Whatever the findings of the US government’s report on the murder of the Saudi dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, it is almost certain that the State Department’s report will be concordant with the CIA’s conclusion that the killing was ordered by none other than Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. Despite the strenuous efforts in Riyadh to keep him in the clear, this is quite the most damaging blow to the de facto ruler of the desert kingdom, now waiting in the wings to ascend the throne.
Notably, the CIA report is the first US government assessment linking the Crown Prince to Khashoggi’s death. Furthermore, the CIA has advanced its damning indictment after the likes of Donald Trump and his National Security Adviser, John Bolton, had tried to protect him from criminal investigations that have incriminated 21 Saudi agents in the murder. That sense of spurious diplomacy has now backfired. The US President had previously suggested that the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul was carried out by “rogue actors who had exceeded their authority” ~ a feeble defence of an ugly truth. However, the CIA found that Prince Mohammed’s tight grip on decision-making made such a claim highly untenable. There is little doubt that the findings are damaging to the kingdom’s official narrative.
Yet even in the immediate aftermath of the report, both Mr Trump and the State Department have continued to underline the importance of the US-Saudi strategic relationship. The fact of the matter must be that geostrategy cannot be confused with a horrendous murder, that has ignited a bout of intrigue within the royalty in Riyadh and to the consternation of the world.
President Trump must be acutely aware that the kingdom is under a cloud. His statement during a visit to the fire-devastated California is neither here nor there ~ “The CIA’s assessment is very premature, but it is possible that Prince Mohammed was responsible”. Mr Trump must accept for once his intelligence experts’ incontrovertible conclusion ~ the Crown Prince is culpable for Khashoggi’s monstrous murder.
The fallout of this killing is bound to be consequential in the form of sanctions, prosecution, removal of MBS and others. Continued cover-up, enabled by Mr Trump, can only deepen suspicion. After Khashoggi had died, a member of the “kill team”, so-called, reportedly called an aide to Prince Mohammed and said: “Tell your boss the deed is done.” The contents of this call have strengthened the CIA’s assessment. Direly significant is the timeline of last weekend’s developments.
Coinciding with the CIA report is America’s economic reprisal. It has imposed “punishing economic sanctions” on 17 Saudis allegedly involved in the murder of Khashoggi, including top aides of the Crown Prince. “The Saudi officials we are sanctioning were involved in the abhorrent killing of Jamal Khashoggi,” A remarkable exposure of truth in the midst of President Trump’s hedging. The CIA has articulated the truth. The plot thickens with reports of a palace plot to forestall Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s assumption of power as king