly clear that the journalist was killed.
Khashoggi’s case is not unique in the history of governments that target dissidents and that suppress and even murder journalists. The poisoning of former Russian GRU Intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in March, in Salisbury, England, and the controversial detention and deportation of Turkish dissidents in Kosovo the same month caused upheavals earlier this year. The disappearance of Khashoggi set off alarm bells because the journalist had a high profile as an influencer and insider who had become a symbol of the kingdom’s changing role.
In the 1980s, Khashoggi pioneered foreign reporting for Saudi Arabia, meeting and spending time with Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. He rose to editor of the newspaper Al Watan, and in 2008 he was a media adviser to the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom. He developed a growing audience in the West, where he sought to burnish the kingdom’s image. Writing at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he touted the “progressive” agenda of Islamist political groups that he felt showed the “dynamism that Saudi Arabia, a deeply conservative country, is experiencing.” He embraced the Arab Spring, and thought that Saudi Arabia should work with parties inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood; this included the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey, Ennahda in Tunisia, and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
Over time, Khashoggi grew more and more critical of Riyadh’s policies as the kingdom confronted the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar. In 2015, he had lamented the kingdom’s war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia was leading several allies to oppose the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Khashoggi also told the Daily Beast in 2015 that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef “is very well known in Washington and he is the one who is orchestrating the relationship with America.” Khashoggi was critical of the Trump administration precisely when Riyadh was searching for a warmer American relationship.
In June 2017, King Salman of Saudi Arabia appointed Mohammed bin Salman, then 31 years old, as his heir, pushing aside Bin Nayef, the king’s nephew. Bin Salman embraced the Trump administration and has sought deals to buy billions’ worth of arms; he has also supported the rebuilding of eastern Syria where the U.S.-led coalition is fighting ISIS. Bin Salman has portrayed himself as a reformer; Thomas Friedman, for one, has cooed over him in several New York Times columns.
Khashoggi fell out with the kingdom over Bin Salman’s new direction. Saudi Arabia broke relations with Qatar and accused the emirate of supporting extremism, including Hamas and Hezbollah. Khashoggi left the kingdom and appeared on Qatar’s Al Jazeera in Doha in November 2017, arguing that Saudi Arabia should return to its “religious roots.” He accused Riyadh of abandoning the Palestinians and was concerned that the kingdom might be speaking with Israel.
While Bin Salman was excoriating the Muslim Brotherhood, Khashoggi wrote at the Washington Post, where he had a column, that the U.S. and the kingdom were wrong in opposing the Islamists. While Bin Salman condemned Turkey as part of a “triangle of evil,” alongside Qatar and Islamist extremists, Khashoggi was talking about Turkey as a model in the region.
The Khashoggi affair — whether Turkey and Saudi Arabia agree that it was a “rogue” operation by certain Saudis or ordered from the highest levels — symbolizes the wider regional struggle between Saudi Arabia and its allies, on the one hand, and Turkey and Qatar on the other. As a former adviser, Khashoggi was influential in the region and in the U.S., which is Saudi Arabia’s key ally. He became a pawn used by critics of Bin Salman, including those at Al Jazeera. Major American media outlets made use of him to critique the Trump administration’s pro-Saudi policies.
His tragic death has led to an outpouring of rage at the administration for its Saudi ties. It is being used to suggest that Saudi Arabia “must answer” for the alleged crime, as the New York Times editorial board recently wrote, and that the disappearance was a “slap in the face” to the Unites States, as a Foreign Policy headline stated.
What should the U.S do in this difficult circumstance? The administration cannot be seen to condone the killing of a journalist by an ally. However, the kidnapping does not “upend” world order, as CNN’s Nic Robertson argued. Unfortunately, the apparent kidnapping follows a trend of increasing global authoritarianism. In other appalling instances, such as an attack on peaceful protesters in Washington by Turkish security in May 2017, the U.S. has sought to engage troublesome allies.
Saudi Arabia is a historic American ally, and its views today complement U.S. policy that aims to roll back Iranian influence in the region. In contrast, Turkey’s Erdogan has accused America of building an “army of terror” in eastern Syria, where the U.S. has been working with mostly Kurdish partner forces to defeat ISIS. Turkey finally released detained American pastor Andrew Brunson on Friday, but Ankara is also growing closer to Iran and Russia, meeting frequently with both countries to discuss Syria.
The Khashoggi affair gives the administration room to maneuver. Both Turkey and Saudi Arabia are looking to Washington. Turkey wants answers, and the United States can help provide them. The offer of FBI assistance is a good step, although it appears that Ankara will forge some kind of face-saving deal with Riyadh. The U.S. could help broker that but must not allow Turkey to exploit this case to undermine American policy or whitewash its own troublesome record. For instance, on October 16, Ankara asked Interpol to issue a “red notice” against investigative journalist Can Dundar on spying charges..
We must not remove the targeting of Khashoggi from its regional context. There is a conflict for leadership in the post-ISIS Middle East and for the legacy of the Arab Spring. Khashoggi and the crown prince had very differing views on the lessons of the past and on where the region should go. Both Riyadh and Ankara have been cracking down on dissidents. A careful American policy in managing this crisis could pressure both countries to liberalize while keeping a sharp eye on Iran.
This writer is correct -- we need to have a strategic view of the Middle East and keep our eye on the ball. Nuclear Iran must remain the focus.
Since he's not a US citizen they refer to him as an "American resident" so people will erroneously believe America (read: Trump) is responsible for what happened to him.
If all this torture/killing stuff is true, then I can imagine that he may have revealed some intel that our people would be interested in. I’m thinking Pompeo was told a few goodies while in SA.
Who gives a damn? Not me. I’m much more interested in what happened to 4 Americans in Bengazi on 09/11/2012. Much more interested in their fate than that of some muslim brotherhood saudi spy.
Innocent woman shot down on a San Fran pier —nary a ripple from the US Gummint.
A non-American MuzzieBlabbyFatty gets waxed in some sh*thole on the other side of planet Earf..?
ALL the King’s Horses and Men are galvanized into a frenzy of protective action.
SOMETHING IS WRONG.
I admired the camera work and choreography of that attack, and turned it into an 80s dance video by putting it to a Janet Jackson tune.
Once again absolutely brilliant observation and commentary that can be found in only one place on the entire internet right here on FR
7
Usually when the Saudis bump someone off, they do it in a way that is deniable, like a car wreck or car bomb or a plane crash.
Its not like them to do it in a way that can be tied right back to them. So it could mean the crown prince is a psycho, or that there is some mischief afoot intended to blow up the alliance. It would be good to know which is which.
Tomorrow’s headlines today:
Senate Dems Condemn Grisly Saudi Embassy Dismemberment;
Wish They’d Thought of Tactic For Kavanaugh Hearings
Day 3 of “I don’t care.”
1. Muslim Brotherhood sharia backer.
2. Friend of Obama Bin Laden.
3. Foreigner.
4. Foreign country.
5. On Bezos payroll.
Yup...still don’t care.
Has anyone thought to ask if the Saudi hating Turks have audio and video of the man being beheaded why has no one but Turk “intelligence” saw it?
Anytime democrats and Deep Staters are raising hell about something and of course trying to blame Trump be very caution. So I repeat myself, if the Turks, who I wouldn’t trust as far as I can throw them, say they have audio and video why has no one saw it. Makes no damn, whatsoever.
Me, too (and I’m female andthat’s the only way I will/can use that phrase, Pgkdan).
Unfortunately, there are bigger issues. The Saudis need to be on our side vis a vis Iran. I think some justice will be meted out for the dead journalist, but the powers ruling Saudi, even if complicit, will walk free.
They are trying to destabilize the Middle East again.
Don’t care. I don’t care so much more (if at all possible) when the media and idiots in government push the turd.
Khashoggi.....Benghazi???
At this point, what does it matter??? HRC
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