President Trump Backs Away From Tough Talk; Now Suggests “Rouge Killers” May Have Killed Saudi Journalist
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
In an apparent effort to keep U.S.-Saudi relations intact, President Trump Monday backed away from statements he made over the weekend threatening Riyadh with “severe punishment” if the Kingdom were found to be involved in the killing of a prominent critic of the government. Trump is now suggesting “rouge killers” may be involved in the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The American president made the comments after a telephone conversation he had with Saudi King Salman Monday. According to reports, it was during that telephone conversation that King Salman told Trump he believed “rouge killers” may have taken out Khashoggi. President Trump also said he was dispatching his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with King Salman in Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi crisis, which has been a diplomatic nightmare for the Riyadh government. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, disappeared after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to get marriage documents. Turkey believes he was murdered and his body removed, while Saudi Arabia has denied the allegations.
Second Largest Supplier Of Oil to U.S. Has History Of Human Rights Abuses
Credit: Wikipedia public domain / President Donald Trump poses for photos with ceremonial swordsmen on his arrival to Murabba Palace, as the guest of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Saturday evening, May 20, 2017, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
Saudi Arabia is a well known abuser of human rights, routinely executing and imprisoning dissidents including women. In the wake of the Khashoggi crisis, tremendous political and economic pressure is being put on Saudi Arabia to get to the bottom of what truly happened to Khashoggi. The UN Secretary General, along with the governments of the United Kingdom, France and Germany, have demanded Saudi Arabia give a full accounting of the incident. A number of attendees have pulled out of a high-profile “Davos in the Desert” investment conference set for October 23-25. The two-day conference is a planned showpiece for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reform vision. The United States imports 8 Million barrels of foreign crude per day with a sizable portion coming from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter. The kingdom remains the No. 2 supplier to the United States, behind only Canada, exporting some 876,000 barrels per day in July to America.
Saudi Arabia Is America’s No.1 Weapons Customer
