The more time elapses after the sad day of October 2, when the Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, the more clearly one may see the details of his brutal murder. The smart Apple Watch recorded his interrogation, murder, dismemberment and removal from the consulate premises. The whole world is currently discussing the measures and persecution that are to be initiated against the Kingdom itself and the Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud who is in charge of all activities due to his father the King’s illness and who apparently gave an order to murder the recalcitrant Saudi.
Naturally, Saudi Arabia denies its evident involvement in this criminal act in every way possible. Saudi Arabia claims that it rejects any threats of economic sanctions or political pressure after the US President Donald Trump commented on the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency warned that the Kingdom would take countermeasures in response to any steps taken against it. Released after the Saudi stock market fell by almost 7%, this statement clearly and directly showed that Saudi Arabia did not recognise the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi after he visited the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi officials call these accusations unjustified, but provide no proof whatsoever that the journalist left the consulate safe and sound.
The article by the Saudi Okaz newspaper Editor Mohammed Al-Saad expressed the official Riyadh standpoint as follows:
“Since the contemporary Saudi Arabia emerged in 1902, despite the fact that the Saudis fought in numerous battles for creating a union and encountered many opponents and enemies, there have been no instances of kidnapping or murdering any member of the opposition.”
In other words, the history of the Kingdom knows no cases of kidnapping or murder. The recent imprisonment of 100 princes (or possibly more, no one really knows) and the mandatory ransom for their deliverance fails to make it into the list for some reason or other.
The US President Donald Trump is facing a difficult dilemma. On one hand, the US, in its own words, is the bulwark of democracy, human rights and dignity in the whole world, not only within its own limits. The Republican Senator Lindsey Graham wrote in his Twitter account that “… if there was any truth to the allegations of wrongdoing by the Saudi government it would be devastating to the US-Saudi relationship” He emphasised that Riyadh would have to pay a heavy price if the information publicised in the media that the US newspaper The Washington Post columnist had been murdered in the consulate is proven. According to him, it is not only a question of economic relations, but an issue affecting other areas as well. Many Senators expressed this viewpoint, both the Democrats and the Republicans.
The Foreign Ministers of the UK, France and Germany called for an investigation that would establish the truth regarding the disappearance of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But Donald Trump who was very determined and belligerent at first concerning the Saudi journalist’s murder investigation now stepped back. After all, the feelings of an entrepreneur who is primarily interested in money, got the upper hand and he began to warn everybody that Riyadh would stop purchasing armaments from the United States which the Saudis had already made a provocative statement of. Let us remind the reader that, during his first visit to Saudi Arabia, agreements for the supply of weapons to the amount of $ 110 b were signed, and later the Saudis promised Donald Trump to purchase more armaments to the tune of $ 300 b. If there is a quarrel with the Saudis, assures Donald Trump the Entrepreneur, Riyadh would start purchasing weapons from Russia and might even side with Moscow. In this case, he threatens, the sanctions against Russia would be of no use and the US collapse would be imminent. Here is your Western values, Democracy and Human Rights Advocate. Dollars, and nothing else, are his top priority, nothing personal.
The recent events in the Saudi consulate give a clear feeling of déjà vu. We have already seen it somewhere at some point. Well, if it isn’t the familiar style of Mossad, the Israeli national intelligence agency. The same style of sending an armed group to a foreign state, ensuring constant surveillance over the target and then eliminating the person Tel Aviv finds unwanted. The same constant denying of any involvement even if there are certain indications. A Moroccan waiter was murdered in Norway, because the Mossad agents mistook him for an enemy agent from Palestine. Mossad kept silence regarding the issue for 40 years and only later acknowledged its responsibility and paid a compensation to the Moroccan victim’s family.
And it has been 2 years that Saudi Arabia and Israel have enjoyed a loving waltz, the former completely oblivious of the fact that, as the leader of the Arabian world, it should be primarily concerned with the statutory rights of the Arabs in Palestine. The style of Israeli national intelligence agency Mossad, that had been the teacher of Saudi Arabia was clearly seen in Istanbul, only, as the saying is, the teacher always betters his students. The Saudi students failed their exam and now Saudi Arabia and its comrades will have to answer for their deeds. The fact that the Istanbul action had been arranged in cahoots with Mossad is confirmed by the attitude of all the Israeli mass media. The investigation was barely over when the Israeli newspapers began to throw mud at the deceased, one could think they all were together in it. According to the Israeli press, it turned out that Jamal Khashoggi was no victim, but rather an Islamic terrorist, Osama bin Laden’s best friend and, quite recently, the councillor of Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud himself. And whatever took place in the Saudi consulate, maintain the Israeli media, was just exacting personal revenge, which weakens the Arabian party and, therefore, is beneficial to Israel. May that have been the truth? Only time will tell.
Viktor Mikhin, corresponding member of RANS, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.