I guess it's nice that easily observable things are now actually being confirmed by the government again. This was <i>strongly</i> suspected at the time but never by any official sources, and it's nice to actually have it come out. This is probably generally a result of a shift in policy against viewing Saudi Arabia as a stabilizing government in the region which seems like a correct evaluation.
The saddest part is that SV runs on Saudi cash.<p><a href="https://vicki.substack.com/p/silicon-valley-runs-on-saudi" rel="nofollow">https://vicki.substack.com/p/silicon-valley-runs-on-saudi</a>
>Treasury will unveil sanctions today on General Ahmed al-Asiri, former deputy head of the Saudi intelligence services, and the Saudi Rapid Intervention Force for their involvement in the Khashoggi assassination. Crown Prince MBS will NOT be sanctioned, per officials.<p>>A new State Department policy named the Khashoggi Ban will also be unveiled today, which will allow State to restrict and revoke visas to any individual believed to be involved in targeting/harassing/surveilling dissidents and journalists extraterritorially.<p>>Then White House chose not to penalize the crown prince directly despite intel report concluding he approved the operation that led to Khashoggi's murder. One senior administration official said that to do so would put the U.S. in an extremely “hostile” position wrt KSA.<p>>"The aim is recalibration, not a rupture, because of the important interests that we do share" with Saudi Arabia, the senior admin official said. U.S. officials and departments will continue to deal with MBS at the appropriate levels.<p>>More from SAO on why MBS was not sanctioned: "The United States as a matter of practice has not generally applied sanctions on the highest leadership of countries with whom the US has diplomatic relations. Nor even generally speaking on the leaders of countries with which 1/<p>>the US has no relations. And having looked at this extremely closely over the last 5 weeks, there was unanimous conclusion that there were other more effective means to dealing with these issues going forward."<p><a href="https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1365370766204747779" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/13653707662047477...</a><p>UPD<p><a href="https://www.state.gov/accountability-for-the-murder-of-jamal-khashoggi/" rel="nofollow">https://www.state.gov/accountability-for-the-murder-of-jamal...</a>
I find it deeply disturbing that this was known by the US intelligence community the entire time yet they were suppressed from sharing publicly because of certain people being compromised. Ugh.
I have a friend who relocated from Saudi Arabia to America. He said MbS most likely watched the dismemberment via video link as entertainment. Nothing in the Kingdom like that happens without MbS' approval. It's unlikely that anyone went rogue because it's a very hierarchal society with strict rules.
Were there any revelations on how the Turkish intelligence managed to uncover the murder?<p>There were claims that they listened through his Apple Watch but this claim lacks any substance, they must have bugged the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul where the murder took place.
Are we ready to talk about 9/11 yet?<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleged_Saudi_role_in_September_11_attacks" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleged_Saudi_role_in_Septembe...</a>
May I ask an honest question? I cannot understand why Jamal Khashoggi is mainly referred as a "journalist". Reading his Wikipedia page (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi</a>), apparently he is a Saudi dissident, a critic of the Saudi government. Yes he did write lots articles for newspaper, mostly criticize the Saudi government. But does this make him a journalist?<p>According to the Wikipedia page, I don't think he was an independent journalist. He had connections with the Saudi government and other organizations.<p>Quote: "After his second resignation, Khashoggi maintained ties with Saudi Arabian elites, including those in its intelligence apparatus. In 2015, he launched the satellite news channel Al-Arab, based in Bahrain outside Saudi Arabia, which does not allow independent news channels to operate within its borders. The news channel was backed by Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and partnered with U.S. financial news channel Bloomberg Television, it was also rumored to have received financial support from the King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa.[69] "<p>Quote: "In December 2018, The Washington Post revealed that Khashoggi's columns "at times" were "shaped" by an organization funded by Saudi Arabia's regional nemesis, Qatar, including by proposing his topics, giving him drafts, goading him, and giving him research."<p>I am not saying it is wrong to be a political dissident, but those should disqualifying you from being called as a "journalist", right?
What exactly is going to come of this? Forcing the Saudi's to buy more weapons from us in order to keep us from 'doing' something to them?
Report actually says Intelligence told Trump this too... and instead of trusting that, Trump went out and said this:<p><a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/411502-trump-has-emboldened-mbs-to-act-with-impunity" rel="nofollow">https://thehill.com/opinion/international/411502-trump-has-e...</a><p>Video about half-way down... Trump said, paraphrased, "I talked with MBS and he told me very strongly that he didn't do it, so he's good. Move along, nothing to see here people."<p>I don't agree with Biden on everything, but sure is nice to have a POTUS who isn't trying to sweep the killing of journalists under the rug. Like... I sleep a bit better at night now.
The linked DNI report [PDF]: <a href="https://www.odni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Assessment-Saudi-Gov-Role-in-JK-Death-20210226.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.odni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Assess...</a>
Meanwhile, "Biden Won’t Penalize Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi’s Killing, Fearing Relations Breach"[1]<p>This is almost more shameful than when we pretended that MBS wasn't involved.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/biden-mbs-khashoggi.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/biden-mbs-kha...</a>
Biden Won’t Penalize Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi’s Killing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/biden-mbs-khashoggi.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/biden-mbs-kha...</a>
Please note that it was not merely "suspected"; according to the report, this was the rock-solid assessment of US intelligence in 2018.<p>It's just that it was kept covered up by Trump.
"US President Joe Biden is expected to take a firmer line than his predecessor Donald Trump on human rights and the rule of law in Saudi Arabia, a key American ally in the Middle East."<p>What does this even mean? I highly doubt the arms deal will get canceled. That was arranged under Obama and Biden.
My opinion of the whole ordeal changed quite a lot once I realized that only reason this became a "big deal" is that Khashoggi was well connected.<p>It was portrayed as "this is bad because they killed a journalist."<p>In reality it was "this is bad because this guy had lots of connections"<p>Journalists are killed by bad people every year, usually to very little fanfare.
Oligarchs revving the war machine back up to make more blood-soaked sand. Gonna piss off the regional allies and have the CIA re-occupy old stomping grounds like Syria. Regular drone strikes up next!<p>Take your buyer's remorse if you haven't already.<p>P.S. Kids in cages! You'll say nothing.
Is it uncommon for countries to leave their traitors alive? Saudi Arabia has had public beheadings, it's not unusual for a place like that to murder a guy who was sitting in the USA and publishing the talking points he was getting from Qatar.<p>The idea that he was 100% a noble crusading journalist is pure propaganda.<p>This whole story is artificially amplified. Has everyone woken up and suddenly learned what punishments in Saudi Arabia are like?<p>Take for instance Chelsea Manning - someone who made the US government look bad by leaking diplomatic cables. Torture, solitary confinement, all sorts of inhumane conditions. Is it that much of a stretch to see a monarchy like Saudi Arabia chopping up their guy for making them look bad? Not really. It's what you would expect in a place like that.<p>It's always been that way, and everyone has known about it. To pretend as if it's unexpected is quite insincere and reeks of some alternative agenda. The way Khashoggi is presented to the public as some kind of hero is really telling.