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posted by takyon on Sunday November 18 2018, @01:13AM   Printer-friendly
from the is-that-a-bone-saw-in-your-pocket? dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

C.I.A. Concludes That Saudi Crown Prince Ordered Khashoggi Killed

The Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, ordered the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to American officials.

The C.I.A. made the assessment based on the crown prince's control of Saudi Arabia, which is such that the killing would not have taken place without his approval, and has buttressed its conclusion with two sets of crucial communications: intercepts of the crown prince's calls in the days before the killing, and calls by the kill team to a senior aide to the crown prince.

[...] The increasingly definitive assessment from the spy agency creates a problem for President Trump, who has tied his administration to Prince Mohammed and proclaimed him the future of Saudi Arabia, a longtime American ally. But the new assessment by the C.I.A. is sure to harden the resolve of lawmakers on Capitol Hill to continue to investigate the killing of Mr. Khashoggi and punish Saudi Arabia.

Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, has been particularly close to Prince Mohammed. Mr. Kushner has long advocated that a strong relationship with the Saudis is in the United States' interest, and he has pushed to maintain support for the crown prince despite the death of Mr. Khashoggi, who Saudi officials now say was killed with a lethal dose of tranquilizers and dismembered. Previously, Saudi officials said that Mr. Khashoggi had been strangled.

[...] Neither administration officials nor intelligence officers believe the controversy over Mr. Khashoggi will drive Prince Mohammed from power, which is one reason White House officials believe cutting ties with the prince would not be in the interest of the United States.

takyon: The Saudis have denied the reports.

See also: Saudi media ignore US reports on Khashoggi
Top White House Official Involved in Saudi Sanctions Resigns

Previously: Turkey Says that a Missing Critic of the Saudi Government was Killed in Saudi Consulate in Istanbul
Saudi Arabia Reportedly Prepared to Admit Involvement in Journalist's Death


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Snotnose on Sunday November 18 2018, @02:18AM (9 children)

    by Snotnose (1623) on Sunday November 18 2018, @02:18AM (#763312)

    This is a no-win situation for the US. No matter what action we take, it will not work out well.

    Much as I wanted to say "nu uh", I get what you're saying. My response? It's worth it. There was a story a week or two ago where an Indonesian housekeeper resisted a rape, and the rapist got killed. They hung her, without notifying her embassy.

    This is a culture that needs to be stamped out ASAP. Frat boys on campus that gets wannabees drunk enough to die from alcohol poisoning at least have the defense of "but but but teenagers". Saudi Arabia doesn't have that defense. They have 40 year old dudes lucky enough to be born to the right parents, who decide to hang immigrants for fighting off a rape.

    I've spent 40 years of my life wondering why we put up with SA, and was on the fence about them. But we've been able to replace their oil for a good 10 years so why the fuck do we put up with their bullshit?

    --
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  • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Sunday November 18 2018, @04:55AM (5 children)

    by linkdude64 (5482) on Sunday November 18 2018, @04:55AM (#763362)

    For whatever reason, Saudis back Clinton heavily. Trump may be trying to cut off a major source of Clinton's black-book sort of money.

    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by dry on Sunday November 18 2018, @07:15AM (4 children)

      by dry (223) on Sunday November 18 2018, @07:15AM (#763398) Journal

      WTF? Saudi's back everyone. Bush grew up playing with the Bin laden's because his dad was such good friends with them. I'll take your word about Clinton. Trump is very friendly with the Saudi's, gets loans, his son in law hangs around with the Crown Prince. Earlier I haven't kept track but I wouldn't be surprised if Reagan got lots of support from them.
      When they attacked Canada recently, it was interesting to note the silence from our allies, at that it seemed that the US administration was enabling it. The attack was over a Canadian Minister tweeting something about women's rights in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi's went ballistic over it, won't have anything to do with us besides buy arms. All Saudi citizens attending university ordered home, most contracts canceled. Silence from Canada's allies because, don't mess with the Saudi's.

      • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 18 2018, @10:11AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 18 2018, @10:11AM (#763423)

        his son in law hangs around with the Crown Prince.

        They hanged them both already? When?

      • (Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday November 18 2018, @11:22AM (1 child)

        by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Sunday November 18 2018, @11:22AM (#763435) Journal

        Bush grew up playing with the Bin laden's

        Obviously they have ties [denverpost.com], but is there a source on that? Such as a photo of George W. and a bin Laden playing with Lincoln logs in the late 1950s? Or did you mean something else?

        --
        [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
        • (Score: 2) by dry on Sunday November 18 2018, @06:25PM

          by dry (223) on Sunday November 18 2018, @06:25PM (#763568) Journal

          It looks like I was mistaken about their connections going quite that far back, or at least I can't find any evidence.
          There is lots of evidence of the Bush and Bin Laden families connections as you found.
          My point still stands that the Saudi's have been influential on American Presidents since Reagan at least. And it is a weird close relationship considering the different founding principles of the 2 nations with America seeming to attack all countries that the Saudi's don't like, often countries that are relatively secular.

      • (Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Sunday November 18 2018, @07:07PM

        by linkdude64 (5482) on Sunday November 18 2018, @07:07PM (#763580)

        >All of this historic crap that is almost completely missing the point, because Trump has not been a political player for more than 2 years

        I think if you took a moment to look at the context in which the opinions you read are being expressed, you will find more meaning in them. Party-selected puppet politicians (of which all of those you listed are) have a different game to play than a complete and utter newcomer's whose party he is explicitly arm-twisting, using his grassroots support as his only leverage, into cooperation. Your rant about Canada is just flat-out misplaced. Canada, in a discussion taking place between the US, Saudi Arabia, China, Germany, etc - is like a kid interrupting a board meeting.

        What do you want the US and the rest of the world to do about some limp-wristed shrill SJW Canadian Minister who isn't happy about the way things have been in the middle east for millenia? Start a world war? What, did they finally read a book on Islam and say, "WHOA! You mean they are forced to wear those black cloaks?!" and expect to be taken seriously? I don't care how fast you leap to the defense of women everywhere, your upvotes don't make your comment insightful or interesting. Note I'm not agreeing with Islam's treatment of women - I find it barbaric - I'm just asking you non-rhetorically what you expect people to do about changing SA on an international scale? Here's a hint: A "sternly written letter" from every ally the saud's have will literally not help at all, because they have enough money to flip off everyone else, so just pissing them off because some SJW in Canada was upset is not a useful thing for anyone to do. The world does not run on social justice, it runs on money - even though that is completely tragic and I wish it weren't so, that is the way it is. Even if you are the "Wokest bae" in the twitterverse, you will not go to work 90 hrs/week drilling oil to put gas in the grocery truck's tank to feed whoever you are tipping your fedora to online, so the rest of the world still has a use for not pissing off SA at every Canadian blogger's whim.

        Trump has never taken this quantity of "donations" from these countries. Loans I could believe, but surely you understand the difference between a loan and a "charitable donation."

        Trump demands Clinton Foundation return $25 million from Saudis
        https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-clinton-foundation-224287 [politico.com]

        "Although it did not give while she was secretary of state, the Saudi regime by itself has donated between $10 million and $25 million to the Clinton Foundation, with donations coming as late as 2014, as she prepared her presidential run. A group called “Friends of Saudi Arabia,” co-founded “by a Saudi Prince,” gave an additional amount between $1 million and $5 million. The Clinton Foundation says that between $1 million and $5 million was also donated by “the State of Qatar,” the United Arab Emirates, and the government of Brunei. “The State of Kuwait” has donated between $5 million and $10 million."

        https://theintercept.com/2016/08/25/why-did-the-saudi-regime-and-other-gulf-tyrannies-donate-millions-to-the-clinton-foundation/ [theintercept.com]

        I could go on, but the Sauds specfically funded a HUGE portion of her 2016 campaign - her lead adviser Huma Abedin was on the SA government's fucking payroll for a time - while Trump got comparatively nil from them. Here, even better:

        "Abedin’s mother, Saleha Abedin, is a sociology lecturer at Dar Al Hekma, a women’s college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Clinton spoke to students on Feb. 16, 2010."
        https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abedins-mom-made-sure-clintons-saudi-speech-omitted-freedom-and-driving-for-women-emails-show [foxnews.com]

  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday November 18 2018, @12:42PM

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Sunday November 18 2018, @12:42PM (#763457) Journal

    Only now is there doubt about this sick (or should I say "oily"?) relationship that's made it into the pages of the mainstream media, and stayed there? Is it because this time, the victim is one of the media's own?

    The fact that most of the perpetrators of 9/11 were Saudi citizens has been minimized and ignored as much as possible. And that's hardly the only problem. The US does way too much what could be overly kindly called unprincipled realpolitik but is often just sheer greed, and over and over, it comes back to haunt us. Over and over, the administration of the day too often makes some truly appallingly short-sighted and downright stupid decisions that should have been reviewed by others first, if only with just a bare sanity check.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 18 2018, @04:21PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 18 2018, @04:21PM (#763524)

    @ Snotnose: Ya i agree its worth taking action against them. Its still a bad situation, but sometimes it is worth the "sting", just to do the right thing. It may have been going on for generations, but at some point you just have to stand up and say no more.

  • (Score: 2) by loonycyborg on Sunday November 18 2018, @06:16PM

    by loonycyborg (6905) on Sunday November 18 2018, @06:16PM (#763564)

    No matter what their moral justifications are they're still violating Arabia's sovereignty by bypassing its justice system. I fear that they do it less to enforce justice and more to cement Arabia's position as a client state. Like there are worse injustices in the world in which US isn't interested at all.