WaPo Editorial Board: The unlearned lessons of Jamal Khashoggi's murder
Source: Washington Post
The unlearned lessons of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder
By Editorial Board December 23 at 7:17 PM
THE SENATE’S bipartisan repudiation of President Trump’s policy toward Saudi Arabia this month was driven by disgust at the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi — and by Mr. Trump’s refusal to acknowledge that responsibility for it lay with the Saudi crown prince. But the vote also revealed that senators have drawn some conclusions from the Khashoggi affair that go beyond a refusal to accept the premeditated murder and dismemberment of a distinguished journalist.
The case has altered understanding of U.S. equities with Saudi Arabia and underlined the growing threat posed by regimes that lawlessly pursue their critics beyond their borders. Above all, the vote was a rejection of the crude nationalism espoused by Mr.?Trump, according to which the United States would tolerate crimes such as the Khashoggi murder so long as the responsible regimes purchased U.S.?weapons or offered other commercial favors.
Mr. Trump, who for decades was a harsh critic of Saudi Arabia, has pivoted to defending it as a “good ally” that helps stabilize the Middle East and the global oil market while helping to contain Iran. He has repeatedly said any response to the Khashoggi murder should not put at risk the $450?billion in total purchases and investments he claims the regime is offering, including $110 billion in weapons sales. As has been documented by The Post and other independent fact-checkers, Mr. Trump’s sales numbers are wildly inflated and unlikely to materialize. His preoccupation with deals raises the question of whether he has his own businesses in mind; since his election, the Saudis have been major patrons of Trump hotels.
The larger truth is that, with Mohammed bin Salman as its de facto ruler, the kingdom has become a strategic liability to the United States. The crown prince has destabilized the region with his reckless adventurism, including the abduction of the pro-American Lebanese prime minister and a boycott of neighboring Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East. His disastrous intervention in Yemen has strengthened Iran while triggering what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. His boasts to White House counselor Jared Kushner that he would help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while forming an “Arab NATO” have proved empty.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/the-unlearned-lessons-of-jamal-khashoggis-murder/2018/12/23/8584328e-0220-11e9-b6a9-0aa5c2fcc9e4_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
I love that the Washington Post calls him that and not even POTUS....
