Khashoggi Disappearance: Looming Crisis or Simple Distraction?

[Williamsmith]

WilliamSmith.......Don't you think those people who may have killed him, know about those kinds of watches and may have removed it first off.? And if they didn't, and it showed essentially his moment of death......don't you think that might have been reported by now? Just wondering.....

CathyA, that’s the point. It can’t be removed without raising alarms. .And you can’t torture someone without it transmitting suspicious feedback. I would suspect the watch wasn’t the only device Khashoggi was carrying.

It is a possibility that US intelligence knew Khashoggi was going to be interrogated. While in the consulate, the Saudis can do whatever they want. The release of the “American Pastor” was quite coincidental to the Khashoggi mishap.

[Williamsmith]

If you are waiting for the US mainstream press to shed light on this situation , seems like you’ll wait a long time. They ceased investigative reporting a long time ago. But there are sources from which some interesting details emerge.

Some things about this situation that make you wonder. Why is Trump and people like Lindsey Graham suddenly outraged over the human rights violation of one reporter ....of the Washington Post non the less? Especially when compared to the slaughter of Yemen’s civilians by the Saudi bombing. Why suddenly the threats against the Saudi government?

Well there is this $15 billion dollar “big arms deal” of the Lockheed Martin THAAD air missile defense system whose deadline for sealing the deal passed two days before Khashoggis disappearance. And there is the Saudis actively seeking to purchase the cheaper Russian version called the S-400. Is this really human rights outrage or just a pretext to pressure Saudi Arabia to finalize the air defense deal? Who is Senator Lindsey Graham’s largest campaign finance contributor? Lockheed Martin.

Was Khashoggi merely a malcontented journalist seeking asylum? He had strong ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Saudi intelligence as media advisor, a supporter of the “Arab Spring”, regime change in Syria, and nephew to Adnan Khashoggi - once the richest man in Saudi Arabia and an arms dealer who brokered the sale of military weapons to Saudi Arabia for the US. Who was charged in the Iran-Contra affair and sold his yacht for $30 million dollars to Donald Trump.

So whats at stake here? Trump isn’t exactly the smoothest character when it comes to touchy foreign relations. Could this strong arming backfire. What if Saudi Arabia decides to have a Russian military base, or run oil prices up into the $200 range, or cripple the US economy by simply not buying military arms?

Truly, a Tom Clancy novel in the making.

[flowerseverywhere]

If you are waiting for the US mainstream press to shed light on this situation , seems like you’ll wait a long time. They ceased investigative reporting a long time ago.

Sadly, so very true. Here in Florida I am amazed at the political lying ads, and newspaper and TV reporting on the candidates and amendments. In the Khashoggi murder case, the reporting seems so sensational, murky and self serving.

How many times have people said “follow the money” as that is what it all seems about. And I can guarantee you it is not about an arms deal, or whatever the issue turn out to be making the US rich. It is about politicians making themselves, their kin and cronies rich. Crooks and liars rule our country on both sides of the aisle.

[razz]

Well spoken, WS.

It is a very murky mess. I watched an analysis of the whole Saudi arms deal. It seems that Obama administration originally set this trade deal in motion years ago. It is spread over years/decades based on letters of intent with no definite commitment that the Saudis would follow through.

i wonder what Turkey is gaining based on its actions at present? It will gain but I suspect we will never know.

[CathyA]

CathyA, that’s the point. It can’t be removed without raising alarms. .And you can’t torture someone without it transmitting suspicious feedback. I would suspect the watch wasn’t the only device Khashoggi was carrying.

It is a possibility that US intelligence knew Khashoggi was going to be interrogated. While in the consulate, the Saudis can do whatever they want. The release of the “American Pastor” was quite coincidental to the Khashoggi mishap.

Thanks WS!

[CathyA]

It seems like Trump is always supporting the potential bad guys, instead of his own country.
Do we know how much financial stuff of Trump's is tied up in Saudi Arabia?.....and is it influencing his judgement?

[Williamsmith]

The military industrial complex is truly not simply about preserving the peace worldwide for the US. It is about the permanent war machine keeping the US economy growing. Without it, Trump doesn’t get re-elected. Without it, nobody gets re-elected. People who rebuff this statement like to claim that we only spend about 3% of our GDP on our military but that hides the fact the our workforce and our entire economy is hinged on the military component. Without it, jobs would be shed to the tune of a depression like catastrophe. Trump himself stated in the recent much quoted interview on 60 minutes that he didn’t want to upset the Saudis because he didn’t want to hurt Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Boeing and lose all those jobs.

Well, the question some have asked for a long time is, “Is capitalism capable of supporting itself without the war machine?”

[catherine]

Well, the question some have asked for a long time is, “Is capitalism capable of supporting itself without the war machine?”

Great question.

[JaneV2.0]

Great question.

I saw a graphic yesterday that showed the amount of "treasure" spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars plus the last two disastrous tax cuts. If we hadn't thrown those monies away, we'd have a surplus. The wars alone cost eleven billion a month, per Forbes magazine.

[catherine]

I saw a graphic yesterday that showed the amount of "treasure" spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars plus the last two disastrous tax cuts. If we hadn't thrown those monies away, we'd have a surplus. The wars alone cost eleven billion a month, per Forbes magazine.

Hmm.. according to Jeffrey Sachs (The End of Poverty, The Price of Civilization), it would cost roughly that much for 20 years to end world poverty. https://www.visionofearth.org/econom...-in-the-world/

Hmm...would you rather.....