Khashoggi Disappearance: Looming Crisis or Simple Distraction?

[Williamsmith]

Jamal Khashoggi was in self imposed exile from Saudi Arabia because of his outspoken criticisms of the Saudi King. Such freedom of speech does not exist in Saudi Arabia. Had he stayed he would have been arrested or killed. So he took up residence in the US and wrote for the Washington Post. He recently sought to obtain divorce papers that would free him to marry his Turkish fiancé. He went to the consulate in Turkey and disappeared.

The Saudis have provided no proof of his leaving the consulate. Senators on the foreign affairs committee have received confidential briefings and apparently evidence that Khashoggi was killed at the consulate. Trump has made statements about serious consequences over the incident. The Saudis have fired back with retaliatory threats regarding the health of the world economy.

Is this Trumps biggest foreign policy nightmare yet? Or just political posturing.

The Saudis are a key component of the US military industrial complex. We sell boat loads of arms to them that they are using in Yemen and they fund our military activity in the Middle East. To say nothing of the petrol dollar connection. Gas prices?

[JaneV2.0]

This story makes me sick. Here's what Malcolm Nance tweeted back in April:

As predicted, Kushner gave the Saudis a list of "enemies" to arrest. Clearly, Trump authorized this divulging of classified information. He also likely tasked NSA and Treasury intel to target those Saudi civilians for MBS (Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman).

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...elligence.html

Aside from the brutal nature of the (purported) murder, I can't help thinking of his fiancee, anticipating a joyous event in their future, waiting outside. And waiting.

But Trump will probably say MBS denied it, so that's that. There's a special place in hell for this bunch.

[Yppej]

Trump will not do anything. He got the pastor out to offset the political damage from the murder. And he said yesterday the Saudi arms deal is still on.

[Teacher Terry]

I am totally not blaming the victim but I am surprised he went there knowing how terrible those people can be. I would have just lived in sin. Maybe his fiancée wasn’t willing to do that. Just so sad.

[ApatheticNoMore]

But did he really know how terrible those people can be, I mean it seems he was still a supporter of the Saudi ruling class, and he had hobnobbed with them, and supported their rule, he was just engaged in some infighting, some inter-party spat almost. He probably knew he took some risk but likely way underestimated how much.

So I don't even exactly see him as a victim, that we must not blame. I don't think he deserved to die of course, that's the Saudi's being the brutal murderous thugs they are. I don't know that he ever personally did anything wrong other than being a supporter of dictators, who he also criticized on technicalities, but he also wasn't a hero or a naif.

[JaneV2.0]

He was only a permanent resident, not a citizen, and he worked for Trump's nemesis, the Washington Post. That's undoubtedly how he got on the list.

[Alan]

The Saudis have provided no proof of his leaving the consulate.

What I find most interesting about this is the manner in which the Turks have compromised their extensive bugging of the Embassy. That seems like a high price to pay in order to be helpful.

There's a lot of things that make you go hmmmm in this event, it's almost like someone's been reading too many Tom Clancy novels.

[flowerseverywhere]

A likely outcome is to create even more war refugees nobody wants.

[bae]

I'm curious why this particular murder rates such outrage, considering how many people we and our allies and our "enemies" imprison, torture, and kill on a regular sort of day.

[Teacher Terry]

They think they dismembered him. Don’t know if that’s more gruesome than normal.