This development is beyond disturbing:
"Donald Trump says the US has asked Turkey for an audio recording of
Jamal Khashoggi’s death which reportedly proves he was brutally tortured
before his premeditated murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul."
"....The evidence, if confirmed, would also undermine any Saudi attempt to
claim that Khashoggi’s death was the result of an interrogation gone
wrong, carried out by rogue elements in the Saudi intelligence and
security services. Multiple reports have suggested that Riyadh was
contemplating putting out a narrative along those lines."
"The dissident journalist was beaten and had his fingers cut off,
according to the news account. Otaiba asked for the torture to be done
outside his office, saying: “You will put me in trouble.”
“If you
want to live when you come back to Arabia, shut up,” the consul was told
by a Saudi hit team who had flown to Istanbul hours before Khashoggi’s
planned visit to the consulate, where he had expected to pick up legal
papers he needed to get married.
Khashoggi was beheaded and his
body was cut up. A Saudi forensics specialist Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy
can be heard putting on headphones to listen to music and telling others
to do the same while the body was dismembered, according to the
reports."
The sheer barbarous cruelty described is scarcely imaginable.
At first there was a rumor that Khashoggi had recorded his own death via his Apple watch and sent out the audio footage. But experts have said that it was unlikely that he could have carried this out.
Yes, something will have to be done, no matter how little. And it will be minimal.
ReplyDeleteThe Saudis had motive, method and opportunity. The only thing missing is the body, and the Turks can explain where that went. Nevertheless, Erdogan, who has closets of his own and prisons full of people he could never convict in an honest trial, has agreed to jointly investigate with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. That was the deal Vladimir Putin offered Britain when one of his hit teams killed the wrong guy in England. Mrs. May didn't bite.
So, yeah, it's better than even money that it was MBS's hit team and not one of those "rogue killers" who are known to hang out at embassies because the diplomatic coffee is so good. But it's hardly like the Kavanaugh case -- even if Tiny sees connections -- because there is a lot of external evidence on film, including pin-ups of identifiable members of the hit team. Erdogan says the Saudis did it. The Saudi king and crown prince say they didn't. Tiny would really like to, and is trying very hard to, believe them because he always believes Vlad Putin when Putin says he didn't do it. It's sort of a thing among Putin, MBS, Erdogan, Trump, and you can throw in Tiny's new love, Kim Jung Un, who knocks off family members abroad; they have to trust each other, or else who can they trust?
So the President of the United States began by saying he didn't want to quash a big Saudi arms deal and the 400 jobs is brings over a little thing like murder. At which point, David Brooks commended Trump for his honesty because most people who sell their soul to the devil deny it, whereas Trump even named his price. Under pressure from the shining eyes of Leslie Stahl, Tiny said someone would have to pay if it can be determined who did it. But the only proof he is likely to accept would be MBS waving the bloody saw and shouting, "I did it, and I'd do it again, coppers!"
Which is not likely to happen.
The only remaining question is how much is Donald J (for Jenius)
Trump into the Saudis for? That be answered by a look at DJT's tax records, and while we're at it it might be interesting to see the unsung genius son-in-law's money stake. But that is something that will never happen. Because Benghazi.
And then there's this story, in which Omar Abdulaziz, a close associate of Khashoggi, has recorded a conversation with two men sent by Crown Prince MSB to lure him home. He doesn't take the bait. Later on Omar's two brothers are arrested in Saudi Arabia.
Delete"Saudi is sending a very deliberate and clear signal, saying you are never going to be free," Human Rights Watch Executive Director Sarah Leah Whitson said. "Wherever you are, you are never going to be free to say what you want."
I am beginning to think the Saudis are worse than the Russians.