Treat the Saudis like outlaws until justice is served
For 17 days Saudi Arabia lied to the world. The Middle Eastern regime claimed journalist Jamal Khashoggi had walked out of its consulate in Istanbul after applying for a marriage licence.
But the rest of the world believed he had been brutally attacked before being dismembered for daring to criticise the country’s rulers.
Amid growing evidence they stuck to story despite. “They” being the Saudi royal family and their good friend, the US President.
Donald Trump first said the king and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman didn’t know anything about it after they spoke on the phone.
He added he had no reason to disbelieve them before suggesting “rogue killers” could be responsible.
After worldwide condemnation mounted, the Saudis said Khashoggi died within the consulate after what they claimed was a fist fight.
Trump then told how he believed the royal family’s second explanation never appearing to question why a 59-year-old would decide to take on a dozen of Saudi’s elite soldiers.
On Sunday, the regime’s story shifted again when foreign minister Adel al-jubei said Khashoggi was killed in a “criminal” act committed by individuals operating “outside the scope of their authority.”
The move was seen as a way to distance the crown prince from any connection to the attack in a bid to protect the billion-dollar US deals.
This week, however, Turkish police were refused permission to search a well at the consulate pouring more pressure on Trump to take action.
He was criticised on
Tuesday when he passed responsibility to Congress for deciding what action needs to be taken.
His refusal to scorn the initial stories was yet another example whereby whatever a dictator says, Trump believes. We’ve seen him refuse to accept Russia meddled in the 2016 US poll and claims Kim Jong-un has not ended North Korea’s nuclear programme.
The fact Trump would even dare say at the onset the Saudi fist fight story is believable appears to emphasise his shameful intent to assist in the attempt of the regime to avoid justice and political retribution.
The regime’s new cover story is contradicted not just by evidence from Turkish authorities but also by the US intelligence community.
The Saudis are a murderous regime, who, as evidence suggests, helped fund the hijackers who carried out the Twin Towers attack.
In fact, 15 of the 19 hijackers were from the country, and yet the US still cosied up to the regime after 9/11. The West has a history of collapsing before the oil-rich Saudis.
Would Trump have been so quick to believe the story if Khashoggi had been killed by those who haven’t billion-dollar deals with the US?
Until justice prevails, Saudi Arabia should be treated as outlaws by all who value human rights.
Firms that withdrew this week from an investment conference in Riyadh should continue to shun contact with the crown prince, while governments should block all arms sales.
The first step in that process is determining the full truth about the Khashoggi murder and holding its likely author, Mohammed bin Salman, fully accountable.
It’s seen as a bid to distance bin Salman from any link to the attack