Khashoggi case

Who is Jamal Khashoggi?

Khashoggi, a prominent journalist who was often critical of the Saudi government and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

But last year, Khashoggi had a falling out with the government over Prince Mohammed's controversial tactics as he has worked to consolidate his power, including arresting powerful business executives and members of the royal family.

The Saudi royal family also barred Khashoggi from writing after he was critical of US President Donald Trump, and it drove Khashoggi to leave Saudi Arabia for the US in the summer of 2017.

 

In the Post, he criticized the Saudi Arabian-led blockade against Qatar, Saudi Arabia's dispute with Lebanon, Saudi Arabia's diplomatic dispute with Canada, and the Kingdom's crackdown on dissent and media.

Khashoggi went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. And ,It is allegedly believed that he walked in but was executed by Saudi officials in Turkish embassy, which spurred the international reactions.

U.S – Saudi Arabia Relations and Khashoggi

Even if all the evidence points to a state-sanctioned assassination. Saudi Arabia is simply too crucial to US interests to allow the death of one man to affect the relationship. Even the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, could not damage the relationship. Though al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, himself a Saudi national, recruited 15 of the 19 hijackers from the Kingdom, senior Saudi officials dismissed the implications.

It appeared that the awkward alliance between a secular democracy and a secretive theocracy, cemented by common interests during the Cold War, was plunging into the abyss separating their values. But the alliance not only survived; it deepened. U.S wants Oil , Saudi has oil ;U.S and Saudi both see Iran as a threat.The global players are rhetoric against saudi following Khashoggi’s disappearance.

Though the US no longer needs Saudi oil, thanks to its shale reserves, it does need the Kingdom to regulate production and thereby stabilize markets. American defense contractors are dependent on the billions the Kingdom spends on military hardware. Intelligence cooperation is crucial to ferreting out jihadists and thwarting their plots. But, most important, Saudi Arabia is the leading Arab bulwark against Iranian expansionism. The Kingdom has supported proxies in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen to contain Iran’s ambitions. Any steps to hold the Saudis responsible for Khashoggi’s death would force the US to assume responsibilities it is far more comfortable with.

It is a role America has long sought to avoid. When the United Kingdom, the region’s colonial master and protector, decided that it could no longer afford such financial burdens, US leaders ruled out taking its place. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger conceived a policy whereby Iran and Saudi Arabia, backed by unlimited US military hardware, would police the Gulf. While Iran stopped playing its role following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Saudis still do.