• About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Terms of service
No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
THE MILLENNIAL SOURCE
  • World
  • US
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Profiles
  • Lifestyle
    • Food & Travel
    • Tech & Money
    • Health
    • Entertainment
  • Newsletter
TMS
No Result
View All Result
Home WORLD

Will Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman be punished for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?

byJoseph Lyttletonand Edited byBrendan Monroe
March 9, 2021
in WORLD
Reading Time: 6 mins read
Will Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman be punished for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?

Source: Osman Orsal, Reuters

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin
While Biden had previously vowed to ensure MBS was punished for the murder, since the report’s release, the Biden administration has stated it will not sanction the Crown Prince.

The assassination of Saudi Arabian journalist and United States resident Jamal Khashoggi has long been tied to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (commonly referred to as simply “MBS”). Since the grisly murder occurred in the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October 2018, it has been widely accepted that MBS was behind the death of Khashoggi, who had been a vocal critic of the Crown Prince.

The administration of President Donald Trump had downplayed MBS’ involvement in the murder, countering reports from US intelligence. Now, though, President Joe Biden has unclassified an intelligence report which states unequivocally, “Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”

While Biden had previously vowed to ensure MBS was punished for the murder, since the report’s release, the Biden administration has stated it will not sanction the Crown Prince. That response has angered many, especially those who see hypocrisy in Biden’s previous criticisms of Trump over the same issue.

Others, though, have defended Biden’s actions, contending that there are other ways that MBS can be punished for his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

What does the report say?

The report released in late February was entitled “Assessing the Saudi Government’s Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi.” It is four pages in total and is mostly unredacted.

The report begins with an “Executive Summary” that claims MBS is directly culpable for the death of Khashoggi, who had been living in the US and working for The Washington Post under self-imposed exile from Saudi Arabia.

The justification for this conclusion is based on “the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protective detail in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”

The summary further notes, “Since 2017, the Crown Prince has had absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the Crown Prince’s authorization.”

While the report’s assessment is written definitively, the brief document does not provide any specific evidence. It also, at times, relies on speculative language:

“At the time of the Khashoggi murder, the Crown Prince probably fostered an environment in which aides were afraid that failure to complete assigned tasks might result in him firing or arresting them. This suggests that the aides were unlikely to question Muhammad bin Salman’s orders or undertake sensitive actions without his consent.”

Nonetheless, the report is unequivocal in its assessment, stating that a 15-member Saudi team had arrived in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, the day Khashoggi was assassinated. Among the team were seven members of MBS’ personal protective detail and others who were directly tied to the Crown Prince’s loyal associates.

“The Crown Prince viewed Khashoggi as a threat to the Kingdom,” the report claims, “and broadly supported using violent measures if necessary to silence him. Although Saudi officials had pre-planned an unspecified operation against Khashoggi we do not know how far in advance Saudi officials decided to harm him.”

Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination

The 59-year-old Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and apparently dismembered with the use of a bone saw. At the time of his death, Khashoggi had been in Turkey and was visiting the consulate to get the paperwork necessary for him to marry his fiancée.

The Saudi government initially denied that the death occurred in its consulate, but audio evidence ultimately undermined those denials. In late 2019, Saudi Arabia found five men guilty of the murder of Khashoggi and three others guilty of covering up the crime.

In the wake of the assassination, then-President Donald Trump questioned the reports of the US intelligence community, releasing a statement in November 2018 in which he said, “we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi.” In that statement, Trump said he had no intention of sanctioning MBS because Saudi Arabia was a “great ally.”

Trump was widely criticized at the time, with people saying he was siding with authoritarian dictators over his country’s own press. In 2020, reporter Bob Woodward published a book of interviews with Trump in which the former president bragged about protecting MBS, saying, “I saved his ass” and adding “I was able to get Congress to leave him alone. I was able to get them to stop.”

Biden’s response to Khashoggi’s murder

Trump had blocked the release of the report that came out in February. Now that the intelligence report has been released, though, Biden is facing criticism for refusing to punish the Crown Prince. Despite a global outcry for retribution, the Biden administration will reportedly not sanction MBS.

The Biden Administration should ensure that repercussions for the brutal murder of Khashoggi go beyond those who carried it out, to the one who ordered it.

The Crown Prince has blood on his hands. The blood of an American resident and journalist.

We must have accountability. pic.twitter.com/99poiTPX30

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) February 26, 2021

Following the report’s release, the administration instituted the “Khashoggi ban,” which puts visa restrictions on 76 Saudis who have had a role in oppressing activists and journalists. There are many in the US, however, who do not feel that goes far enough.

Critics of the president’s lack of direct action against MBS are especially incensed because Biden had campaigned on a promise of ensuring that the Crown Prince was held accountable for the murder. During a Democratic debate in November 2019, Biden vowed, “We are going to make them pay the price and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are.”

Trump: MBS didn’t murder anyone. He’s a good guy — and handsome. Let’s give him weapons.

Biden: MBS murdered a permanent American resident who wrote for one of the nation’s most prominent newspapers. He’s a naughty guy — and handsome. Let’s give him a smaller amount of weapons.

— Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) February 27, 2021

Now, it appears the Biden administration is changing its tune. Echoing sentiments expressed in Trump’s statement from November 2018, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the lack of sanctions against MBS, saying, “The relationship with Saudi Arabia is bigger than any one individual.”

As reported by The Washington Post, the Biden administration struggled with how to punish MBS. Since the Crown Prince is essentially in control of the entire Saudi government, “untangling Mohammed’s assets for freezing from those of the kingdom was seen as virtually impossible.” Sanctioning MBS would therefore risk unraveling a vital relationship in the Middle East.

Which is not to say the Biden administration has given up on punishing MBS altogether. It has been reported that Biden is considering ending the sales of offensive military arms to Saudi Arabia, while also pressuring the country to end its war in Yemen. This would offer at least some contrast with the Trump administration, which finalized multiple arms deals in the Middle East in its final months.

As Trump said during his presidency, though, arms deals are a substantial source of revenue for the US. Ending such deals could be a financial risk for an administration that inherited a country facing economic hardship, especially as it just passed a US$1.9 trillion stimulus package.

Have a tip or story? Get in touch with our reporters at [email protected]

Like TMS? Subscribe to our free daily newsletter

Related

Tags: AsiaLonger readNorth AmericaPolitics
ShareTweetShare

Latest Posts

China's Belt and Road Initiative may have a competitor: The Blue Dot Network (BDN)

China’s Belt and Road Initiative may have a competitor: The Blue Dot Network

April 20, 2021
Will China soon have more billionaires than the US?

Will China soon have more billionaires than the US?

April 20, 2021
Biden’s stance on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang

Biden’s stance on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang

April 19, 2021

What is herd immunity and how close is the US to achieving it?

April 19, 2021

Biden’s relationship with Putin, explained

April 18, 2021

What would expanding the Supreme Court mean for the US?

April 18, 2021

2020 was a bad year for China’s Belt and Road Initiative

April 18, 2021

The executed Lai Xiaomin left China Huarong teetering on the brink. Will Beijing save it?

April 15, 2021

Despite the persecution of Uighurs in Xinjiang, Muslim majority countries are maintaining business ties with China

April 15, 2021
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Write for us
  • Contact
  • Terms of service

© 2020 The Millennial Source Ltd.

No Result
View All Result
  • World
  • US
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Profiles
  • Lifestyle
    • Food & Travel
    • Tech & Money
    • Health
    • Entertainment
  • Newsletter

© 2020 The Millennial Source Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

The Millennial Source
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.