Under the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered and dismembered by a gang of assassins inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey. The leader who was once glibly touted as a “reformer” has been fully revealed as a medieval butcher and must be held accountable for his actions.
It now falls to the international community to decide on an appropriate response. Unfortunately, the United States, once looked to for global leadership, is currently run by a crook who has more to gain personally by ignoring the murder and maintaining an amicable relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Today, Trump confirmed once again that he is a coward down to his hollow core by indicating that his administration will not be taking any substantive action against the KSA or bin Salman over the Khashoggi murder.
In a characteristically inane statement bearing the header “America First!” and starting with the sentence “The world is a dangerous place!” Trump groveled at the feet of Saudi Arabia, whitewashed their brutal US-backed war in Yemen, praised KSA for buying American weapons, and then pretended to actually care about Khashoggi’s death.
Disgracefully, Trump included some oblique implications that Khashoggi might have deserved to die by repeating Saudi claims that he was an “enemy of the state” and part of the Muslim Brotherhood. His transparent claim that such accusations had no bearing on his decision is nothing more than an excuse to repeat the accusations in the first place.
The president is not content to simply ignore the murder, he’s chosen to smear the victim.
The statement is hard to read for anyone who cares about justice for the murdered journalist or more broadly the reputation of the United States. One can scarcely imagine a more succinct crystallization of the rot at the heart of this administration.
Pres. Trump releases statement on Saudi Arabia, saying, "We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi," and announcing the U.S. "intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia." https://t.co/BQODMYO6pB pic.twitter.com/VyWLqIjRSB
— ABC News (@ABC) November 20, 2018
Given the fact that Trump’s companies have dark money pouring into them all around the world, one can’t discount the likelihood that Saudi Arabia is flooding his businesses with cash to buy him off. Furthermore, the Crown Prince previously bragged that Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner was “in his pocket.”
The whole crooked Trump administration cares far more about personal enrichment than any kind of moral leadership. This is a shameful day for America.