'Deafening silence': White House’s response to Khashoggi disappearance
#Khashoggi
MBS has been at the helm of a kingdom-wide crackdown on opposition since ascending to crown prince. But has Trump emboldened him?
The US presidency has yet to comment on the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (AFP)
MEE staff
Monday 8 October 2018 11:34 UTC
Last update: Tuesday 9 October 2018 6:41 UTC
Social media users have criticised the "deafening silence" from the US administration following the alleged death of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared on Tuesday after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul.
An unnamed Turkish official told the Reuters news agency over the weekend that Turkish police believed Khashoggi had been killed and his body then removed from the building.
Jamal Khashoggi: A different sort of Saudi
"The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate," said the official.
No evidence has yet been provided by officials.
As a Turkish forensic team prepares to enter the consulate, where authorities suspect that Khashoggi was killed, social media users have been highlighting the seriousness of Khashoggi’s disappearance - and the failure of the White House to respond.Tikun Olam
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Deafening silence from White House over Saudi assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. Could it be Trump-MBS bromance is strained by this bit of mischief on part of young crown prince? Nah...nothing could break the chemistry these two have. Except maybe cancelling that $100B arms deal!
11:14 PM - 7 Oct 2018
In May last year, US President Donald Trump signed the largest arms deal with the Gulf kingdom in history.
The deal - worth $109.7bn - caused uproar, with Amnesty International accusing Trump of “emboldening” further violations of human rights in the region.
Social media users seemed to agree that Trump’s embrace of the Saudi government has empowered the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).Nicholas Kristof
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The White House empowered Saudi crown prince MBS as he confronted Qatar, as he kidnapped Lebanon's prime minister, as he starved Yemenis, as he crushed dissent. Will it continue to sell him weapons if it's confirmed that he murdered a brave journalist, Jamal Khashoggi?
Khashoggi is a Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of Saudi government policies. He had been a prominent and well-respected journalist for decades and worked as a foreign correspondent for Saudi newspapers across the region.Glenn Kessler
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Glenn Kessler Retweeted Glenn Kessler
If this is true, I wonder why the Saudi government thought it could kill a prominent journalist without consequencesGlenn Kessler added,
Glenn Kessler
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Turkey concludes that Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Saudi consulate - The Washington Post https://apple.news/A18HwhMwbTp6rrOhPsBKSmw …
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Olga Lautman
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Replying to @GlennKesslerWP
Idk maybe because Trump promotes the press as the ‘enemy of the people’ or the fact that Khashoggi got banned in Saudi for criticizing Trump. Maybe because Kushner handed sensitive info to MBS leaving him compromised or maybe it’s just plain old money that will buy inaction
Khashoggi also previously served as the media advisor to Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal during his tenure as ambassador in London and Washington.
He had been based in Washington DC since he fled Saudi Arabia in 2017 over fears of the new government’s crackdown on critical voices and was unsparing on the issue that caused his final rift with Riyadh.
He also pointedly criticised President Trump's relationship with Riyadh.
"From time to time, Trump tweets that he is protecting us and that we must pay for such protection to continue. He protects us from what? Or he is protecting who? I believe that the greatest threat facing the Gulf countries and their oil is a president such as Trump who sees nothing in us apart from the oil wells," Khashoggi wrote.Will Bunch
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The blood of the world's murdered journalists like Jamal Khashoggi and countless Russians is splattered on Donald Trump, who lavishes praise on their killers like MBS and Putin while calling a free press "the enemies of the people," egging them on
"I have left my home, my family and my job, and I am raising my voice," Khashoggi wrote in September 2017.
"To do otherwise would betray those who languish in prison. I can speak when so many cannot."
Yasin Aktay, a former MP for Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the man Khashoggi told his fiancee to call if he did not emerge from the consulate, voiced concerns over the Saudi national's whereabouts.
Missing Saudi journalist: Turkish forensics team poised to probe Khashoggi 'murder'
"His friends had warned him [Khashoggi], 'Do not go there, it is not safe,' but he said they [the Saudis] could not do anything in Turkey," said Aktay.
Turkish authorities believe that a group of 15 Saudi nationals may have been involved in Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Police said about 15 Saudis, including officials, came to Istanbul on two private flights on Tuesday and were at the consulate at the same time as the journalist. They left again the same day, according to MEE's sources.
Another police source told MEE on Saturday: "The consulate is surrounded by cameras, no evidence of Khashoggi leaving was recorded on them."
Trump allies speak out
In the face of continued silence from the White House, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted on Monday that it was "imperative" to find out what happened to Khashoggi.
"Honest answers must be forthcoming for the sake of the Saudi-US relationship," he wrote.
Graham also said that if allegations of Saudi wrongdoing prove true, "it would be devastating to the US-Saudi relationship and there will be a heavy price to be paid — economically and otherwise".Lindsey Graham
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Just spoke to Senators @BobCorker and @BenCardinforMD about our shared concerns regarding the whereabouts and treatment of Mr. #JamalKashoggi.
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We agree if there was any truth to the allegations of wrongdoing by the Saudi government it would be devastating to the US-Saudi relationship and there will be a heavy price to be paid — economically and otherwise.
In a talk with the National Press Club in Washington, House Majority Leader Paul Ryan said news of Khasoggi's disappearance is "very disturbing and unnerving".
"We just need to get clear facts from both governments. As an elected leader, we stand with the media in solidarity to make sure that this does not go unnoticed," he said.
Bob Corker, the Republican senator who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said he personally raised the issue of Khashoggi's disappearance with the Saudi ambassador.
"And while we await more information, know we will respond accordingly to any state that targets journalists abroad," Corker tweeted on Monday afternoon.
On Sunday, another Republican senator, Marco Rubio, also tweeted that he was "deeply disturbed" by the news of Khashoggi's disappearence and called for action from the US:Turkish police believe Saudi journalist was killed at consulate: sources
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish authorities believe that prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared four days ago after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, was killed inside the consulate, two Turkish sources said on Saturday.
A demonstrator holds picture of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a protest in front of Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, October 5, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal
“The initial assessment of the Turkish police is that Mr. Khashoggi has been killed at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. We believe that the murder was premeditated and the body was subsequently moved out of the consulate,” one Turkish official told Reuters.
The sources did not say how they believed the killing was carried out. Saudi Arabia’s consul-general told Reuters on Saturday his country was helping search for Khashoggi, and dismissed talk of his possible abduction.
Khashoggi, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his critical views on Saudi policies, entered the consulate on Tuesday to secure documentation for his forthcoming marriage, according to his fiancee, who waited outside. He has not been heard of since.
Since then, Turkish and Saudi officials have offered conflicting accounts of his disappearance, with Ankara saying there was no evidence that he had left the diplomatic mission and Riyadh saying he exited the premises the same day.
Accusations, denials in search for Saudi journalist
Earlier on Saturday Turkish officials said prosecutors had begun investigating Khashoggi’s disappearance and a spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party said authorities would uncover his whereabouts.
Reporting by Orhan Coskun, Editing by William Maclean
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saud ... ce=twitter
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/deaf ... -992416786
Jamal Khashoggi: Turkey hunts black van it believes carried body
Officials search for vehicle they say was part of convoy belonging to Saudi hit squad
Martin ChulovTue 9 Oct 2018 03.09 EDT
Turkish authorities are examining motorway cameras in the search for a black van they believe carried the body of Jamal Khashoggi from the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week – one of six cars investigators say belonged to a Saudi hit squad thought to be behind the suspected murder of the dissident journalist.
Officials say the convoy left the consulate around two hours after Khashoggi entered. Security camera footage shows boxes being loaded into the van, which carried diplomatic number plates. After leaving the consulate grounds, three cars turned left on to a main road while the remaining three turned right. Investigators say one of the vehicles, a van with blacked out windows, has become the focus of the investigation, and was briefly tracked to a nearby motorway.
Nearly a week since Khashoggi disappeared, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stepped up his calls for Riyadh to explain what happened to the high-profile critic of the Saudi leadership. The Turkish president had struck a measured tone when pressed on Khashoggi, while allowing government officials and state media to drip-feed allegations. Details of the convoy were disclosed by the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper.
“We have to get an outcome from this investigation as soon as possible,” Erdoğan said from Budapest. “The consulate officials cannot save themselves by simply saying: ‘He has left.’”
He said he was personally following the case but had no new evidence to table.
Senior officials in Ankara remain convinced Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi state hit squad sent to Istanbul to abduct or kill him, who were lying in wait when he arrived at the consulate last Tuesday afternoon. It was Khashoggi’s second visit to finalise his divorce, after being told the previous Friday that his papers were not in order. His fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, had waited outside.
Flight records show two Saudi planes arrived at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport on Tuesday and departed separately that same day, hours after Khashoggi was last seen.
Saudi authorities continue to insist they played no role in Khashoggi’s disappearance. They acknowledge that a “security delegation” was sent to Istanbul on Saturday but have not offered a reason for the journey.
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Jamal Khashoggi
Turkish investigators have hinted they know more about the disappearance than they have disclosed. Though wary of each other, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have traditionally tried to avoid public spats. The countries have significant trade and investment ties and vie for influence across the region. Erdoğan’s response is likely to become more pointed in the coming days if there is no movement on issues that matter more to him than the disappearance of a foreign national inside Turkey.
Khashoggi has been one of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s most prominent critics. A member of the Saudi elite, he had remained in exile in the US for much of the past year, from where he wrote columns for the Washington Post critiquing aspects of the Kingdom’s reform programme.
Turan Kislakci, a friend of Khashoggi, said the 59-year-old told him he had been invited to return to Riyadh by the crown prince to act as an adviser. Khashoggi had sought assurances about his safety from friends in the US before visiting the consulate and had asked Cengiz to contact Turkish authorities if he failed to emerge. She raised the alarm four hours later, by which time the convoy is believed to have left the consulate.
Turkey has an extensive system of motorway cameras that are regularly used to provide evidence in criminal probes. The disappearance has shocked many in Turkey and caused alarm in some quarters of Riyadh.
Calls for clarity from the international community mounted on Monday, with the US, Britain and France seeking explanations from Riyadh.
After six days of silence from the Trump administration, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, issued a statement saying senior US diplomats had spoken to their Saudi counterparts about the case.
“We call on the government of Saudi Arabia to support a thorough investigation of Mr Khashoggi’s disappearance and to be transparent about the results of that investigation,” Pompeo said. A few hours earlier, Vice-President Mike Pence said he was “deeply troubled” and warned that “the free world deserves answers”.
The US president Donald Trump, a robust ally of Saudi Arabia who had pledged to stay out of the country’s domestic affairs, made more tentative remarks, telling reporters he was “concerned” about “some pretty bad stories” about Khashoggi’s fate. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner maintains close personal ties with the crown prince.
Speaking for the first time about the allegations, a UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “These are extremely serious allegations. We are aware of the latest reports and are working urgently to establish the facts, including with the government of Saudi Arabia.”
The episode has put the UK in an awkward diplomatic position since it is close both to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Office would face charges of hypocrisy if, after its outrage over the attempted assassination by Russia of the former spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, it remained silent over an alleged murder by the Saudi government.
It would also put Britain directly at odds with the crown prince, who is a key UK ally. In his dealings with Canada, including a withdrawal of investment, the Saudi ruler has shown he does not tolerate criticism of his country’s human rights record.
France said it was seeking an explanation as to how an “accomplished and esteemed” journalist had vanished.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... udi-arabia
Will Jared Let His Saudi Buddy M.B.S. Get Away with (Alleged) Murder?
The Trump administration has been mum on journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance, and the strong possibility that he was murdered by the White House’s best buddy.
Bess LevinOctober 8, 2018 1:11 pm
Foreign Policy
Donald Trump holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Donald Trump and close personal pal Prince Mohammed bin Salam.
By Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images.
In an administration that provides fresh horror on a daily basis, one of the most alarming aspects of Donald Trump’s presidency is his penchant for casting off decades-long relationships with democratic allies and cozying up to autocrats in their place. While Vladimir Putin will always have a special place in Trump’s heart, another clear favorite is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who ingratiated himself with the ex–real estate developer by agreeing to a multi-billion-dollar arms deal that allowed Trump to maintain the illusion of being a successful businessman. In exchange, the president of the United States has basically cheered on the prince’s human-rights abuses. Last November, with the tacit support of the president, M.B.S., as he is known, rounded up 200 businessmen, Saudi officials, and family members as part of a crackdown on alleged corruption, and detained them for months at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton—a move Trump publicly endorsed. In August, Team Trump essentially gave Saudi Arabia its blessing to expel Canada’s ambassador, ban new trade, freeze Saudi Airlines flights to Canada, and order the withdrawal of more than 12,000 Saudi citizens studying in Canada, after our neighbors to the north mildly condemned the arrests of several political activists, and called for their release. But a recent incident—wherein Saudi Arabia may have kidnapped and murdered a journalist who has been critical of the regime—could make it tough for Trump to look the other way. Though lord knows he’s trying!
The disappearance and alleged killing last week of dissident Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi while he was visiting the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul is only the latest challenge to a U.S.-Saudi relationship that both governments have diligently cultivated.
The Trump administration has said little beyond expressing public concern over Khashoggi’s fate, and the kingdom has sharply denied any knowledge of his whereabouts.
Turkish investigators charge that that is not true in the slightest, telling The New York Times and other news outlets that Khashoggi, who went to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain a marriage document, was killed and dismembered by a 15-man team of Saudi agents. “There is concrete information,” Yasin Aktay, an adviser to the head of Turkey’s governing A.K.P. party, said during an interview on Sunday. “It will not remain an unsolved case.” That’s made things rather uncomfortable in Washington where, per the Times, “many current and former American officials are friendly with Mr. Khashoggi, a resident of the United States,” but the president and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are tight with his alleged killers. Thus far, State Department officials have said only that the U.S. cannot confirm Khashoggi’s status, but that they are following the case.
Lawmakers have reacted, understandably, with a little more outrage. “If this is true—that the Saudis lured a U.S. resident into their consulate and murdered him—it should represent a fundamental break in our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” Senator Chris Murphy wrote on Twitter, while Senator Tim Kaine added: “We must get to the bottom of what happened and then impose strong consequences. Targeting journalists must stop.” It’s not clear that the president agrees.
Update: Trump has said he doesn’t like what he’s hearing and hopes the kidnapping and dismemberment “sort itself out”:
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10 ... udi-arabia
Claims emerge that footage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder exists
‘There are claims that there is a video of the moments Jamal Khashoggi was killed,’ says Yeni Şafak colomnist Kemal Öztürk
Editor / Internet
10:44 October 09, 2018
Yeni Şafak
Video footage of the moments missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the consulate exists, according to Yeni Şafak daily’s colomnist Kemal Öztürk.
“The Saudi consulate says they have no [video] recordings. The Saudi consulate says that they don’t have any footage. But we [Turkey] have our own cameras. There are claims that there is a video of the moments Jamal Khashoggi was killed. I haven’t seen it, nobody has,” Öztürk said during a TVNET program.
“Every embassy and consulate has security officials stationed in front. Some of them are intelligence. The embassies of high-risk states are under surveillance. The embassy or consulate has its own security system, but so does Turkey, because its safety has been entrusted to Turkey and so it is responsible if anything happens. Turkey protects them diligently. Both physical and technical protection. There's a record of entry and exit,” he added.
Possible last moments of missing Saudi journalist revealed
Possible last moments of missing Saudi journalist revealed
The Washington Post on Tuesday published a surveillance image revealing missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi walking into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, just before he disappeared.The image also bore a date and time stamp reading, 2018-10-02, 13:14 p.m.The Post said "a person close to the investigation" had shared the image with them.Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.Khashoggi, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his criticism of Saudi policies, went to the consulate last week to secure documents for his forthcoming marriage, according to his fiancée, who waited outside. He has not been heard of since.Turkish authorities believe he was murdered within the consulate walls, but the Saudi government has refused the claims and said accusations were baseless.On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged the Saudi consulate to prove whether or not Khashoggi exited the building after entering, saying that consulate officials "can't get away with [simply] saying 'he left the building.'"Turkish police also said that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.Pompeo calls on Saudi govt to investigate Khashoggi disappearancePressure Saudis on Khashoggi case: Yemeni Nobel winnerSaudi Arabia must show journalist made exit: ErdoğanSaudis to pay price if journalist killed: US senatorTrump ‘concerned’ over fate of Saudi journalist
Khashoggi, journalist and columnist for The Washington Post who has lived in self-imposed exile in Washington for the past year fearing retribution for his criticism of Saudi policies, has been missing since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkish police investigating the case said Saturday that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.
Turkish sources also said that Turkish authorities believe Khashoggi was deliberately killed inside the consulate, a view echoed by one of Erdogan's advisers, Yasin Aktay, who is a friend of the Saudi journalist.
Speaking to journalists in front of the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on Sunday, Turan Kışlakçı -- head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association (TAM) -- said they were informed that Jamal Khashoggi was “brutally murdered.”
“After the statements of unnamed security forces and Turan Kışlakçı, whoever ordered the execution must prove that Jamal Khashoggi was killed. If you remember, the same happened in Syria and the photos were published by Anadolu Agency. They stamped every Syrian opposition that they killed and gave them a number and photographed them. I was so surprised by this; you killed them, why did you number them?” Öztürk said.
https://www.yenisafak.com/en/world/clai ... ts-3463054
'Complicit' Mike Pence Blasted Over 'Freedom Of The Press' Defense Tweet
Lee Moran
Vice President Mike Pence faced accusations of hypocrisy on Monday night after he tweeted about the importance of “freedom of the press.”
Turkish authorities believe Khashoggi, who disappeared a week ago after entering Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul, was killed inside the consulate. He was known to be critical of Saudi policies.
The irony of Pence’s post was not lost on Twitter users, many of whom accused him of being complicit in President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on reporters and media outlets’ critical coverage of the administration:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mi ... 70d054863f
southpaw
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“Previously, the Saudi govt threatened Canada with a new 9/11. That may not have been—optically speaking—the best move. Fortunately, a new opportunity has arisen to feign concern for the journalist they apparently murdered and maybe throw some patsies overboard in the bargain.”