‘Sweep it under the rug’: Fears grow Trump won't confront Saudis over journalist's disappearance

[homersapien 11,388]

'If the Saudis don’t come up with a credible answer to this, they’re done in this town,' one D.C.-based analyst said.

By NAHAL TOOSI 10/10/2018 07:16 PM EDT

President Donald Trump’s desire to maintain strong ties to Saudi Arabia is facing its biggest test yet: allegations that Riyadh ordered the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist who had been living in the United States.

Calls are mounting for the Trump administration to find out what happened to Jamal Khashoggi. Republicans and Democrats in Congress have taken steps to force a government investigation. Khashoggi’s fiancée has pleaded for Trump to “help shed light on Jamal’s disappearance.” The fury has grown after a Washington Post report that U.S. intelligence knew of Saudi plans to abduct Khashoggi, raising questions about whether the administration failed to warn the journalist.

 

The White House insists it’s taking the case seriously, with Trump vowing Wednesday to “get to the bottom of it.” But former officials and analysts, including some friendly with Khashoggi, are dismayed by what they say is a milquetoast response so far by the Trump team.

On Tuesday evening, a group of foreign policy figures attended a dinner with a senior White House official with responsibility for the Middle East. The official kept stressing that the U.S. had significant long-term interests in Saudi Arabia and repeatedly noted that Iran is a top threat, several attendees told POLITICO on condition that some of the details about the event be kept private.

When asked about Khashoggi, the official said the U.S. is still trying to get information about what happened, a statement many in the audience found absurd given that Khashoggi disappeared a week earlier and detailed reports had emerged in the media. The official said nothing about the administration being prepared to hold the Saudis accountable for what happened.

Several foreign policy specialists say the anecdote shows that the Trump administration hopes this crisis will blow over the same way other thorny dilemmas involving Saudi Arabia have in recent years. After all, the White House sees the conservative Muslim country as too important an ally in the Middle East — and in Trump’s anti-Iran strategy — to penalize, or even criticize, in any major way. It’s a hands-off approach critics say has enabled the Saudi leadership’s worst instincts.

When it comes to the mystery surrounding Khashoggi, the administration is “trying to sweep it under the rug,” said Randa Slim, an analyst with the Washington-based Middle East Institute......

Read the rest at:  https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/10/trump-saudis-journalist-disappearance-890411

[homersapien 11,388]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2018/10/10/jamal-khashoggis-fate-casts-a-harsh-light-on-trumps-friendship-with-saudi-arabia/?utm_term=.de6c48d929af

Jamal Khashoggi’s fate casts a harsh light on Trump’s friendship with Saudi Arabia

 

........ This harrowing saga has two main dimensions: Saudi brutality, certainly, but it also underscores the ways in which President Trump’s fawning dictator worship, his pervasive conflicts of interest and his attacks on the media have emboldened authoritarian regimes to viciously silence their critics. .....

[alexava 6,973]

Certainly looks like they killed this guy. I don’t think there’s any doubt. 

[AUDub 11,153]

1 hour ago, alexava said:

Certainly looks like they killed this guy. I don’t think there’s any doubt. 

Welp

 

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

11 minutes ago, AUDub said:

Welp

 

Oh, so they were merely going to abduct him.  No biggie, amiright?

[homersapien 11,388]

12 minutes ago, AUDub said:

Welp

 

Presumably, they will release the body.

[homersapien 11,388]

Trump covers for Saudis:

Trump Says ‘Rogue Killers’ May Be Behind Jamal Khashoggi’s Disappearance

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-says-rogue-killers-are-behind-jamal-khashoggis-disappearance_us_5bc4909fe4b040bb4e845d66

[alexava 6,973]

31 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Trump covers for Saudis:

Trump Says ‘Rogue Killers’ May Be Behind Jamal Khashoggi’s Disappearance

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-says-rogue-killers-are-behind-jamal-khashoggis-disappearance_us_5bc4909fe4b040bb4e845d66

lol 

[AUDub 11,153]

40 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Oh, so they were merely going to abduct him.  No biggie, amiright?

The "Aww man I just shot Marvin in the face!" defense is a, well, interesting,  choice...

[alexava 6,973]

7 hours ago, AUDub said:

The "Aww man I just shot Marvin in the face!" defense is a, well, interesting,  choice...

Before someone asks...

[homersapien 11,388]

20 hours ago, Brad_ATX said:

Oh, so they were merely going to abduct him.  No biggie, amiright?

In pieces small enough to fit into a diplomatic bag.