[[{"content_id":"2141","domain_id":"0","lang_id":"en","portal_id":"2","owner_id":"83","user_id":"4","view_accesslevel_id":"0","edit_accesslevel_id":"0","delete_accesslevel_id":"0","editor_id":"0","content_title":"Trump can\u2019t ditch MbS because of personal stakes: report","content_number":"","content_date_event":"2018-11-19 12:21:53","content_summary":"US President Donald Trump can\u2019t let go of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite increasing evidence that the prince ordered the murder of a Saudi critic overseas, and that is because the US president has personal stakes in propping up Mohammed, a new report suggests.","content_summary_fill":"1","content_body":" \r\n\r\n\r\nAn article by The New York Times’ White House correspondent on Sunday explained why Trump was sticking with Mohammed even as “evidence piles up pointing to the Saudi crown prince’s responsibility in the brutal killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”\r\n\r\nKhashoggi was assassinated by a hit squad of 15 Saudi Arabian agents — including a frequent companion of Mohammed’s and some members of his security detail — inside the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul on October 2.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nTurkey “moved heaven and earth” to bring international attention to the killing. As that attention was attracted, Saudi Arabia became incapable of quietly getting away with the assassination.\r\n\r\nRiyadh has several times altered its narrative on the killing. Initially, it denied the killing altogether. After 18 days of blatant denial, Riyadh finally acknowledged the killing but said Khashoggi had been killed in a “rogue” operation that had gone haywire. Still later, on Thursday, November 15, the Saudi Public Prosecution offered yet another account, saying the 15 agents had acted on “an order to bring back the victim (Khashoggi) by means of persuasion, and if persuasion fails, to do so by force” but had then went on to kill him on their own.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nCiting informed sources, The Washington Post reported on November 16 that the CIA “has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination.”\r\n\r\nTrump, who had already refused to directly implicate Mohammed, then defied his own country’s intelligence agency by saying that the CIA assessment was “very premature.”\r\n\r\nThe New York Times said in its Sunday article that Trump had basically three reasons why he was resisting blaming Mohammed.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt said Saudi Arabia — which is under the de facto rule of Mohammed — is “a linchpin” of the Trump administration’s hawkish strategy on Iran. The Saudi crown prince also has a close relationship with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is pursuing what he thinks would be a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. And lastly, Mohammed has pledged to buy 110 billion dollars’ worth of American military equipment.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn this file photo, taken on May 20, 2017, US President Donald Trump (C-R) and the then-Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman take part in a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Riyadh. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is seen standing to the right of the US president. (By AFP)\r\n\r\nThe stance is “a vivid illustration of how deeply Mr. Trump has invested in the 33-year-old heir [to the Saudi crown], who has become the fulcrum of the administration’s strategy in the Middle East — from Iran to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process — as well as a prolific shopper for American military weapons, even if most of those contracts have not paid off yet,” the article read.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n‘Even Israel...’\r\n\r\nAll of that has worked to dissuade the American president from blaming Mohammed for the murder of Khashoggi, a position, according to the Times, that is “increasingly isolated” on a global scale.\r\n\r\n“The European Union has demanded ‘full clarity’ from the Saudis about the killing of Mr. Khashoggi,” the article said. Even Israel, “with strategic ties to Saudi Arabia, is not vocally defending” Mohammed, it added.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA security officer stands guard in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy during a protest against the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2018.  (Photo by AFP)\r\n\r\nAll the three reasons mentioned by The New York Times have to do with Trump’s personal agenda for his presidency. He has long promised to pressure Iran, broker what he likes to tout as the “deal of the century” while awkwardly working to anger the Palestinians by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds, and creating jobs in America supposedly with the sale of American military hardware to rich Arab governments.\r\n\r\nFailure on any of those fronts would potentially make Trump look bad in the eyes of his base.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n‘Fractures inside the White House’\r\n\r\nSeparately, the Times reported that a top White House official responsible for American policy toward Saudi Arabia — including recent sanctions on Saudi Arabian nationals over the killing of Khashoggi — had resigned on Friday.\r\n\r\nIt called the resignation “a move that may suggest fractures inside the Trump administration over the response to the brutal killing of” Khashoggi.\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, Saudi Arabia has attempted to shift the blame for Khashoggi’s murder to Mohammed’s underlings, including at least one of his advisers. But it has claimed that the criminality somehow stops short of reaching the crown prince himself.\r\n\r\nRiyadh has also failed to produce Khashoggi’s body as of yet.","content_html":"
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An article by The New York Times\u2019 White House correspondent on Sunday explained why Trump was sticking with Mohammed even as \u201cevidence piles up pointing to the Saudi crown prince\u2019s responsibility in the brutal killing of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Khashoggi was assassinated by a hit squad of 15 Saudi Arabian agents \u2014 including a frequent companion of Mohammed\u2019s and some members of his security detail \u2014 inside the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul on October 2.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Turkey \u201cmoved heaven and earth<\/a>\u201d to bring international attention to the killing. As that attention was attracted, Saudi Arabia became incapable of quietly getting away with the assassination.<\/p>\n\n

Riyadh has several times altered its narrative on the killing. Initially, it denied the killing altogether. After 18 days of blatant denial, Riyadh finally acknowledged the killing but said Khashoggi had been killed in a \u201crogue\u201d operation that had gone haywire. Still later, on Thursday, November 15, the Saudi Public Prosecution offered yet another account<\/a>, saying the 15 agents had acted on \u201can order to bring back the victim (Khashoggi) by means of persuasion, and if persuasion fails, to do so by force\u201d but had then went on to kill him on their own.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Citing informed sources, The Washington Post reported<\/a> on November 16 that the CIA\u00a0\u201chas concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Trump, who had already refused to directly implicate\u00a0Mohammed, then defied<\/a> his own country\u2019s intelligence agency by saying that the CIA assessment was \u201cvery premature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

The New York Times said in its Sunday article that Trump had basically three reasons why he was resisting blaming Mohammed.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

It said Saudi Arabia \u2014 which is under the de facto rule of Mohammed \u2014 is \u201ca linchpin\u201d of the Trump administration\u2019s hawkish strategy on Iran. The Saudi crown prince also has a close relationship with Trump\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who is pursuing what he thinks would be a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. And lastly, Mohammed has pledged to buy 110 billion dollars\u2019 worth of American military equipment.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n

In this file photo, taken on May 20, 2017, US President Donald Trump (C-R) and the then-Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman take part in a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Riyadh. Trump\u2019s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is seen standing to the right of the US president. (By AFP)<\/p>\n\n

The stance is \u201ca vivid illustration of how deeply Mr. Trump has invested in the 33-year-old heir [to the Saudi crown], who has become the fulcrum of the administration\u2019s strategy in the Middle East \u2014 from Iran to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process \u2014 as well as a prolific shopper for American military weapons, even if most of those contracts\u00a0have not paid off yet<\/a>,\u201d the article read.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u2018Even Israel...\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

All of that has worked to dissuade the American president from blaming Mohammed for the murder of Khashoggi, a position, according to the Times, that is \u201cincreasingly isolated\u201d on a global scale.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe European Union has demanded \u2018full clarity\u2019 from the Saudis about the killing of Mr. Khashoggi,\u201d the article said.\u00a0Even Israel, \u201cwith strategic ties to Saudi Arabia, is not vocally defending\u201d Mohammed, it added.<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/p>\n\n

A security officer stands guard in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy during a protest against the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2018.\u00a0 (Photo by AFP)<\/p>\n\n

All the three reasons mentioned by The New York Times have to do with Trump\u2019s personal agenda for his presidency. He has long promised to pressure Iran, broker what he likes to tout as the \u201cdeal of the century\u201d while awkwardly working to anger the Palestinians by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem al-Quds, and creating jobs in America supposedly with the sale of American military hardware to rich Arab governments.<\/p>\n\n

Failure on any of those fronts would potentially make Trump look bad in the eyes of his base.<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u2018Fractures inside the White House\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Separately, the Times reported<\/a> that a top White House official responsible for American policy toward Saudi Arabia \u2014 including recent sanctions on Saudi Arabian nationals over the killing of Khashoggi \u2014 had resigned on Friday.<\/p>\n\n

It called the resignation \u201ca move that may suggest fractures inside the Trump administration over the response to the brutal killing of\u201d Khashoggi.<\/p>\n\n

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has attempted to shift the blame for Khashoggi\u2019s murder to Mohammed\u2019s underlings, including at least one of his advisers. But it has claimed that the criminality somehow stops short of reaching the crown prince himself.<\/p>\n\n

Riyadh has also failed to produce Khashoggi\u2019s body as of yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","content_source":"","content_url":"","content_columns":"0","content_date_start":"2018-11-19 12:21:53","content_date_finish":"2018-11-19 12:21:53","content_date_register":"2018-11-19 12:23:59","content_date_last_edit":"2018-11-19 12:23:59","content_show_img":"1","content_show_details":"0","content_show_related_img":"0","content_show_slider":"1","content_show_title_slider":"1","content_comment":"1","content_score":"0","content_recorded":"0","content_confirmed":"0","content_status":"1","content_kind":"0","tag_id":null,"tag_word":null,"tag_service":null,"tag_total":null,"tag_soundex":null,"attach_token":"3218254726","attach_date_register":"2018-11-19 12:23:56","attach_id":"5041","attach_file_ext":"jpg","attach_file_header":"image\/jpeg","attach_img_type":"2","attach_img_width":"778","attach_img_height":"438","attach_file_media":"1","attach_show_watermark":"0","score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"visit_count":"1472","visit_date_last":"2024-11-24 22:13:32","attach_title":"Trump can\u2019t ditch MbS because of personal stakes: report 2","node_title":"Favorite,News","ot_node_left_right":"[{\"node_id\":98, \"left\":2, \"right\":11},{\"node_id\":126, \"left\":64, \"right\":65}]","node_number":"2","allowable_node":"2"}]]