In an exploding bomb of betrayal, Donald Trump announced where he would stand after the leader of Saudi Arabia had an American journalist working for The Washington Post tortured and murdered. Jamal Khashoggi lived in the United States and had a green card. It gets ugly, very ugly.
Trump released a long, rambling statement, but the bottom line was that his relationship with a member of the Saudi Arabian leading family was more important than performing his own duties of protecting the people living on American soil. Of course, he lied:
‘We may never know all of the facts surrounding (Khashoggi’s death, but) our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.’
Khashoggi was a moderate critic of his country of birth’s leaders. However, the Crown Prince was extremely sensitive to any criticism. The Washington Post reported that the CIA confirmed that the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MSB) ordered the torture and execution of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate.
Trump released an earlier statement, according to NBC News. In it, Trump stated:
‘It could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event. Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!’
Clearly, the president does not like journalists, as this and other actions against reporters show. Yet, this was about more, much more — protecting the people he pledged to protect when he took office.
In his statement, the president wrote that the Mideast is a “very dangerous place:”‘
‘The world is a very dangerous place!
‘The country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq’s fragile attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed millions of his own citizens), and much more. Likewise, the Iranians have killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East. Iran states openly, and with great force, “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Iran is considered “the world’s leading sponsor of terror.’
Trump called the crime against the American journalist “a terrible one,” but his response to it was very weak:
‘The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.’
Then, the man sitting in the Oval Office made his case for the Saudis:
‘Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t! ‘
After that, Trump erroneously tried to reframe why anyone would disagree with him:
‘I understand there are members of Congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction – and they are free to do so. I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America. After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing nation in the world. They have worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels – so important for the world. As President of the United States I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm. Very simply it is called America First!’
That would be: Trump last.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
