What happened to Jamal Khashoggi?

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President Donald Trump said Thursday, in an interview with The New york Times, that it appears Jamal Khashoggi, the missing Saudi journalist and U.S. resident, is dead.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not go to Saudi Arabia to solve any mystery. He’s probably there to talk strategy on how to put the journalist’s fate in the rearview mirror and forgotten. I find it hard to give credence to any theory that Khashoggi was accidentally killed. Gene Seiler

Brutal dictators love Trump because he doesn’t have the courage to stand up to them. There’s a pattern developing here. Ron Patrick

Trump came right out and said during his “60 Minutes” interview with Lesley Stahl that he won’t let what happened to Khashoggi get in the way of the arms deal. Leslie Cooper

No matter what evidence or answers are found, Trump will accept only what agrees with his preconceived conclusion. Steve Evets

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Right now, Saudi Arabia is the enemy of Iran and other countries hostile to the U.S. While I find Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women and dissenting journalists reprehensible, this alleged crime happened in Turkey in the Saudi Consulate. It’s not our business. Mike Sullivan America’s foreign policy is in sham- bles. Our allies laugh at the person in charge. Meanwhile, our most autocratic adversaries realize Trump can be played through fawning praise, and the threat of financial punishment or the promise of financial reward.

America’s moral compass has never been true North, but under this president it resembles a board game spinner. Rich Barnes

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