The Trump's & Kushner's will cluck their tongues and act like they are trying to take action, but let's remember they could care less about ANY journalist, so it would only be for the cameras. (Like the supposed FBI investigation into Kavanaugh's after Dr. Ford's testimony.)
Trump's been waging a war against all media outlets for years leaning heavily on labeling news he doesn't like as "fake news" and threatening journalists, so in a very direct way, he's responsible for this terrible incident.
12
Davos in the desert? Hosted by a megalomaniac murderer of journalists and children?
Mnuchin I can understand, because he does not have a single moral cell in his body. But the chief executives of JP Morgan Chase, Blackstone and Uber? They need to cancel immediately.
The brazenness of this vile and gruesome murder is shocking. Does greed really trump (pun intended) everything or will we hang on to our humanity?
11
He was NOT an American citizen. He was born in Saudi Arabia & moved to Virginia, US, in 2017. The Saudis Did Not kill an American citizen. They did kill one of their own which makes it just as disgusting & terrifying. Stop trying to incite the mob with false story that he was an American. If he had been an American journalist killed by the Saudis in their embassy, then trump has started ordering the wiping out of “the enemy of trump” journalists. Scarier still!
1
Gee, when trump calls journalists enemies of the people, does it come as a surprise at all that he's ok with the Saudis (who were responsible for funding the 9/11 attack, at least peripherally) killing one of them? And, of course, the bottom line for trump is always money.
8
Saudi Arabia has been given a pass since 9/11. Trump is just following in Bush the younger’s tiny footsteps. Remember those photos of Bush holding hands with one or another Saudi prince?
Jared Kushner is probably as blandly stupid as he appears to be. His elevation to such an important advisory position was probably to ensure that our relationship with the Saudis would continue to be as placid as possible. It’s all about the money.
10
Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance or dismemberment in the Saudi Consulate may be a moment of crisis for the media and the world at large, Trump and Kushner are likely looking at it as a moment of humongous opportunity.
The more the US Congress and public opinion are roiled against the Saudi Rulers, the better handle it gives Trump-Kushner machine to up their ante, their demands of suitable returns for looking after the Saudi Prince. For protecting him.
We all have heard Trump brag, time and time again, about profiting from his own bankruptcies and failed businesses. Why would this man then let go a godsent opportunity to profit from the failure of a cash-rich client who is trapped in a corner with no place or person to turn to?
Wise up, people. Wake up.
Do not just keep reminding Trump's minions and his WH officials of their obligations to the country and its constitution. It's our duty also. To our people. To our country. To the Rule of Law.
Every vote counts. A change of one or two votes per a polling station can make all the difference in the outcome of the election. It's either their candidate - or OUR's. Think it over. Register and Vote.
And where possible, help with Money and Time - Wholeheartedly.
11
To think Jared is BBF with the Saudis Prince should give this country a cold chill.
9
It seems that the super-son-in-law had the authority to override Tillerson and now Pompeo. Who thought it was a good idea to give someone so inexperienced in diplomatic affairs that kind of authority? Welcome to the world of unintended consequences Donald. Just watching him struggle to answer questions about this is embarrassing. The man is in so far over his head, it's pathetic.
19
Saudi Arabia has taken Trump’s war on journalists to extremes. The Saudis never expected to be dobbed in from Turkey of all places, but the Turks appear to have done a through investigation so far. It will be interesting to see where this story leads considering how they treat their own journalists.
No doubt our president admires the Saudi chutzpah and wishes he could do that.
The Turks found that some of Mr Khashoggi’s DNA made a departure through a drain
at the Saudi compound in Istambul. The Journalist’s previously unexplained departure from the Embassy made Senator Graham ‘’even more distrubed’’ than he was on display in full technicolor two weeks ago. What about when Congress decided to continue selling weapons to Saudi Arabia? Was Senator Gramham’s anger machine cranked up then?
Prior to the vote to sell ANY weapons (or surgical tools ) to Saudi Arabia, given how that has worked out in Yemen, would have been the proper time to hurl yourself onto the floor kicking and screaming and eating carpet.
Saudi Arabia manufacturers nothing, save for the terror they export to the Muslim world. Now other US products will probably show up connected to Mr Khashoggi’s death and disposal.
That country is one of the world’s most brutal regimes. The Trump GOP is only interested in the money from arms sales, not the worldwide trail of collateral damage rained down on innocent civilians that has roots in a military industrial manufacturing plant on American soil.
15
"...the president expressed reluctance to punish Saudi Arabia by cutting off arms sales." One more reason I'm embarrassed to be an American.
9
Why in the world would one of the business persons representing the US, Stephen A. Schwarzman, also serve on the advisory board of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), established in 2011. RDIF was created under the leadership of Putin to co-invest alongside top global investors, acting as a catalyst for direct investment in Russia.
3
Quick question: when Canada criticized Saudi Arabia and they shot back, who in the world defended us? Live with the allies you have and accept them as they are. Besides, why did the journalist go into the embassy anyway? He of all people should have known that he was not going to get the royal treatment.
1
After the ‘corrupt and evil’ mid-terms Trump will announce he is replacing the security service with a private contractor. The new SCOTUS will rule this as being constitutional with Kavanaugh as the deciding vote. The new bodyguard (called the Leibstandarte) will be empowered to ’protect’ the president from all threats. This will include any ‘evil’ attacks from the House of Representatives.RBS will be awesome VIP.
3
Jared Kushner, as a senior 'diplomat' is akin to the dream/sleep state of an adolescent fixated on the 1950s science fiction productions out of Hollywood. Forbidden Planet comes to mind. A strange brew acknowledging reality, yet discounting reality in the dream state.
2
Where and when, for crying out loud, do we draw the crazy and ever-changing rules of economic and strategic political policy versus human rights?
6
Although I'm definitely not a fan of Kushner and certainly not a Trump supporter, I think this piece completely missed the mark. First of all Kushner's cultivation of MBS was probably not something done to further any US government policy or goal. Kushner is a young man and surely knows that his high profile embrace of a young Saudi crown prince will literally pay huge dividends for his business in the future. Second, Jared is the Trump family snowflake and until Ivanka turns him out, his performance as a government employee won't change a thing in the eyes of Trumplethinskin.
The probable murder of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudis will not be a diplomatic crisis for Trump due to the complete lack of legislative oversight, and the media's inability to focus on any given subject for more than a week to 10 days. My bet's on Jared getting a DUI this week. The perfect drama-filled, key-jingling event to distract the press from the criminals in the executive branch, while having no real effect of Jared. He's got a driver.
2
Another tsunami from Lindsey Graham. the last one was over Russian hacking and the poisoning of the Russian in England. good old Lindsey, his red line is a ripple on the beach. Miss Obama's red line morphing into pragmatic negotiations over chemical weapons deal with Syria.
3
Don't expect Trump to do much about this sad situation. He has business interests in Saudi Arabia and after two years he will start pushing them vigorously.
10
The Turks have said that there are security cameras on all entrances and exits to the Saudi consulate, and Mr. Khashoggi did not leave.
The U.S. should stop selling arms to the Saudis and stop oil imports. America should get more of its oil from us as we may not be able to sell to China under the new free trade agreement.
3
Enough with this 'possibly 'and 'suspected' business--although media outlets other than the NYT are being far less tentative in accusing the Saudis.
It is time instead to act. Press Congress to enact investigations under the Global Magnitsky Act immediately.
5
Saudi Arabia has been getting away with murder for years. If 9/11 didn't dent the US links to these despots, thousands of slaughtered Yemenis civilians and a murdered journalist certainly will not.
What these atrocities will do is hurt America's reputation further and its standing with its democratic allies (though perhaps that doesn't matter to the US government anymore)
5
“Wasn’t Lindsey Graham the most disturbed” he’s ever been during the Senate judiciary committee hearing for Brett Kavanaugh? Guess he is setting new heights for feigned outrage by the week.
12
When did the heritance of wealth define the definition of intelligence, integrity or a moral code of ethics? When did the heritance of wealth buy power to self-proclaim one as a leader, the decision maker who laws, rules, and proclamations affect an entire population of human beings? When did the heritance of wealth give one the liberty to ignore, brush aside what millions have died for, The Unalienable Rights of all people?
In the wee hours of the morning behind a closed door, entitled Jared gave this prince a heads up regarding who is loyal to him and who is not. I am certain the prince returned the favor. If you have any doubt that "Mr. Khashoggi, a resident of Virginia and a columnist for The Washington Post" was killed, I have that bridge to sell you.
This club is titled 'You too can be a Dictator' and entrance is only after presenting you're bigger than life, well camouflage financial statement.
We are witness to the darkest part of human nature and 'like does attract like'.
It has to end, 11-6-2018
8
Does anyone care about so many journalists that are killed or are under vioence in the prisons of iran? HOW about those people that are being shoot on the streets? How about execution of political prisoner? No one cares but all are thinking about self benefits of supporting the murderer regim in Iran.
Every time I see Kushner he reminds of Fredo in The Godfather.
The problem is Kushner isn't as smart.
10
I really don’t see the issue. It was the Saudis dealing with a Saudi citizen (noting he was a resident of Virginia is an attempt to make it seem like he was a US citizen - he wasn’t) in a Saudi diplomatic compound (typically regarded as sovereign territory) in Turkey. We have no skin in this game. Tell the Saudis to never think of doing this to an American citizen and move on.
1
Wow. Just shocked at how you don’t want to think about this man and what happened to him.
12
The “skin in the game “ is that a person should be allowed to enter an Embassy alive and exit the same.
For anyone. Anywhere and anytime.
13
American Isolationism at its most craven......Save us
6
The video of Khashoggi entering the consulate in Turkey is clear. His exit from the consulate is no where to be found. His detention if that was what this could easily be defused by producing him.
Something has gone horribly wrong and Turkey is screaming for US help. The Saudis are making a mistake by stonewalling they need to get their story out and soon. Trump may rope a dope this event, but Congress will not, and cannot fail this time.
9
No one knew for days what had happened to even the Lebanese Prime Minister, then he reappeared. I dare only hope so much for Mr. Kashoggi. Concern for him as a person seems a bit lost in all the lofty concerns expressed in this article, but then he of all people understood the powers involved in his life and work. I picture his fiancée waiting outside the Saudi consulate for eleven hours though, and think of the person. I wish she wouldn't visit the White House. Donald Trump is not the person to run to for comfort and protection from the abuses of dictators.
22
Again, this is the power play of the one percent which include these dude, Jared and Donald, and the collateral damage of the ninety nine percent especially Mr. Khashoggi and the people of Yemen.
17
Kushner has been hoping for Saudi investments in his struggling financial dealings. I hope these blatant uses of the White House for personal gain is dealt with in the courts soon.
30
It's not a personnel reckoning for Kushner, it's financial!
16
One more thing to add to the list to be investigated by the House of Representatives when (if) the Democrats get a majority.
23
The Trump Administration has for many months actively supported Saudi measures in Yemen that may well amount to war crimes. They count on the Saudi's to buttress the increasingly oppressive Egyptian regime. They also count on the Saudis as their proxy to confront Iran.
The Trump Administration, while it may make some pious statements, will do nothing to displease or undercut Mohammed bin Salman.
14
Jared Kushner advised Trump to fire James Comey, which turned out to be a domestic political disaster. Now, Kushner's incompetence in foreign relations has resulted in an international calamity. Even someone as obtuse as Donald Trump should realize that it is time to get the hook.
21
Jared got gamed? Huh? This is exactly why failed up executives (for lack of a better word) such never be allowed into the halls of power in the first place. Once again, reapin' what was sowed.
14
Amateur hour at the daycare.
16
Why wouldn’t the Saudis kill a journalist they regard as an enemy? They’re so certainly not worried about a confrontation with Trump. Trump has declared the media as the enemy of the American people and couldn’t care less about the safety of journalists.
And with Trump everything is transactional. It’s money over any sort of moral leadership and they know how important that 110 billion dollar arms deal is to Trump.
Perhaps the U. S. complicity in murdering thousands of civilians in Yemen will be discussed in the media while Trump drags his feet in “getting to the bottom” of Khashoggi’s murder.
21
Let me paraphrase Trump:
It's too bad a Washington Post reporter got murdered by the Saudis, but we have to ignore that as .... “We have jobs we have a lot of things happening in this country.”
America now stands for profits first, not justice, not righteous ethics.
25
NO arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia killed an American citizen. NO arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Ray Sipe
12
He was NOT an American citizen. Had never even applied. He was a Saudi National living in exile. He should never have gone to the embassy.
1
I thought the pic showed a portrait of prince Jared as he is framed up by the picture on the wall......wouldn't be surprised if the Saudi's have framed portraits of him for real!
6
I am writing a book about Armenians living in Iran and I am learning that the Iranians treat the Christian minorities with great respect making me wonder if the Iranians are really evil as we are told by President Trump. On the other hand I see a Trump ally, Saudi Arabia, has likely hack sawed a Washington Post reporter to death.
22
@Mike Boyajian
The actual people in most countries are not the problem.
5
Iranians are wonderful people. their leaders are like any other leaders, cling to power at any cost. the difference between Us and them is that, up until now, American leaders have been self-constrained by the Constitution.
8
Did Trump blame the Democrats yet?
19
Trump, Kushner & GOP by extension selling America for $$$.
21
Kushner and Trump, real estate agents well trained in eviction tactics to get rid of unwanted tenants in order to acquire and develop distressed properties:
Harass tenants, offer tenants piddling bribes to relocate, deny services, begin onerous court proceedings.
Who better to negotiate the West Bank. All the better that the Kushner/Trump family can invoke the Old Testament as justification for reclaiming the abandoned territory.
But first, cut the Sunni Islamic terrorist Saudi nation into the deal. The main nation that was responsible for the 911 WTC/Pentagon attacks and the subsequent wars with Iraq, Afghanistan, ISIS, Syria, maybe Turkey next.
Is it any wonder that Mr. Netanyahu gets standing ovations from the complicit congress.
4
Why all the turmoil over the Saudi’s emulating all the autocratic dictatorships worldwide? These activities are a matter of fact from Hungary to China and the Philippines. We need to avoid the possibility of these actions inevitability in the US.
5
If there is a mistake to be made in international relations, someone in the Trump administration will make it. This situation is no exception.
Nor can we count on the word of Kushner or Trump, among others. They flip-flop outrageously, as though we don't recall what they said a day or two before.
If the Saudis kidnapped or killed Mr. Khashoggi, they should be sanctioned for it.
22
The Crown Prince can fix Jared and his family's teetering Real Estate Empire
with his pocket change. That's all we
need to know here.
35
Here is what needs to happen in a few days when sufficient evidence of the gruesome murder is confirmed.
-Order Americans and non-essential diplomatic staff to leave the country.
-Move the necessary fleets and aircraft into position to strike Riyadh and other key targets. Freeze Saudi accounts and access to banking services, oil sales, imports and exports.
-Work with Europeans and other allies to obtain agreement and support for an intervention
-Present a menu of demands to the Saudi government designed to change the country's character and modus operandi that might include, iter alia: admission of guilt and detailing of how the assassination was carried out and by whom; trial in non-Saudi criminal courts of assassins and leaders including...; vast reparations; end to Yemeni crimes; end to Qatar blockades; diplomatic relations with Canada restored and students return to Canada; radical Wahabi support abroad ended; Saudi support for radical Islamic agents clarified and ended; journalists and reformers freed from jail forthwith with no future retribution; agreement on social reforms targeting women and non-Saudi workers with time schedule; no retribution against US or allied governments, firms, bases, interests; reform of laws, government, media to optimize liberty and free expression ---just for starters...
The first military targets should be...
Or we could simply ignore or downplay what our good friends the Saudis did as trump will propose...
9
This is an obscene action on the part of the Saudis and downright embarrassing, but I'm not sure how it really puts any foreign policy strategy "at risk".
That strategy is bigger than this event. This event is a another reminder of the way it works over there and that we shouldn't get too entangled.
But are we going to shift to an alliance with Iran because of this? No. Among other things, they tried a move like this on U.S. soil in 2011.
Are we going to cut off arms sales? Not gonna happen.
The big question is how do we and the Crown Prince move to save face.
2
This is the bottom line for Trump et al.as you quoted in your reporting:
“But the president expressed reluctance to punish Saudi Arabia by cutting off arms sales, as some in Washington were proposing. “I think that would be hurting us,” he said. “We have jobs we have a lot of things happening in this country.”
This is what it is all about – MONEY.
Jared is very possibly being indicted by Mueller’s investigations. I guess SOS Pompeo is not interested in doing his job and defers to this novice actor.
Even if Khashoggi just had an extra ordinary rendition by the US intelligence trained Saudi hit squad and he is either in Cairo or Riyadh the US Congress must intervene to salvage our moral position of talking about freedom of the press, only US Congress can do this as the President uses the press as a punching board in his campaign rallies and is not willing to stand up for the press.
I do hope and pray Khashoggi was only abducted and not killed. The only leverage we have against these atrocities being committed by MBS is stopping the Arms Sales to him.
It would also be smart to let them know categorically that if we have any one missing after entering their consulates/embassies in this Country Saudi Arabia would be considered State sponsor of Terrorism (which they are) and would automatically be sanctioned.
11
So why is the NYT (along with Bloomberg, CNN, CNBC, and Fox Business News) participating in the Saudi's Future Investment Initiative, Oct 23 - 25 as a "media partner"?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2018/10/10/why-are-u...
7
President and his family feeds at the trough of Saud and American citizens are slaughtered with no recourse. Love those conservative values!
7
trump and his low life family only surround themselves with "quality people"that will enrich their wallets NOT their souls or minds.Great job jared...we've been wondering what you do all day...party with assassins and people that might bail you out of a notoriously stupid real estate purchase at 666 sorta like your daddy in law except his daddy was rich and yours served time in the big house.Talk about "quality people" con don met with unhinged kanye west in the oval...complete with profanity and crazy talk.Now that's what I call spending one's time productively.
16
Follow the money. Both Donald Trump and Jared Kushner have serious problems as credit risks.
18
@bnc Well, former Justice Kennedy's boy has helped them with that in the past. There's no reason to believe that won't continue, now unabated by Papa's big fancy job.
5
The message from the president is that the US is staying our of human rights issues and that the press is the enemy of the people.
A green light for dictators all over the world.
Maybe Jared is not a hidden genius as Haley tagged him but a naïve newcomer. Better choose his buddies more wisely!
3
It will probably develop, to the satisfaction of Senator Graham, that the journalist tripped over a hassock and dismembered himself. Or maybe it was an unaffiliated 400-pound assassin sitting on his bed somewhere. In any case, Mr. Graham is now completely incapable of remaining indignant about anything that Mr. Trump does not want him to be indignant about.
16
“We have jobs we have a lot of things happening in this country.” Really? this is the President of USA, a murder is acceptable for a few pieces of gold?
9
I wouldn't want to be a journalist in a plane full of journalists any where near Saudi Arabia.
Those missiles sometimes have minds of their own.
6
Is it Infrastructure Week yet?
9
The Saudi Royal Family has been and will always be lying, 2-faced criminals. They have actually been using us for decades. And now that we apparently generate so much fossil fuels domestically, why don't we just boot them.
6
True - now substitute US government in wherever you mention Saudi Arabia and it’s still true.
3
@jeff
Notice, Jeff, that nobody is commenting on how America has been pandering to the Saudis since the 1940s? It didn't start with Trump.
As to Jared, he was trying to get the Saudis to warm up to the new peace proposal between the Israelis and Palestinians. Salman refuses to approve, so that didn't pan out. The Saudis are still the same ruthless guys they were since the house of Saud began. Maybe the Hashemites, whom they defeated, would have been better.
Sure...Jared the newly crowned genius by Haley is just by
dint of personality going to give us an Israeli Palestinian peace
treaty.....great start to move the embassy......dumbbell
What Faustian pact did Trump and Kushner make with the Saudi Crown Prince to benefit La Familia?
On the bright side a few Senators appear to have woken up, (which Prince kissed them) and even managed to cobble together a bi-partisan approach. Shocker.
4
But they can’t work together for the good of America? The sad thing is Graham would never get indignant if journalists start getting killed off by trump base because they are the enemy of trump. Why is trump not calling this “fake news” spread by the democrats to hurt him in the midterms? Has he accepted the Saudi denial like he accepts the Russian denials? “They are my friends. We fell in love at first sight. They have strongly denied doing this. You have to accept that. They told me they didn’t do it.” Awaiting the presidential tweet to solve this problem.
Trump is probably a little jealous and his “the press is the enemy of the people” schtick is nothing but a green light to authoritarians everywhere.
3
Can the Saudi's make Kushner disappear?
Just wondering. I don't think anyone would miss him.
13
... still want to see don the con's tax returns and understand how much influence folks from other nations have on him ... just sayin'
2
The Saudi regime is vile, not stupid. They read the Trumps and Kushners like a book. They are after investment money, which they won't be receiving. The reasons are many, but not least of which is the trump/kushner clan being sent to jail.
10
The Saudi Prince boasted that he had Jared Kushner in his pocket. Once again, Jared proves his ignorance in dealing with foreign governments. When you live in a bubble your entire life you don't learn much. He has conveniently forgotten who was responsible for 9/11 and for all those deaths. This is just another example of Jared being way over his head.
8
If JPMorgan, Blackstone, and Uber, along with Barrack and Powell attend any meetings anywhere with these criminals and their and their accomplices, investors in these companies should have plenty to say with their money by withdrawing it.
If anyone doubted that little Jared was in over his head by trying to play in this league, you have your answer.
This entire administration, top to bottom, has been played and made fools of at every turn. It's what to expect when all they bring to the table is arrogance, bling, ignorance, and worst of all, lack of preparation having done none of the homework. Of course, that requires reading, studying, questioning; there is no shortcut.
How much longer?
8
The " hidden genius ". The only thing hidden is his alleged genius.
Seriously.
11
So Jared Kushner, the 'genius' outgoing Nicki Haley spoke of earlier in the week was heavily promoting a potentially ruthless thug in the middle east. Maybe Ms. Haley isn't quite the foreign policy expert the Republicans and press all judge her to be.
3
This incident bothers me for so many reasons. Not the least of which is that Jared Kushner seems to have traded in his humanity for Saudi support for Israel and against Iran. There's no other reason for his adoration of this despot prince.
The absolute irony, and unspeakable tragedy, of Israel holding hands with a despicable tyrant who is committing near genocide is, ....beyond words.
7
Any connection to Haley’s resignation?
5
@Marcy Solomon
First thing that came to my mind! - it seems obvious but I don't see any other reporting connecting those dots.
1
Saudi Arabia’s wealth matters more to the Trump administration than mere a case of conspiracy in the murder of a journalist.
5
The Trump Crime Family in action. Putting a smug, know-nothing punk, Jered Kushner, in charge of the Saudi relationship and making the Crown Prince, a war criminal due actions in Sudan, his pal.
8
It's interesting to see Lindsey Graham pulling on his big boy pants over this. Is he signaling Trump's upcoming stance on the issue?
5
But the Trump administration should love this: Trump adores dictators, worships people who have their enemies killed, most of us who don't worship our "dear leader" realize that he would like to have his enemies killed too, no doubt starting with journalists who print and speak the truth about him.
12
After using the bone saw, did the Saudi murder squad transport the body parts out of Turkey in diplomatic pouches? Cuisinart them and flush them down the drain? Just how bad does it have be for common decency to trump U.S. arms sales?
13
It really is no surprise that Kushner is involved with people like this. Trump and his spawn are involved with repressive, dictatorships and corrupt oligarchs around the world. Trump makes it clear on a daily basis that he prefers the iron fist to the olive branch. Perhaps Kushner was hoping to get some pointers from "MSB" on how big daddy Trump might possibly do something similar to disagreeable journalists in our own country? After all, his hatred of the free press is well known and his followers would vote for him, even if he shot someone in the middle of Fifth Ave as he never fails to remind us.
Don't expect Trump to care about this situation let alone do anything to about it. America is now ruled by a fascist cult that is populated almost entirely by ruthless thugs. They don't believe in democracy or free speech. They don't want to help Saudi Arabia become more like America. They are doing their very best to make America look more like Saudi Arabia, with a theocratic government based on Evangelical Christianity instead of Islam.
11
@wildwest
Perhaps- then again Kushner is very Jewish and forced Ivanka to convert. I think religion aspect is just a smoke screen - it's all about power and greed.
6
@Aaron
Yes, I absolutely agree. Trump and his thugs don't care about religion per se. Evangelical Christianity is only a means to an end for them. They will impose the Evangelical version of Sharia Law on us and rob us of our freedoms to help keep us in check. Trump and his ilk care only for money and power just as you say. They are entirely Godless.
1
So it would upset the Liar in Chief if Khashoggi was assassinated but the US will continue to sell arms to the Saudis so they can continue to kill those who they perceive as enemies. It's the economy, stupid, says Trump when "the extent to which Trump’s personal interests, and those of his family especially Kushner, affect the U.S. approach to Saudi Arabia goes unanswered.
4
Trump is saying it looks like Saudi Arabia is at fault for the murder of a Washington Post writer and that he is not happy about it. But then he says he doesn't want to stop weapon sales to SA because it would hurt American jobs. That's like saying it doesn't matter what Hitler does as long as we make money off of it. With Trump, all he cares about is money. He is sick.
20
The "Hidden Genius" Kushner at work by partying with the Saudi Crown Prince until the wee hours of the morning and begging for money. No wonder Ivanka married him he is just like her father.
14
Investigate! Trump is only worried about the $110 billion in arms sales. Kushner is a power hungry Trump mini bot. Saudis are power crazy; willing to kill anyone who gets in their way. Saudis brutally killed an American journalist. Period. Saudis are Trump allies; Trump will do nothing. Vote out GOP ; Trump is the GOP; GOP is Trump.. Investigate! Sanction! Investigate Trump! Ray Sipe
6
Kushner:
Bro, why didn't you tell me you were going to off Khashoggi, we could have done a two- fer this other guy from the Post named Woodward.
bin Salman:
Bro, my bad, but I thought you read your intelligence briefings now that you got your security clearance back.
11
Senator Lindsay Graham's comment that "there will be hell to pay" if Saudis killed Mr. Khashogi got me laughing. I remember him saying exactly the same thing when Trump first threatened to fire Jeff Sessions. And today, he is waiting like a vulture waiting for a carcass -- to take Session's job in November. He will be that kind of "law enforcement" official. God help the USA!
8
does trump get his punch lines from yogi berra or what?...I'm thinking inside my head that Trump is thinking that if they Saudis' killed this guy then it would terrible and treachorous if they murdered him..I call it Trumphrasiumology
1
Given Mr. Trump’s treatment of and lack of concern for lost children at the US border and his disdain for members of the media it can be difficult to imagine him and his team or his base viewing this story with anything but a bit of envy… what’s a few lost children (or in this case, journalists) if it helps keep others in line.
As for Senator Graham, his contention of “hell to pay” has about as much credibility as every politicians’ promise to make sure that “this will never happen again” after Parkland. It has.
9
The Saudi’s may think Americans are stupid and they would be correct with trump as president. But they shouldn’t deluded themselves into thinking all Americans are stupid. Eventually we’ll have democrat or even republican president that won’t stand for their cowardly and corrupt behavior. Once Saudi oil wealth runs out their only income will come from Haj tourism. That is unless they invest in their people and ensure they conform to international standards of justice and equality.
4
@Billbo
You write an intelligent remark, and it gets few accolades. Many of the comments are merely snide attacks on Kushner, while these folks should be scratching their heads and wondering, how long has America been cozy with the Saudis? Remember, it was Bush who got a plane load of them out right after 9/11.
Oh, but it's OK to attack Kushner as if he invented the Saudis, or has some hand in this murder case. Ridiculous.
Consider this:
The Saudi ruling classes have never worked an honest day in their lives. They lucked-out on a big underground pool of oil. They are, without a doubt, the biggest bunch of spoiled babies on earth. They support the worst kind of religious fanaticism and treat their women like chattel. They are exactly the kind of smug, lazy grifters as the Trumps, except a lot wealthier. Is it any wonder the likes of Kushner hangs out with them.
These are the people running the world today. It's scary.
14
So Lindsay Graham says there will be "hell to pay" if it's shown that the Saudis were involved with this death/disappearance. He's the same Lindsay Graham who promised hell to pay if Trump fires Sessions, only to reverse himself in recent months and say it's Trump's prerogative to do so.
From the reckless, murderous, disastrous prosecution of the war in Yemen to the imprisonment of women's rights activist, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince proved himself to be both repressive and incompetent long before the Istanbul consulate incident. Led by the equally incompetent Kushner, this administration will continue to play ball with him.
The "hell to pay" will not come from us, then. It will come from ruinous instability in that feudal state, whether sparked by resentful elites, religious leaders, the general populace or some combination of those forces.
13
Jared Kushner's not fit to have a job advising the President of the United States.
Except for this moron president, his father-in-law.
Kushner & The Donald are 2 peas in a pod, both born to millionaire fathers who lavished them w/ money & privilege. Neither has earned a living or had a real job outside family business. They're hopelessly out of touch with the world.
Having so much money warped them, enabling delusions that their largely unearned status has endowed them with special talents - which isn't anywhere in evidence. Trump was a failed businessman with 5 bankruptcies & Kushner recently struggled to obtain financial backing from anyone who'd get him out of debt on his 666 Fifth office tower. Neither Kushner or Trump knows jack about business.
Their foreign policy expertise is non- existent. Both are infatuated with people even wealthier than themselves - like the Sauds & Sheldon Adelson. Cash money is the sole virtue to Trump.
Kushner allied himself with the Saudis to enlarge his business connections. Trump and Kushner are in the White House to make financial connections.
It's horrifying Mr. Kashoggi met this brutal end, likely hastened by the Saudi's supposition they'd get away with murder because their close friends in the White House would raise no serious objections.
Which is what happened.
This despicable behavior from Kushner & Trump spells the end of the United States of America as a democracy or a
country to be admired.
Despicable.
24
Waiting for Trump's tweet where he tells us what he really thinks of the Saudi's suspected murder of a journalist. Am betting he is totally okay with it and can't wait till he can do the same here.
5
To punish Saudi Arabia “I think that would be hurting us,” Trump said. “We have jobs we have a lot of things happening in this country.”
Please! This is not about jobs, more likely it will be "hurting" Trump Family inc. plans, and put paid to "a lot of things happening" that would enrich himself, family and friends and no doubt consolidate power and control for the same.
How come Kushner has been allowed to have so many private, unrecorded interactions with Mohammed bin Salman? And what do the Saudis have on Trump Inc. This is one big rat's nest.
14
Kushner's catering to Saudi Arabia to obtain financing from The United Emirates for the Kushners' failing building at 666 5th Avenue in New York explains a lot of his actions. He was trading peace for Israel and moving the Amerian Embassy to Jerusalem for being complicit in MGS's and his father's takeover of the Saudi government.
Donald will not take any action against Saudi Arabia. After all, his favorite person Ivanka Trump is married to Jared Kushner.
15
Jared Kushner was played for the total sucker he is. Born on third base and believing he hit a triple, and while he may have had some debatable success in real estate, where all you need to prevail is enough money to use as a cudgel. He is light years out of his depth in the world of international affairs, where he has to deal with ruthless people who owe him nothing and need nothing from him.
Remember that he is so conflicted it took over a year to get his security clearance, and stayed in the job regardless. Totally clueless; not only has he been played by the Saudis, he has become Netanyu's little puppet.
Disgraceful.
16
Of all the incidents, lies, double-dealing and outright disgraceful tantrums this president has done, my gut tells me that this will start the ball rolling towards the dismantling of this administration.
The whole world has seen what MBS has done and now the GOP caucus will have to see how much they will protect the protector of a murderer.
Good luck GOP, you've got the tiger by the tail now.
4
First, this is supposition posing as news, which is disturbing and plays into the hands of Trump and base as being more "fake news". Second - prove it. Lastly, but not leastly, blah, blah, blah, we tried to assassinate Castro with mob help and we killed tens of thousands of civilians in various campaigns. Carpet bombing of Dresden anyone?
2
A little murder among friends is no big issue for the Trump cartel as evidenced by DJT's warm feelings for the heads of the Russian and North Korean crime families. It's not personal or reflective of a character flaw, it's just business.
6
Let's not forget Trump mantra: Deny. Deny. Deny.
Something else will happen, time will pass.
People forget.
Never held accountable.
And a minority in this country continues to impose their disdain for truth, - and their disdain and for those of us, the MAJORITY, who disagree with them.
12
Yes, as the leaders of the free world we will absolutely do something if this proves to be true. Outrageous!
With the caveats that it not cost one American (corporations ARE people) one dime, embarrass neither Kushner, MBS or Trump or interfere with the good times about to be enjoyed by all at "Davos in the Desert" putting on the Ritz. Mrs. "Let 'Em Eat Cake" Mnuchin, among many others, has been looking forward to this and already spent a lot on her wardrobe.
The First Amendment being so important to this administration.
4
Mr. Trump and Jared Kushner have been calling Riyadh, not to understand what actually happened, but trying to find a way out for the Saudis. Knowing that his calls could be leaked, Mr. Trump was trying to cover himself, openly referring to his calls as intended to help the Saudis.
He is also been calling President Erdogan to figure out the extent of information the Turks have on what did happen inside the Saudi embassy in Ankara. Saudis need that information to put together a plausible story, without getting caught in their lies by the evidence the Turks already have from inside the Saudi embassy.
7
Does the Congress stand divided on this like they do with every other issue that should be non partisan -like the hearing of the Supreme Court Judge? A journalist has disappeared without a trace. The public wants to know if the GOP members in the Congress align with the President when he calls press "the enemy of the people". The press should continue to carry this story in their front pages and put pressure on the Saudis.
3
It is convenient for the Times to sneer at Jared, which enables it to conveniently ignore that it and its columnist, Friedman, have fawned over MBS and are more responsible for enabling this crime than the hated Trump.
7
The Crown Prince is a cut of the same cloth as the Trump family. Make it look like you are champion of the People and a reformer and do what you want to benefit yourself. This will be just one more issue that will be buried in a Trump tower somewhere, where Trump can say, I deplore and condemn this wonderful thing the Prince has done to protect his precious name.
15
With Trumps love of "Absolute Power" for Political Leaders and hate of the Press...
Anyone that believes Trump would not do the same, given the opportunity, is living in a dream world.
18
I’ve been reading as many articles written by Jamal Kashoggi as I could find. I’ve found nothing that I thought was terrible by any stretch of the imagination. I really wonder then what it was that that led to his murder. Mentioning that MBS needed to seek second opinions doesn’t seem worthy of responding to. Let alone murder. Welcome to DJTs world. But hey, unemployment is at near record levels and ISIS is wiped out and peace in the Koreas has been made. What more could deluded persons wish for?
4
I’m shocked. A neophyte White House aide, whose appointment owes everything to nepotism, made a bad diplomatic bet. How could this happen?
167
MBS might be one of the most dangerous dictators in the world because he has U.S. backing.
113
This all illustrates how woefully ignorant and way out of their depth this adminsistration is conducting what they think is foriegn policy. They court dictators who say nice things and Trump and co rush home gushing how wonderful they are and how the future will be so bright. It never occurs to them a dictator becomes a dictator not by being a nice guy by by brutalizing and murdering their own people. They trust nobody least of all the babes in the woods from the WH and smile while holding a dagger behind their backs. Can you imagine this ship of fools meeting Stalin?
6
The step prior to shooting someone on 5th avenue is knowing that a journalist who calls out your friends is about to be murdered and do nothing about it--and getting away with it.
Why did Jared get back his security clearance back when it is only being used as a real estate construction permit? A toddler with matches is less of a risk.
Jared and Ivanka will be soon leaving on one of their well-timed vacations - whenever things get hot they get on a plane to some exclusive vacation spot (with tax payers footing the SS bill) until the next crisis bumps Jared's name off the front page. Watch.
14
Just because you are a smart real estate developer does not mean that you are smart at diplomacy. The US has remarkably capable people working as career foreign service professionals. Nepotism never works and the use, by a president, of a family member is a clear signal to one's adversaries, that you are not serious about cultivating a true allegiance. Instead, you will get what we got--a tacit understanding that the Saudis can get away with anything they want, with impunity and without a meaningful US response. To do so would sow familial discontent in the Trump household. And, this is should scare any American who cares about this country.
6
@bruce egert
OR, if you're a lousy real estate developer, that you're good at foreign policy.
2
We've been dancing with this devil for too long. If these reports are true (and I believe they are) it will be very interesting to watch and listen to the way this administration rationalizes it's response to something this heinous.
93
Truly dancing...trump danced with the devil as his first trip. Now he can’t stop dancing or the financial support to his & jared’s businesses will dry up.
3
@Robert Shaffer
Lets not get carried away, shall we. You do remember help Ben Laden family gave to Dubiya. In point of fact without their cash, It would have been Al Gore in the White House.
3
@Robert Shaffer:
How has Trump "rationalized" any of the crazy things he's done or allowed to be done? Mostly he ignores any outcry or blames HRC.
2
Ooooo! Lindsay Graham says there will be hell to pay. He always says that , then does nothing. He is a useless apparatchik.
18
Hell to pay when it isn’t even an American problem. He backs down when it comes to protecting American citizens (women, girls, non whites, young boys in catholic schools, hungry kids in American cities, homeless people.....) Where is his outrage for Russian interference in the American election process? Whiney man with no “youknows”.
4
@Steven
Lindsay Roy Cohn Graham asserting what?
This man can't afford to pay ATTENTION.
6
Why is it America's responsibility to fix another Middle East train wreck?
1
"Davos of the Desert" should be shunned by Americans (government and businesses) unless Saudi Arabia is forthcoming in this investigation and is found to be blameless. Unlikely on both counts.
5
“They strongly denied it when I asked. Strongly denied it. You have to accept that when they strongly denied it. Strongly denied it.” Sound familiar? Will he apologize for the US wrongly accusing them when they strongly denied any involvement? OMG
4
That’s a scary photo with child of the core Kushner standing behind the Saudi dictatorship trio.
11
Waiting for the tweet where we will soon hear what Trump thinks about this suspected murder of a journalist. Am betting he is totally okay with it and can't wait till he has total authority to the same here.
5
Kushner Trump Saudi arms deal is crazy. It must be putting money into Kushner Trump family businesses via off shore companies and LLCs. Personal gain is what Kushner is about. Does anyone think he actually think he’s got intentions beyond personal gain? His background says no. His shady scan Jersey City deal pitching Chinese investors with promise of White House access and expedited citizenship after China visited the White House early in this presidency revealed quo’s pro quo diplomacy by Trump too. All collapsed of course. The Saudis lest anyone need to be reminded are not innocent people of peaceful intent. They are and include Bin Laden supporters and financiers of Osama Bin Laden.
8
Violence in the morning, violence for lunch, and violence in the evening - the perfect U.S. ally.
3
That’s a song!
“Violence in the morning, violence at lunch and violence at supper time.. be my source of weapons and power and I’ll say I love you every time”
Sic semper tyrannis...
7
The Saudis are untrustworthy to say the least. That’s an understatement. The arms deal should he stopped. There’s more connection to Trumps personal Saudi history than mentioned. It’s odd or curious to say the least that no one ever notes that Jamal is the cousin of Adnan Khashoggi the Saudi billionaire international arms dealer friend of Trump who was implicated and charged in various crimes and involvement in the Iran Contra arms for hostages deal. It’s a Saudi connection with daughter Nabila close to the Trumps.
71
Very interesting. The Saudis basically rent entire floors in his DC hotel and pay a princely sum to do so. No matter how low the GOP stoops we dems would never do the same. Even if it means we lose elections and control nothing. It’s a fact we need to get used to. We have to trust that decency and faith in our fellow Americans will prevail in the long run. God willing.
7
"Jared Kushner, a senior advisor to President Trump..." And there is the first of many mistakes of this administration. However, "mistakes" is perhaps the wrong plural noun to use. This was a deliberate ploy, to put in a position this over-grown child, spoiled rotten, awash in suspiciously acquired wealth, dangerously naive and inexperienced both in domestic as well as foreign affairs.
And let's not be fooled. Trump is doing nada when it comes to standing up to a tyrannical and ruthless regime. He only cares about the wealth he can glean for his affluent supporters and himself. He lies and will continue to lie. He spins and continues to spin reality. The Saudi crown prince is nothing short of a murderer in the name of Wahhabism, an extreme ideology which has nothing to do with Allah, but instead is rooted in oppression and suppression.
If we want something to be done about what is looking more and more like an atrocious assassination, we need to look to Congress. Yes, that is questionable in and of itself. But right now for innocent victims, including our journalists world-wide, justice must be brought to Saudi Arabia...and this administration.
9
Saudi Arabia… The most useless country on the planet. Billions of dollars of oil sales over the decades and they have nothing to show for it.
6
Well...he is an amateur after all.
4
Let's give credit where credit is due. Landler twice referred to the $110 Billion arms deal with the Saudis, but he failed to mention who initiated the deal. It certainly wasn't Jerrod Kushner, and it wasn't President Trump.
No, indeed. The mastermind of the $110 Billion deal was the guy who worked out of the Oval Office from 2009 to 2017. That guy deserves a big shout out. He deserves some credit for the Saudi-led air campaign. That guy's foreign policy team deserves some credit, too. It takes a village to arm a war.
C'mon, Times. Put a little strength in your facts and juice up the power of your truth.
1
May be correct but that was before MBS started his tyrannical behavior on the world stage.
2
Always that other guy?
2
Investigate the murder of American Jamal Khashkoggi by Saudis. Turkey has investigated and found 15 Saudi men working for the Saudi Govt entered the building that Khashkoggi was in. The 15 men exited; Khashkoggi never was seen again. Investigate thoroughly. This is an international incident. Saudis murdered an American citizen. Investigate! Ray Sipe
5
He was not an American...he was a Saudi living in exile. He was born in Saudi Arabia & has never become an American citizen. He was a Saudi reporter for the Washington newspaper. He was a dissident.
@Nostadomous Said No
Afraid not, he was an American citizen.
Born in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Never got American citizenship. Was just living in Virginia. If he was American, why was he not conducting business through an American embassy to get his divorce papers from Saudi Arabia. He was not full fledged US Citizen.
I would not be surprised if it turns out the Kushner, Trump, Haley and others sold Khashoggi out to the Saudis. Is that why Haley suddenly resigned, with a resignation letter dated the day AFTER he disappeared? Trump is a thug. He embraces the thug mentality. He despises the free press. Turning a blind eye while the Saudis murder a journalist would be nothing to him.
8
At least Donnie is honest here.
“the president expressed reluctance to punish Saudi Arabia by cutting off arms sales, as some in Washington were proposing. “I think that would be hurting us,” he said. “We have jobs we have a lot of things happening in this country.”
So to be perfectly clear America sells its soul for a bucks selling weapons of destruction to a murderous thug whose family was CENTRAL in the slaughter of thousands in the US on 9 /11.
MAGA baby MAGA!!
13
This is what happens when you let arrogant, ignorant New York real estate fraudsters loose in the larger world stage to play with geopolitics and people's lives. Trump voters and the complacent Republican Congress have a lot to answer for, including this death.
16
This picture is scary; it looks like a portrait of Kushner on the wall in a Saudi-controlled White House! Halloween special.
116
@AKA right? I did a double take
I saw the same thing! No accident.
Given the Trump clan's attitudes towards critics and the press in general... I imagine they have long been talking to both Russians and the Saudi's on how to best eliminate those pesky critics... Hmm, should we poison them with polonium or nerve gas... Or maybe just have our sinister henchmen kidnap and murder them?
The only difference between Trump and Vladimir or MbS is our rather tattered checks and balances.
3
So Jared Kushner's new BFF is the Saudi Crown Prince who would have had to approve of any plan to kidnap or murder Khashoggi.
And Nikki Hailey calls Kushner a "hidden genius"?
What's he hiding?
4
For over 80 years the Saudis have been reprehensible in almost all ways. Then along comes the "reformer" Mohammed bin Salman. And who is the easiest to dupe? Well according to Nikki Haley it's the" hidden genius" Jared Kushner. Should we be surprised?
3
It's notable that Trump's two best friends.....MBS and Putin....are cold blooded murderers.
5
@Jsailor
Kim Jong-un, who the President fell in love with, ain't bad in the killing department either. Wish you could ask his brother.
3
Below, the "Transcript" of the call Mr. Trump had with Prince Mohammed regarding Mr. Khassoghi.
Mr. Trump: Good afternoon prince
Prince Mohammed: Good morning Mr. President. I guess it's still morning there in Washington
Mr. Trump: Yes it is.
Mohammed: I just want to tell you Mr. President how great you are. My father the king who is 82 years old tells me you are the greatest American president ever. But the "Fake News" in the US will not tell the truth to the American People.
Mr. Trump: Yes that is so true. But let's talk about that journalist, what is his name again? Kassori..
Mohammed: Khashoggi, Mr. President.
Trump: Ok. What happened to him?
Mohammed: You know he works for the Washington Post where those "Fake News" about You are made.
Trump: Yes Washington Post equal "Fake News"
Mohammed: Mr. Khassogghi came to our consulate and since it's a Saudi territory, and Saudi laws applied, we terminated him. That is how we treat "Fake News" in Saudi Arabia because it's a disease.
Trump: I see. But the rules are different in the US I can't do that here.
Mohammed: I'm sorry to hear that you have to deal with people like that with some living right next to you.
Trump: Thanks very much. Goodbye.
Mohammed: Goodbye Mr. President. You are the best friend Saudi Arabia has ever had and we will never forget that.
2
As reported by NBC news (03 15 18),
"The prince prevented his mother, Princess Fahda bint Falah Al Hathleen, from seeing King Salman (his father) more than two years ago and at one point may even have kept her under house arrest at a royal palace."
This is the fine, principled character of Jared's BFF and sponsor.
And, notice that (y)our president doesn't want to entertain curtailing arms sales to MbS. Hey: a deal is a deal, after all - right?
NOT my president
12
Jared Kushner can be held personally responsible for the millions of people starving to death in Yemen.
4
Perhaps the forensic video expert's flight was delayed?
2
Ah, the impotent bloviating of Lindsey Graham and his fellow enfeebled Congressmen. Hilarious. Saudi Arabia could quite easily break into the White House and abduct Melania and Baron without Trump or Congress daring to touch the Holy Alliance of weapons, oil, the occasional intelligence morsel and sweet, sweet money. You think they honestly care about a journalist for the “Amazon Washington Post”? Remember: Money trumps morals whenever politicians or Presidents are involved. Trump is just an amped-up version of the same old cynical business.
121
Well said. I’d like to add the word sniveling too. After Kavanaugh I can’t think of a better term to describe everything about the GOP, from Graham to Trump. When Graham spoke at Kavanaugh’s hearing, the one after Dr Ford’s testimony, his spiteful comments will go down in my book as the most disgusting display of partisan terrorism I’ve ever witnessed.
5
Looming crisis, personal reckoning, hell to pay. Wow. And what will the press quotes be tomorrow? And then a new reversal of that, the day after. Who exactly is running this government?! Tweets one way, comments the other way, one policy one day, a new one the next. Congressional Repubs silent when the media is the enemy of the people, free speech is mob action, but hell to pay if one journalist is....disappeared?
Spare me any two-faced insight from Senator Graham- what is Senator Sanders, Senator Warren....any credible voice, saying?
4
Isn’t the president of the United States of America currently building two golf courses in that country? Will that cause a conflict?
15
The Trumps are weak wet rags in the face of their benefactors. Nothing matters more than money to Donald Trump and his family -- nothing. Therefore, let the Saudis slide. The president's reticence to confront the Saudis just confirms that he is in the pocket of anybody who will bankroll his company. The White House is a cash register.
9
Nothing has ever gone wrong when a member of the Kushner family makes a bet. We should be just fine.
I'm just kidding of course. Jared Kushner is a war criminal, which his father must be so proud of.
8
Kushner plays games, like Trump he was raised in a bubble where everything revolves around having wealth and power, not working to make it happen. He plays games with people in power to get what he wants. When it comes to foreign affairs he is just plain ignorant. He can’t help what he does not know because he does not know that he’s missing anything.
The Saudi Prince acted exactly like an
Ottoman Sultan when he came to power, he destroyed his potential rivals right off. That tells anyone with any knowledge of history that he is a ruthless man who plays the power game for the sake of power. People like that you do business with the knowledge that they would kill you in a second, will actually take your life, just to get on with their plans.
100
Wait, but Nikki Haley thinks he’s a hidden genius. So much sucking up to do.
Hey, maybe this could all be resolved with Jared, Brett, and Mohammed sitting down for a round of skis!
5
Bizarre how the NYT editorial staff can turn a blind eye to the continuous stream of utterly horrific human rights abuses committed against average Saudi citizens and thousands of poor Yemenis but has such a change of heart when one of their own is finally involved.
3
So exactly when are the adults going to start running the White House? Did they tell Trump that it's ok to say that he thinks that the Saudi's killed Khashoggi, but to still go through with the weapons sale because American jobs are at stake? If they cannot control this moron as the unidentified writer claims they can, then use the 25th Amendment and get him out of office before he starts another war.
5
From con men to colluders to murderers...only small steps for one serving the Trump-Kushner families.
6
Same clown is solving the rest of the ME’s problems
Right
4
Thousands of Yemeni civilians including many children are dying and suffering under Saudi bombardments, and nobody - NOBODY - in Congress utters a word of criticism. But ONE US-based journalist is allegedly killed by the Saudis and suddenly “there is hell to pay”?
Come on Mr. Graham. You are as phoney as you look. You have no integrity or credibility. Why would anyone vote for an unctuous sold-out hypocrite such as yourself, is beyond belief.
6
Sorry Jared, but you’ve been played by the Saudis. I guess you’re not the genius you thought you were. Sad.
8
Was this journalist an enemy of the people? Was he publishing fake news? Who emboldened this leader to take this action? Just wondering....
2
A group of Saudi citizens get together and commit a heinous crime. Who would have thought such a thing were possible?
3
Saudi Arabia is far more evil and dangerous than Iran could ever be.
They are already responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the 18 years long wars W got us into and never fought right as well as the turmoil and millions of deaths in the ME and South Asia. This action aside from demonstrating the dangerous lack of control and prudence in the new prince shows us how low El Trumpo has taken us. The utter lack of even a moments thought about how we might react to them doing this, never mind the violation of Turkey's rights, show very clearly how low El Trumpo has taken us in the estimation of other nations.
It never occurred to them to even worry about us!
4
Routine kidnappings and killings are arranged by US allies in the Middle East, but each time it is portrayed as good guys against the bad guys; State versus non-state actors, media in toe. Surprising that this is being selectively pulled up for comments and discussion; maybe it is Turkey that needs to be commended for. opening it wide
3
Saudi Arabia have already showed in the past that it cannot be trusted. It is very disturbing that Mr. Khashoggi was not warned
about the plan MBS had to kidnap him. Is it because Trump did not want the CIA to warn Khashoggi or simply another consequence of the complete incompetence of Trump's Administration. Indeed the Saudis can't be trusted but the current Trump's Administration neither.
4
“No one would be more qualified than Ivanka” said Trump when asked about Nikki Haley’s replacement.
If the “hidden genius” Kushner turned out this way, what would Ivanka end up conceding to dictators around the world??
There’s a reason why we have laws against nepotism. There’s a reason why we were concerned that Trump’s business interests would conflict with those of America’s.
7
So, in other words, Kushner got played the same way his father-in-law gets played by everyone. This is why one doesn't put a family of real estate developers in charge of international diplomacy.
3
If it was not for oil few people would pay attention to Saudi Arabia. Saddest part this is pretty much business as usual for the Desert Kingdom. Jared Kushner, real estate developer turned political operative, was played for a fool. There'll be much gnashing of teeth and strong statements then nothing will happen. An oil crisis right now? Forgetaboutit. There is way, way too much money involved for any sanction or serious response to the Saudi despot.
2
Jared Kushner might be accessory to murder. If US intelligence knew from communications intercepts that the Saudi government was laying a trap for Jamal Khashoggi and failed to warn him, then the Executive branch of our government is, at best, tainted.
7
So same old same old.
Another hapless goofball, Kushner, elevated well above his level of incompetence through the brainless decision-making processes of Donald Trump is unable to foresee the consequences of his actions in cozying up to a foreign autocrat.
I suppose you could ask "What could go wrong?", but we already have the answer.
When the leader of free world constantly declares the press is the enemy of the people this kind of thing is more likely.
Trump is more concerned about Trump hotel room occupancy which the Saudis cover for him. Emoluments anyone....
5
Any 'cultivating' Kushner does is for the personal enrichment of himself and his inlaws. Period.
3
Either the trumps knew about the plot against khashoggi and condoned it, or the Saudis are putting one over on them. Again.
2
The photo is a story in itself. The "guests" in the forefront, Jared trying to stay safely in the background, as always, half there, half not. He's like the Cheshire Cat, and completely untrustworthy.
5
jared Kushner and Trump don't care about
ethics and morality. Kushner Sr. went to
prison in New Jersey. In real estate business
ethics play no part. As NYT repoted in an
exhaustive report that Trump Sr. and his
son Donal Trump had no qualms in
cheating on taxes. President Trump still
continues with the same conduct and so far
refused to disclose his tax return. There is
some dirty secret he is hding. It is infurating
that the president only said he "wouldn't like"
if Khashoggi was murdered but said nothing
about the impact on relations like Lindsay
Graham.
Too bad USA kept quiet when Canada criticized
Saudis on detention of activists and Saudis
tantrum against Canada. It is not surprising
that major finance and tech executives will
flock to Riyadh for conference. They care
about nothing except money. No wonder
the crown prince ignore criticism when these
leading executives can come running at
his invitation. There are no consequences.
He will get away with the murder.
6
Check out Kush, trying to blend in with the portrait behind him. He really does have skills when it comes to disappearing!
The Saudi Government is a power hungry and greedy family disguised as a monarchy acting like despots. It is not surprising that the President's son-in-law embraces these goons given his father in laws fondness for totalitarian type regimes. (Russia, Turkey, N. Korea, etc.) The rule of law, a free press, dissent of any kind are all anathema to this administration, thus aligning them closely with those who hold similar views.
3
Remember Donald Trump doing the sword dance with the Saudi Royal Family and putting his hands on the lite orb, cute.
I wonder what Trump gave them in return?
I wonder what the Trump and Kushner businesses got in return?
I think Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and the Trump administration have a lot of questions they need to answer.
3
It appears that Kushner fell for the personality of Muhammad bin Salomon rather than trying to build the institutions that would support sustainable growth and progress in human rights.
1
To trust Jared Kushner with any international matter is like putting the Cherry Street Neversweats against the New York Yankees. His inexperience and questionable credibility makes him a national hazard.
2
Since the president shows no sign of caring about this latest criminal travesty by the Saudi government, there will be no policy changes. How terrible.
84
A related article in the NYT states that Trump et al are looking seriously at what might have happened to Khashoggi.
Sure they are....
15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals. Some 3000 people were killed. 6000 injured. Not to mention all those heroes that were sick and/or died later as a result of working ground zero.
Colour me doubtful if I don't believe that the US will do anything substantial to punish Saudi Arabia now - given that they did/said nothing after 9/11.
Please stop the charade.
202
@Mike Bonnell
Within 2 weeks after 911, US could have parachuted a Marine Division to take over the Hijaz province (That is where the oil fields are) and held them till our account was settled. Remember the famous telegram after that fateful day from Iranians to State Dept. asking us " Show us how we could help you"
Bush instead decided to raise the money for reconstruction by increasing our deficit.
Heaven fore bid that Kushner consult with Middle Eastern scholars who are experts in Saudi Kingdom politics. But then, he might find out that they are using him for their own purposes.
19
seriously? the saudis are murdering school bus fulls of yemeni children at a time, on purpose mind you, and only this makes kushner look bad? sure, this is horrible too, but the saudis get a free pass on way too much.
31
You talking about Kushner the “genius”? The genius like Albert Einstein?
15
@Piece man
Let us see: What is the difference between a genius and a flim-flam man?
Kushner's bromance with a budding dictator mays be as reckless as his father-in-laws with Putin. Wolves have been known to eat one another.
34
Kushner, the Middle East and what Kushner had to promise as a representative of the US Government for him to receive the sudden $1.5 billion in refinancing funds for his Manhattan property.
Hmmmm....Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are his special rabbi.
25
What about the financing of the kushner nyc building by the Saudis??
27
The US alliance with Saudi Arabia is immoral and should be illegal. Saudi Arabia is ruled by a brutal backwards regime that we should have NO business or other dealings with. Truly evil. It is a testimony to the corruption of every US president who has dealt with the Saudi psychopaths. Shame shame shame on the United States for dealing with such a monstrously evil brutal heartless unethical immoral regime.
22
Not just every administration, but the corporations as well. They actually love the total ruling of people because it keeps the workforce in line. The corporations are just as bad, if not worse.
2
But the Saudis have oil and we are too selfish and self indulgent to do anything except waste oil like it is free.
1
I remember 17 Saudis brought down the Towers, when will we learn?
216
@Bake
when american voters do the right thing and vote out these crooks. I mean all of them.
The Republicans in the senate just proved they have no respect or regard for the US citizens.
2
I have to wonder how compromised Jared Kushner is, and exactly what kind of national secrets has he shared with the Saudi's?
Is Jared or the Trump's getting any financial benefits from the Saudi's?
It's time to stop these stupid 2016 campaign rallies with the Lock her up chanting, it may be Lock the Trump's up.
25
Just the latest in a long line of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Cozy up to a dictator because he opposes Iran (and of course because he has oil), don't worry about human rights abuses, and don't worry about whether it comes back to bite us as it did in the cold war time and again: Vietnam, the Shah in Iran, Ferdinand Marcos, Antonio Somoza...those who forget history and all that...
15
@Roy
sorry this is all about money. Kushners need money to finance their near bankrupt projects in NY and Jersey City
2
Don't forget the Saudi govt kidnapping other Saudis last year and shaking them down for their I'll gotten gains. Thieves robbing thieves.
15
We have a crime family leading our government and the republicans think it’s fine. Grab them by the mid terms and vote the enablers out
44
It has been authoritatively said that Kushner is a "hidden genius." If that is the case, his genius must be entirely hidden
23
@Diogenes hidden even from him.
It must be tough for even a master dissembler like Trump to pretend he cares about the fate of an "enemy of the people".
Now he will have to describe the killing as "fake news" after the Saudis insist they had nothing to do with it.
It will probably take another cash infusion from the Kingdom into Trump's WMD jobs program to put the twisted grins back on the faces of the dark denizens of D.C.
Have a Happy Halloween, Spooks!
15
@CW next tweet or press briefing...They have strongly denied it. Strongly denied. You have to accept that. They denied it.
1
LOL. Graham is always good for a squishy quote or two.
The fact is the Saudis couldn't care less about US "concern" for Kashoggi. Kushner is an absolute foreign relations neophyte and every two-bit dictator, from Beijing to Brasilia knows that they have carte blanche to do whatever they want to their opposition.
It doesn't pass unnoticed that Pompeo, the current SecState is mute on all this stuff. Kushner is Trump's de facto foreign policy kid. The White House is a totally family centered enterprise.
37
Jared took a chance on the crown prince being a true reformer, and maybe more humanitarian than his dad. He was right to try, but it seems the prince isn't a bargain. Excuse me, why tar and feather Jared when EVERY ADMINISTRATION since Roosevelt pandered to this cruel nation, and its overweight, monied henchmen. It was Roosevelt who promised Ibn Saud there would never be a Jewish state on his watch. So, guess what happened. Apparently G-d had other plans, into which Roosevelt didn't fit.
The State Departments and every President practically prostrated themselves in front of Saudi kings, and Bush actually bowed. Nobody ever had the courage to stand up to these bullies and their medieval (and evil) form of "justice." Remember the 1973 oil embargo? I certainly do. At least it propelled America to seek alternate forms of energy.
Don't fault Jared. Fault the history of our country since 1945, when the obsession with cultivating the Saudis began.
56
@Rosalie Lieberman Kushner is an unqualified clown, it should come as no surprise the relationship has turned out this way
1
@Rosalie Lieberman
Roosevelt was DEAD in 1948.
@Rosalie Lieberman
Nah. Jared used the White House to make himself buddies with Salman because the Sauds are among the richest people on the planet & may someday help Kushner make some money. Kushner could care less if Bin Salman is "a true reformer." $$$$$$!
1
Interesting choice of words by POTUS' new Yes Man from South Carolina...Didn't he say there would be "hell to pay" if they messed with the Mueller investigation? If he has "never been more disturbed" he needs to watch his recent "audition" in the Judiciary committee...Just like with 9/11 - where we didn't take action against the country that gave birth and nurtured the movement and Al Queda - we as a nation ignore bad actors if we need them for something. That's not new. What is new, though, is an administration that does this because they want personal gain.....Not genius, just greed.
17
FACT: Jamal Khashoggi would be alive today except for Jared Kushner.
FICTION: Jared Kushner has the skills to be an effective diplomat on behalf of anything other than his own financial interests.
FACT: Saudi spending at Trump properties skyrocketed after Donald Trump was elected President.
FICTION: There has been no impact of Saudi money on the policies of the Trump Administration.
FACT: The world is watching how the US will respond to this assassination of an American by the Saudi government.
FICTION: There will be no impact of Saudi money on the Trump Administration's response to the assassination.
25
America looks beholden to S A and thus looks and is weak
Bombastic fools tend to weaken countries
We are no exception
Thank you geniuses
1
I’m sure trump’s administration only called the Crown Prince to scold him for bungling the assassination and being caught. All of us who see trump and his administration for who and what they are know that they only wish they could gather up the members of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and every other journalist who writes the truth about them and have them imprisoned and/or executed for their crimes against the State. That would be the republican dream.
13
So, this big "bet" Jared made on Saudi Arabia, we're supposed to believed that purpose was... to bring peace to the Middle East? Just like how he wanted to set up a secret back channel to Russia in order to end the war in Syria!
Does anyone other than Nikki Haley believe that Jared Kushner is some kind of secret genius diplomat?
Kushner, like Trump, cozied up to a murderous dictator hoping he and his personal business would be rewarded financially.
Disgusting.
And as for you, Lindsey Graham, THIS is the administration that you bought into whole hog last week. How do you like it? Perhaps if you are so "disturbed," you and your buddies in the Senate could hold some hearings on what, exactly, Jared Kushner has been saying to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia ostensibly in the name of our country.
21
“I’ve never been more disturbed than I am right now,” ]Lindsey Graham] said. I thought that was last week. He hasn't gotten his marching orders yet.
16
Strip the arms deal. They are most untrustworthy. Kushner is knit for personal money just like Trump and the GOP.
15
Right... but of course, according to Trump and the GOP, Iran is the real threat... right.
12
"Prince Mohammed has proved himself a valuable ally for the United States."
How?
15
Lindsey Graham is off the rails.
He says there would be “hell to pay.”
Quote: “I’ve never been more disturbed than I am right now,” he said. “If this man was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, that would cross every line of normality in the international community.”
Now Lindsey, you can’t have it both ways. You pander to and patronize the poster child (and yes, he behaves like a child) for crossing every line of normality in the international community. You can’t support Trump, watch him demolish decades of carefully crafted policy and norms, and then say that someone else crossed the line. You are culpable in moving the lines.
You might argue that murdering a journalist is worse than anything Trump has done. But this isn’t about a battle to the bottom. Trump says journalists are the enemy. His and Jared’s pal murders a journalist. No connection?
The emperor has no clothes.
33
Well, morons are governing America, so, expect the absolute worst when it comes to principles or justice or...
18
@Samp426 When was Saudi Arabia not a friend and pardner in crime of the USA?
As I said in my previous comment, Mr. Kushner and Trump have never viewed the Middle East as anything else than a place where a lot of money can be made.
Saudi Arabia despite being Mr. Trump first official visit still doesn't have a US Ambassador. The reason is pretty simple. Per the protocol, the Saudis have to go through the Ambassador, something that is not good for Kushner business plan.
Yes, I meant "business plan" because, for Kushner/Trump, the Middle East it's all about the money, the money they can make supporting people like Prince Mohamed and as long they don't harm Israel interests, nobody in Washington will complain.
The relationship with Saudi Arabia has always been about the money. So why would trump let Exxon Mobil, Schlumberger, etc... make money if Trump Inc. can't profit?
19
The Trumps ingratiate themselves with tyrants. It's all about gaining their favor to get the money for family developments. The Saudi government needs to held accountable for the Khashoggi disappearance and likely his murder and Jared Kushner needs to pack up and leave Washington. He's a joke.
10
@Lake Swimmer I would add: "a dirty joke"
The gross naivete of Jared is not surprising.
Being an entitled kid, he has virtually no knowledge of the real world, and yet is a Senior Advisor to The President of The United States.
The Saudi's are just doing what the Saudi's do.
15
@Paul Perkins
Exactly. Saudi pilots flew into the Towers on 9/11; Bush got all Saudis out of the country after all flights were downed. They flew from Florida. SA was never held accountable; rather, we bombed Afghanistan, briefly, after bin Laden had escaped by walking down a mountainside into Pakistan. Then we attacked Iraq which had nothing to do with the Saudi attack by the rogue prince in exile, bin Laden. Now we have an extension of "W" with this unqualified former real estate developer who has no foreign policy or diplomatic expertise. He will now support the Saudis as they jockey with Iran for regional market share. Trump wants to trash the 10 yr. Agreement Obama forged with Iran: no weaponized plutonium, with U.N. Inspectors on site who state Iran is in compliance. "W" ignored U.N. Inspectors who also stated Iraq had no WMD. Another Republican war for oil and profit?
2
Let us be fair.Much of American media too has promoted Crown Prince Salman as a breath of fresh air.
59
When he let women drive, American media portrayed him as a cross between Albert Einstein and a Martin Luther King.
@Khaganadh Sommu
So did Jamal Khashoggi until it became clear that the Crown Prince was using 'reform' as a diversionary tactic while tightening the noose around Saudi conversation, debate, dissent to consolidate absolute power for himself.
Remind you of anyone?
1
@Khaganadh Sommu: Indeed Friedman issued a fawning report, at least twice
Hmmm, maybe all those tech and financial titans attending the conference and staying at the Ritz Carlton will find out the place has been re-named Hotel California.
How inconvenient for them!
What a blessing for us!
Do you think Jamie Dimon will be able to continue doing God’s Work?
3
The "policies" if there are any from the Trump administration are proving to have huge negative implications. Surrounded by people with no political experience or international relations experience, consequences for now and the future will damage U.S. relations with other nations for years. Those in the White House, such at Bolton, only have political agendas that are focused on their own values not those of our nation. The damage caused by these bumbling fools only interested in their own values and greed will have negative ramifications for decades to come.
12
The naivete of President Obama's and President Clinton's faith in the integrity of the Saudi royals is overshadowed by that of the Trump administration (Don & Jared, both).
The Trump administration's faith in the Saudi royals goes beyond naivete into willing disbelief of reality. It would be insightful if the Trump administration would didactically explain how their policy is MAGA.
4
@Jim It is naive to think that U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia are based on naivete or disbelief of reality.. They go back a long time, based on oil and support for U.S. policies and actions in the Middle East.
Power corrupts--without checks and balances--hierarchies of decision making--research, review, appeal, separation of powers/offices and officers/official--on an on.
Kushner's sucking up to a corrupt autocrat reveals his ambition and that of Big Daddy-In-Law.
21
@Michael Kubara Saudi royals are no different from other entrenched powers that see themselves as entitled. That our government, since the 1950s suspends reality of this in order to justify its policies towards S.A. is a demonstration of remarkable stupidity.
This will be "news" for a few more days and then forgotten. What is it so far, 500,000 Syrians dead and hundreds more each month? No longer news to the NYT. One foreign journalist goes missing and the NY Times finds a way to fault Kushner. The crown prince, like him or despise him, is in charge. You think Kushner has one ounce of influence on internal Saudi politics? He, like most U.S. politicians (including former presidents) is simply being pragmatic. This story seems more like a bait invitation to "progressives" to rant through comments about their hate for Trump. As if all these words, including mine, will make any difference in the world. Is it too early for a drink?
5
So, Trump was being pragmatic by destroying the Iran deal and imposing sanctions? I’m sure that was just “being pragmatic”. After all, like them or despite them, they’re in charge of their own country... right? (rolls eyes)
6
@Mark Shyres, keeping quiet in the face of
evil is to be part of the evil. Speaking out
makes a difference. Don't you understand
why crown prince has imprisoned so many
who dare speak out because he feared the
impact of their expression.
4
@Alex Yuly
Apparently, you have underscored the point about this story simply being a bait to progressives to rant abut Trump. It's an easy trap to fall into and generally bad for ones blood pressure.
When Jared Kushner was still playing with toys, Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman was learning how to be an absolute monarch, answerable to no one. He learned that to be a ruler, he had to eliminate his enemies, the easiest way being to exterminate them. The Crown Prince learned to smile over dinner, while planning how best to use his dinner companion to further his own ambitions.
The journalist Jamal Khashoggi, unfortunately, spent too much time in the U.S. and forgot that to step on Saudi soil would be to put himself into the hands of an absolute ruler, who can have any Saudi executed at his whim. He may have been afraid that he would be taken, but not afraid enough.
The Saudi embassy in Turkey is Saudi soil. Their laws apply. Not the laws of Turkey. Not the laws of the U.S. Not the laws of any international organization. Jamal Khashoggi forgot, just for a moment, that he was the subject of an absolute monarch. As a result, his life was forfeit.
26
Kuschner, the nepotism choice, begins and ends with power and money. He and his wife, who may be officially appointed by Dear Leader Trump, have no business in politics.
32
"But if it becomes clear that the prince ordered the assassination of Mr. Khashoggi or was connected to it in some way, it will provoke an outcry on Capitol Hill "
Really? Outcry from whom? The GOP members of Congress have proven themselves thoroughly spineless when it comes to anything Trump, while the Democrats have been feckless in their opposition. There will quickly be another silly tweet about something else to cause a new uproar and distract everyone from this latest mess.
Trump might care a little if it was one of the hot blondes on Fox that was assasinated and dismembered, not otherwise.
34
“They have an ally who is on the same page as they are," says a policy expert with 'close ties' to the Saudi regime.
Exactly what 'page' is that, Ali Shihabi?
Here's one guess: Jared is doing what the Trump circle always does: protecting their business interests. Jared's mythical role as the Saudi whisperer who can advance US interests is nonsense.
27
Trump IS upset, that he can't do the same thing in the US to quiet his critics.
21
No surprises here. The family and extended one of this boy "Genius" (Haley referred to as the hidden genius) need Saudi money, money, money. Why on earth would anyone let this Jared K. run wild and in charge of diplomacy concerning the Middle East? America's interest and it's well being is only a sideshow for these people.
14
Jared Kushner was a "Newspaper Publisher" in exactly the same way his father-in-law was a "Casino Operator." They both bought going concerns with their father's money and promptly ran them into the ground.
27
I see no risks for little Kushner in anything he messes up. The Saudi murderers of children in Yemen are assisted by the US. These children are starving to death. Not a murmur from anyone. Kushner is another operative of the Trump organization but married well---he is secured, eligible for higher posts, and of course for loans from certain foreign interests to prop up his failing enterprises. Life is good for little Kushner.
19
First of all a thank you to the NYT for pulling out of the conference in Saudi Arabia. All news outlets should do the same in non-partisan solidarity to make a point!
Given the amount of public, non-public but shared intel and those that Turkish and US intel is yet to (maybe) release there is no doubt of the Kingdom's involvement in the disappearance/murder.
The question is how will the US (and to a degree UK) react to it as this will set the norm for future events not just in Middle East but around the world. It will also either help add to or reduce from US's morale high ground...
17
Fear of provoking an outcry on Capitol Hill, embarrassing a few American executives, and putting Jared Kushner in an awkward position apparently isn't much of a deterrent.
Kushner's awkward task is figuring out a way to get the Saudis officially off the hook, since they went to a lot of trouble to make this assassination very public and obvious. If Kushner succeeds, good. If he fails, Trump will say he didn't, Kashoggi is still dead, the American Businssmen will stick around if the money is good, and the Kingdom will certainly survive a tongue lashing from Lindsey Graham.
20
Turkish officials and a newspaper close to the Turkish government identified 15 Saudis who they said were operatives who flew to Istanbul last week in pursuit of Mr. Khashoggi.
To think that it took so many to do what here, one guy sitting in a control room in Nevada, could do with a drone circling overhead anywhere else in the world. No dismemberment required, just filling in the huge bomb crater that's left. The Saudis have a lot to learn about assassination.
6
Why do you need an autopsy expert to carry out a killing--or for that matter, a kidnapping? What is an "autopsy expert"- is he a pathologist? An expert among pathologists? Or an assistant at a lot of autopsies so he knows how to handle the saw?
13
There must be some mistake!
Nikki Haley just the other day said:
"Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands," Haley said of the White House adviser. "
Nikki is right "I don't understand" why her or Jared are serving in government.
17
Saudi Arabia is and always has been our mortal enemy. It is a complete mystery to me that one generation of leaders after another fails to realize this. Must be all the bling and pomp of royalty that Western leaders get when they visit that awful place, making them blind to the savagery lurking just behind the golden facade.
17
They are blinded by the amount of money the saudis have
6
@GS There is always time to study history. A study of the U.S-Saudi relations can be quite interesting and may prevent such statements as " Saudi Arabia is and always..."
Are we talking about the same Saudi kingdom who's citizens perpetrated 9/11, which has been supporting ISIS and other sunni extremists and madrasas around the world, which is pushing the US into war with Iran - and, the one which apparently executes and dismembers journalists who criticize the regime and our wannabe dictator in the US?
23
The picture captures the essence - three grown men will not listen to a boy-messenger from a boy-man President.
14
Don’t forget that Nikki Haley said Jared was a genius.
26
Anyone that calls Jared a genius is boot-licking Trump
1
So let me get this straight. The fool in the White House wants to try and bully Canada into a trade deal by threatening out auto industry with massive tariffs if we don`t. play nice; but he loves an apparent murderous regime of Saudis prince`s that turned a blind eye to their citizens crashing planes into the World Trade Towers ; and who by all accounts have apparently assassinated a major critic in Khashoggi. Of course the fact that they expelled the Canadian Ambassador just weeks ago for criticizing their human rights abuses did not even register with Trump or his know nothing son in law. Talk about the blind leading the blind. With friends like this; who needs enemies.
182
@Greg Hodges--Since his campaigning days, Trump has saved his most vitriolic rhetoric and harshest criticisms for American institutions, America's allies, American government and even American citizens. He has consistently been kinder to foreign leaders and governments than he has to his own. It begs the question: Why does a man with such contempt for his own country and its people want to be its leader?
29
@Greg Hodges
Scary and depressing, @Gary, but I think you've got it about right.
Except the part that elevates the situation from scandal to crisis: Jared's business interests with his Saudi pal. Oh, and then there's the part about DNI and CIA reporting they chose not to alert a US citizen to possible threats.
This story is just beginning to unfold. Wait for it.
15
@Ms. Pea, "It begs the question: Why does a man with such contempt for his own country and its people want to be its leader?"
I've wondered that, too, especially when Trump comes out with his most negative remarks ... which is, often.
My conclusion? He truly believes, in his limited brain, that "only I can fix it".
Why would anyone bet on Kushner? Is his dad out of prison? Is his father-in-law headed to prison? Did he move the Embassy to Jerusalem because of money from Las Vegas? Who bailed him out of his 666 Fifth avenue property, and why? Why did he want a back channel with Russia?
105
@Keith
Answers, in order of questions:
money. money. money. money. money.
17
@Fred Amen. Just like his in-laws.
1
"Deafening silence" from the White House, greeted the news that Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi dissident and journalist at The Washington Post, was assassinated upon entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The Saudis vehemently denied murdering and dismembering the Saudi dissident during his visit to their consulate for marriage documents. What might have been a happy visit turned into the death knell for Mr. Khashoggi, and a world-wide alarum against MBS, who was accused by the Turkish regime as having orchestrated the assassination with his 15 Saudi brethren. Sound familiar -- 9/11/01?
Jared Kushner doesn't need any more enemies. Mr. Kushner and his father-in-law have made too many colossal mistakes in American foreign policy. President Trump is "concerned" about the missing journalist and said that "things will work themselves out." Things won't. Meanwhile, last night, he rallied his base in Erie, PA, during the worst Hurricane to hit the Florida coast in recorded history. The usual 2020 Trump MAGA rally -- dog whistles to his base, ranting against Fake News and Evil People (Democrats). Trump is avoiding facing the conundrum of the assassination of a journalist from Washington, DC, in Turkey. The tide against Trump, Kushner and their alliance with MBS is turning.
42
I wonder if Senator Graham might have another melodramatic soliloquy, this time to find what happened to Khashoggi.
Probably not, as that might bring ill repute to Trump and his "genius" Kushner.
40
Since Jared moved into the White House, received his top secret security clearance and was named the chief peace negotiator, this lifelong friend of Netanyahu and scion of the very pro-Israel Kushner family has overseen the movement of the embassy to Jerusalem, the elimination of all U.S. funding for the Palestinians, the withdrawal from the Iran Agreement and he has written a number of op-eds blasting Palestinian leadership. He has formed a very close bond with bin Salman and seems to be forging an Israeli-Sunni Pact to go after Iran. I don't expect Jared to take a moral stand against the despicable behavior of a despot but I would like to know which is his preferred country of choice - Israel or the United States.
44
Jared’s preferred country is Saudi Arabia. They have money and don’t have a justice system that goes after corrupt individuals.
10
@billinbaltimore There are a number of "Americans" who need to choose a country--Kushner is one. Sheldon Adelson is another. The always put Israel and its pernicious interests above all else.
6
@billinbaltimore
He obviously prefers Israel, and has no qualms about showing it.
2
Nikki Haley notwithstanding, Kushner's alleged diplomatic skills are greatly overrated.
24
Overrated? He acts as if his credentials were acquired from the back of a match box for a larger than normal (of course) fee.
7
Maybe the NYT's shouldn't be meeting in the Kingdom later this year. It appears to be an enormous of conflict of interest. After hiding that Trump was the target of a counter espionage investigation during the election I think you guys need all the daylight you can find. Cancel the trip.
14
Did crown prince MBS take Trump’s constant viscous attacks on journalists as an indication the US would give them a pass if they killed Mr. Khashoggi?
33
@JSH
Yes. The Saudis figured Trump would do nothing, that they could survive a tongue lashing from Lindsey Graham, and Jared? Look at the picture. Do they seem to be concerned about Jared?
@JSH That, and Trump has said in words and actions and deeds that human rights are a complete non-issue for him.
I think it's time to find out exactly what Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and Ivanka's financial, business interest and possible loan involvements with the Saudi Prince?
It sounds like the administration had knowledge that Jamal Khashoggi being in danger, and didn't warn him.
I think Donald Trump needs to start answering some serious questions, and never mind the nonsense of selling arms to Saudi Arabia, this needs to be addressed in serious ways.
45
I seem to recall Trump asking Putin about interference in our election, so I’m sure this issue will be cleared up immediately, too, now that Trump is asking questions.
18
@Christopher good one!
2
There is so much underhanded stuff going on in Saudi Arabia, the elevation of MBS ahead of everyone else in succession to the throne says alot,also the planned and cancelled ipo of the oil industry. Big money,corrupt players hiding in the shadows.
13
It has been obvious from day one that the Trump family is eager for Saudi investment in their business enterprises, why else would Saudi Arabia, the country that gave us the 9/11 terrorists, not be included on the Trump Muslim ban?
70
Trump said he would not be happy at all? His trashing of the media and calling the media the enemy of the people has emboldened bad actors to arrest, detain and even kill journalists. It's hard to believe he somehow misses he connection. Like everything else, Trump expects the media to do his bidding. If his Republican enablers had their way, there would be no free press in the US.
42
Oh, a reckless, untested ruler with no respect for the law? Why does this theme sound familiar?
37
@Christopher
Why?
There's not the slightest chance that Trump's administration will alter it's positioning on the Saudis due to this murder. All will go on as before. There are still those who try to judge Trump by normal standards of conduct, which is a mistake. Trump and Kushner do not recognize normal standards of behavior. They live by their own code, which is without any moral or ethical underpinnings. Murder of a U.S.-based journalist will not be viewed as a substantial reason to change course. If the murder of 3,000 Americans by Saudi terrorists on 9/11 did not cause the U.S. to alter it's diplomatic relationship with the country, why would the murder of just one man result in a change? It's entirely possible the Prince Mohammed will be dining at the White House in the not too distant future. Trump has his hotel development deals to protect after all. Life, hotel deals and arms sales go on.
39
Hey Jared,
With enemies like the Saudis, who needs friends!
25
Lindsay Graham is "disturbed" because the Saudis have crossed the borders of normalcy...?
Where was he when the Trump administration gave Kushner-- an arrogant neophyte with a poor business track record and no governance experience--carte blanche access to our nation's most closely held intelligence and handed him the MidEast portfolio? Kushner was allowed to function as a de facto ambassador, allowed to bypass CIA or DoD oversight, and act as if the most troubled region in the world is just another business opportunity. Not only is his judgment severely flawed, but he has passed intel to MBS that has resulted in at least two deaths and allowed him to believe he has regional hegemony. Encouraging Trump to remove any leverage we had by pulling out of the Iran deal and gutting our diplomatic corps has put the US in the position of supplicant. Kushner would never have been allowed a security clearance at that level by either the DoS or DoD; he would never have been allowed to negotiate any position without a corps of experienced subject matter experts for guidance. But Lindsay Graham is "disturbed" by MBS.
226
@BaghdadVet Graham will make noises and do nothing. He's all the way into this administration, 100%, but he'll deny it if they embarrass him with public murders of journalists.
Most of the 9-11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have been "playing" the US for years, but we apparently are OK with it as long as we can sell the regime billions in arms
140
@Mike S
Arms go one way, while oil goes the other way.
11
@Mike S They got a great foothold with W and have maintained that position, with the exception of some heat from Obama. They are smart manipulators who play to the egos of their targets. And who, more that Don and his boy Jared, are more susceptible to ego boosting?
Tillerson brought a bit of common sense to the administration. He had to go so the lunatics could run the asylum.
14
@Mike S Yep this didn't start with Trump and has been despicable on the part of the U.S. for years, under both parties. But heck, they buy a lot of weapons and our corporations make money.
2
Trump's vilifying news media and journalists In his own country might have emboldened the Saudis. Then, team Trump with his son in law as the main diplomat in charge of foreign policy, particularly for those countries where Trump and Kushner family have business interests, almost exclusively sided with the known dictators and the ruling elites mainly to promote its own business interest first than protecting and promoting America's national interest. Trump presidency emboldened the autocratic regimes and dictators world wide a d not in just Saudi or Russia.
I'm reasonably confident that Trump and GOP would do some posturing and hard talk theatrics for American domestic audience, mainly before this mid term festival season as they know their own vote bank of Christian fundamentalists do not like such Islamic regimes much. But in reality Trump and his henchmen with the administration will try to settle the issue behind the scene, may be with some kickback in form of lucrative business deal for Trump-Kushner family in future. Turkey already opened back door negotiation with the Saudis to settle this issue.
Trump and Kushner would be the last persons who would like to know truth. They have pathological aversion to facts and Truth, particularly if they might hurt their business interest. There is no reason why it'll be different here.
53
Kushner is not crux of the Khashoggi tragedy by a long shot.
Freedom of the press, a foreign policy that supports dictators and ignores human rights, a virulent and ill-thought-out anti-Iran policy are only a few of the real issues at play here.
They're long-standing and far more consequential than Kushner's curious so-called Middle East diplomatic portfolio for which he is experientially and intellectually totally unqualified.
24
@Nereid
A journey begins with the first step.
Kushner is that step.
3
I am prepared to believe that Jared was once a naive kid who was sincerely interested in arranging a peace between Israel and the Palestinians and has been attempting to use the good offices of his coming-apart-at-the-seams father-in-law to accomplish this.
But that was then, and this is now.
What I am unable to understand is why he is still sailing on his father-in-law’s fast-sinking ship instead of finding his way to Mueller’s office to rescue himself and the country.
22
@A. Stanton The reason is probably money and his own shady past.
16
There is no doubt that this event, if true as suggested, will put a shadow on our relationship with Prince MBS. Unfortunately we can not base our foreign relationships just on human rights as we would have relationships with few countries only.
We must navigate carefully between promoting our values and serving our best interests. The best example is our relationship with Turkey's dictator Erdogan who is milking this event to shift attention from his own human rights record as well as from the disastrous economy in his Turkey.
2
Both Kushner and Trump have very shady relationships with SA. Both have needed Saudi money in times of financial stress (a frequent occurrence Trump shares with his son in law). The administration will do nothing, not even after his body is found.
41
They probably pur the body down the garberator or took it to Saudi to dissolve in lye.
While the world absorbs what looks to have happened here, Haley called Kushner a 'hidden genius.' His genius appears to be so well hidden as to be nonexistent. I guess that's what Haley meant.
106
Kush and MBS are not besties. They are playing the enemy of my enemy is my friend game. As soon as Saudi Arabia has no further use for Israel it will turn its attention to them - and not in a good way.
9
Because Jared is such an experienced diplomat.
39
How about rethinking this relationship. Start over. Factor in accountability and human rights abuses and going back to 9-11 as well.
Trump needs to wise up about his “enemy of the people” slurs for our press and quit enabling dictators to actually kill journalists. He throws around the word “evil” for fellow Americans but finds this likely and grisly murder “troubling”.
332
@Kay Johnson--Trump has insulted and denigrated American institutions, American government and American citizens almost exclusively. His worst comments are always directed toward his own country and its citizens. Foreign leaders and governments are still insulted, but in much gentler terms than those he uses for his own countrymen. I draw no conclusions, except to say it's interesting to ponder why a man who shows such contempt for his own nation wants to be its leader.
14
@Kay Johnson
Trump sees only what he wants to see, and he's too vain to wear his glasses. I shudder every time I contemplate what the next 6 years will bring...
6
@Kay Johnson He has "wised up", that is why he supports the Saudis... Hitler supported them also...
It looks like the Saudis were behind it, Mr. Trump? The journalist walks into the Saudi embassy, totally under Saudi control, and never walks out. But nothing will be done because we have business deals pending with the Saudis.
I am getting tired of being ashamed of this Administration and of Congress' refusal to stand up to it..
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@Glenn S.
It's not just Trump that cozied up to the Saudis.
The USA under different presidents have also!
5
@Glenn S. Our time is next month at the mid-terms. I have talked to many people and feel confident there are over half the republicans who can't stomach Trump and about 30-40% will actually vote "anyone but a Republican" come mid-terms. The GOP is dumping off over 30 incumbent House races they see as lost, so no need to waste money trying to keep them in office.
5
The optics of U.S. business leaders attending a Saudi conference next week are not good. They should acquire a maladie diplomatique and cancel their participation.
52
Who decides who are allies of the US? Whoever it is lacks a moral compass that is guided by decency or even facts. I am still amazed at the deference that was shown to the country that supplied almost all the hijackers seventeen years ago. It continues and will continue for one reason only: the vested interests of those who would exploit the "resource" that is ruining the climate. Why is that so hard for people to understand? The Saudis and their enablers in this country are not my allies, quite the contrary.
45
By all accounts the intelligence community knew of the plan to abduct Khashoggi and one can presume Kushner had advanced knowledge of the plot, given his Clearance Level. As I understand there is a duty to warn the intended target and if efforts by Kushner to suppress that duty can be traced back to him then he needs to be indicted along with everyone else who is complicit in failing to warn Mr. Khashoggi.
64
Kushner's neophyte bumbling in the volatile Middle East has endangered that part of the world but endeared him more to his father-in-law who is taking care of disrupting a tenuous global balance everywhere. Reading the summary of Kushner's career, I notice how it parallels that of our president - riding the coat tails of his own sleazy real-estate magnate father, having his large errors in business judgment covered up of paid for with family money, heartlessly evicting tenants in family owned buildings and believing too much in his own prowess.
So, we have this selfish, dull wannabe damaging our country's
international status and now we are hearing about his wife, Ivanka Trump, similarly under qualified, as a possible UN ambassador. Global dictatorship by this wealthy bunch inept seems a frightening possibility.
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The picture accompanying the article is amazing: not only is Jared reduced to a photobomb, he is further relegated to appearing as a framed portrait on the wall. Well played, photographer and photo editor!
44
Simple Kushner and Trump will blame it on Hillary and start a Congressional inquiry.
35
Will self interest trump Trump's promise to do the right thing?
6
“I’ve never been more disturbed than I am right now,” [Senator Lindsey Graham] said. Well — at least not since the Kavanaugh hearings of, what, ten days ago? Senator Graham is developing a crafty little avocation in being disturbed. He used to have the pretenses of a serious person, but he’s making such nice progress in his tutelage these days at the elbow of the president, dean of the disturbed.
149
How many of us take Khashoggi’s disappearance as a serious definite sign of the real Saudis?
It wasn’t that long ago Donald Trump was doing the jig over there with them and getting praised for it.
Trump called Khashoggi’s fiancé “wife” yesterday. That’s how much knowledge, care, and responsibility Donald Trump is worth. They weren’t married. They were planning their wedding.
He sends Jared to the Saudis to represent our country and contemplates sending Ivanka to the U.N.?
Wake up, people.
76
Did they bail out Jared from the catastrophe of 666 Park Ave?
32
I have to laugh at Lindsey Graham. What did he think was going to happen with Trump in office?
39
The idea that Mr. Kushner had any strategic policy for the Middle East is a joke. Mr. Kushner was chosen by Mr. Trump as a Middle East Envoy for one and one reason only: The Money.
If a prince Mohamed can spend $1 billion in less than a month to buy himself a yacht and a villa in France, imagine how much he could give Kushner/Trump to have the White House support. And the White House support he has received. From the Qatar blockade, the Yemen war to the abduction of the Lebanese Prime Minister.
Trump bragged about making money while running for President. Now that he is president, he intends to do so. American politicians (the Clinton come to mind) wait until after they are out of office to enrich themselves. It's not the case for Kushner and Trump who know that after they leave the White House, nobody will take their calls. So it's now or never for them.
How else could anyone explain that Trump and Kushner will support the blockade of Qatar despite the fact that more than 15000 US personnel and family members live in that tiny country?
The US will pay a steep price for trusting a dangerous region like the Middle East to an inexperienced and greedy real estate developer.
A Pulitzer price is waiting for any journalist that would dig into Mr. Kushner's time as Middle Envoy.
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Jared Kushner’s cozy relationship with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) is seen as an asset. And the Trump administration prioritises “a channel to Saudi Arabia’s designated heir,” over “sending an older, more seasoned official to give advice to the young prince.”
MBS has ditched the gerontocracy, replacing the old guard with a new one. This younger generation of loyalists is given the opportunities and prospect of prestige to serve a young ruler, who promised change. But those around MBS could very well be like him, who – apart from haughty self-assurance – lacks experience and acumen. If they had been involved in the murder of Khashoggi, they must have overlooked the efficiency of the intelligence community with help of surveillance technology.
14
Kushner cares only about his own financial problems, as Qatar’s recent bailout of his family’s unfortunate 666 park avenue investment makes clear. Middle East petrodollars seemed an easy prize; now, not so much.
23
He wants to get to the bottom of what ?
He knew what was going on,
it is Mr. Mueller who will be getting to the Bottom of it all !
31
Trump's condemnation of the killing is a charade. The prince is the kind of ruler Trump admires, as do all Trump's supporters.
69
What do you expect when Trump declares the press as the enemy of the people? He’s given every authoritarian leader the green light to eliminate “bad press.”
68
Once again, how in the world are we in bed with this brutal regime is beyond me. It represents a total antithesis for everything we so proudly proclaim. It is a brutally repressive, anti-democratic, authoritarian, misogynistic society that has exported a virulent form of Islam that has been diametrically opposed to what we spend trillions of dollars fighting, supposedly. Public beheadings of dissidents and the chopping off of limbs for minor crimes, brutal lashing of women who dare to ask for fair treatment, the siege warfare (a war crime) of Yemen and the starvation of that country with our weapons and OUR assistance is unconscionable. Not to mention that 15 of 19 highjackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals. Our deep ties and relations with this country is disgusting. But hey, we need their oil. So, the next time you hear any of us proclaim we are defending freedom and democracy, just be honest, for once, and admit we could care less about such things.
95
Looks like Jared "photo bombed" the picture showing the three Saudis in the foreground. He is a bystander whether he knows it or not. What he really wants is Saudi money to bail out his poor real estate decisions.
55
Where is this Kushner "Israeli-Palestinian peace plan"? I keep hearing about this plan, but can't recall ever seeing it.
28
In that Kushner operates like Trump with a goal of securing successes that will score for the family financially, he is succeeding. But his choices continue to be dismal for world peace, human rights and democracy. Attorney General Bobby Kennedy may have been JFK’s brother, but he had a strong moral center and fought against corruption. Kushner appears so naively self-centered like his father-in-law that he continues to trust the most corrupt among us.
32
Says a whole lot about Niki Haley that she had high words of praise for Kushner and his work. Just some extra insurance for this sell out, in case she hadn't sung Trump's praises loudly enough
16
Sen Graham says "if this man was murdered it would cross every line of normality in the international community" as if this line has not been crossed many times already under Trump! The Saudi's must have really felt emboldened to do this right now considering the big business conference they will be having. I guess they thought they could get away with it. And why are we sending Kushner to discuss such important business with the Saudi's? I feel his judgment in doing what's best for the U.S. is tainted by his devotion to Israel. This big turn around for woman's rights in Saudi Arabia was just a ploy to have us think the Saudi are being more democratic and are progressing in a positive way, but this incident now shows their true colors.
57
@C. Bernard
Kushner needs money; the Saudis have money. Trump has business interests in SA; perhaps the Saudis will give Kushner some money? From a crown prince Turkey claims to have ordered the murder of a prominent dissident? How far down the corrupt Trump rabbit hole do we go before even the drama queen, Lindsey Graham, stops auditioning to replace Sessions?
1
The Saudis attacked Canada because our Foreign Affairs issued a TWEET supporting a jailed women's right activist....The USA did squat towards supporting Canada. Drumpf's admin.could not care less about anything that does not support their fascistical power base.
1
I agree with the comment knowing that Jared Kushner wants the Saudi stamp of approval on his failed attempt at some Middle East peace, and knowing how Trump hates the media and journalist, I wouldn't be surprised there's a connection between this White House and Khashoggi's death. I could "hear" Trump say, "no American president or Republican can kill a journalist or millions of Americans would be pulling out our jugulars the next day, but you can-with our blessing." Also, staying close to the Saudi Prince and Qatar has to with Kushner/Trump financing because no American or European bank will fund them after all their bankruptcies.
21
I'll give Putin one thing. Unlike the Saudis, the North Koreans, the Trumps and other petty dictators, he doesn't appear to surround himself with incompetent and inexperienced family members appointed to high-level government jobs.
To think that Trump is putting the fate of human lives, countries and perhaps even the world into the hands of unqualified individuals like Jared Kushner is downright chilling.
356
Looks like former POTUS Obama’s pivot to Asia (& TPP) was the wise course for the US and the world after all. Too bad the US is now driven by personal ego rather than knowledge, strategy and diplomacy. Sad.
221
And The Kingdom's MBS is on his way to becoming Syria's al Assad. They both started as "enlightened" leaders but it was and is a feint to get the West's money and support. MBS is brutalizing Yemen (with our help) and he will turn on his own in a decade or two.
65
"But if it becomes clear that the prince ordered the assassination of Mr. Khashoggi or was connected to it in some way, it will provoke an outcry on Capitol Hill"
Apparently we don't live in the same country. An "outcry" from Capitol Hill? Are you kidding. Democrats will sit in silence, Republicans are probably celebrating.
Given that the Trump administration calls media the enemy of the people and Kushner's role in that administration, coupled with his desire to please the Saudi royal family, I'd look for complicity before I'd look for outrage.
239
@Susan
Complicity is the right way to put it !
14
@Susan
Trump will make a statement....
"We asked the Crown Prince and he said he didn't do it".
End of story!
2
@Susan
It's not so much that Democrats sit in silence, it's that the broadcast & cable TV networks air what they have to say in miniscule amounts compared to the airtime given to Republicans...over decades.
It's long documented that the Republican:Democratic ratio on Sunday shows is about 3/4:1 and has been...for decades.
4
Sleeping with the Devil
Robert Baer said it all in the title of his 2003 book on Saudi "Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold our Soul for Saudi Crude".
Saudi is a theocracy based on keeping people in line through the threat of physical punishment / execution. Dissension - religious (Christianity and Judaism are forbidden in Saudi) and secular - is strictly forbidden. Chop-chop square in Riyadh where dissenters are executed still exists.
The war in Yemen, and the removal of subsidies has driven up prices on essential goods in Saudi. This has had and will have far-reaching consequences for the stability of the country and the region esp. for the Saudi middle class, the expats working in Saudi; and the slaves of Saudi whose remittances keep families feed on the Indian subcontinent and in the Philippines.
41
Will Erik Prince, the R2 (Reflex Responce) vendor of Praetorian Guards to the world be in attendance? His UAE sponsored Colombian Expat unit in Yemen has performed admirably.The Saudi backing of his Afghanistan “Let the professionals take over” campaign to replace the American Military is under review.
Let us not forget the 666 bailout is high on Jared’s mind as financial calamity is right around the corner.
So many threads in this tangled skarn.
65
Uh, Senator Graham, maybe the Saudi's thought that they could get by with crossing every line of international normality because they saw someone else do it first. Let's start with a President who calls Taiwan before mainland China, shoots missiles into any empty Syrian airbase and has nothing to say about Russians poising British residents.
167
@Richard Mclaughlin Trump, as a private citizen, i.e. as president elect, did not call Taiwan , he received a call from her democratically elected president , XI , whose security officials recently made the president of Iinterpol to disappear , excuse me post facto former president, simply did not call first. No international redline there.
Does the murder of a "rogue" journalist by Saudi Arabia represent present a diplomatic crises to the Trump administration or a lesson in how to deal with "rogue" journalists?
57
Jared Kushner‘s bet with Salman is about as sound as his judgment on the 666 Fifth Avenue property.
Both in their 30s, Kushner was obviously trying to use Salman in maneuvering the Palestinians for the friend of his ex-con Dad—Bibi Netanyahu.
60
Let's be honest we pretty much all know by the 5th grade that people surround themselves with people like them. This pretty much tells you all you need to know about Trump and the people around him. Who we choose as "friends" tells a lot about a person.
96
jared is playing with the big boys and doesn't understand the rules of the game.
91
@Marlene I agree and what Jared doesn't understand is he may be the son-in-lay of Trump, but he makes them mad or they think he was using them, he will regret the day he sold his soul to "scratch."
7
@Marlene
Someone needs to tell Jared that there ARE rules.
The hidden genius strikes again. Time for Jared to leave Washington before he does more damage.
His short non illustrious career involves slumlording, ruining a newspaper in NYC, wildly overpaying for an aging office tower at the height of the real estate market, erroneously filling out his security clearance forms at least 39 times, a little collusion with Russia during the campaign, and cozy one on one, unsupervised, unrecorded chats with his fellow princeling who turns out to be a murderer.
MBS quipped that Jared was "in my pocket." It has been rumored that Jared shared with MBS the names of some Saudis listed in the Presiden's Daily Briefing, allowing MBS to more successfully target his prey during round up at the Ritz.
Who knows what else boy wonder has been up to, but I really think this is enough for one lifetime. Maybe he can start a line of skinny ties and skinny suits before he heads to prison.
532
@NJLatelifemom
Still want more information on the "backchannels" with Russia that Kushner wanted to establish using the Russian embassy here in the U.S.
1
@NJLatelifemom Take Ivanka with him before daddy makes her the US Ambassador to the UN.
1
"But the president expressed reluctance to punish Saudi Arabia by cutting off arms sales, as some in Washington were proposing"
But that is exactly what our president should do if he has the moral decency and if our country stands for anything.
Nicholas Kristoff of NY Times said recently on a tweet:
"The White House empowered Saudi crown prince MBS as he confronted Qatar, as he kidnapped Lebanon's prime minister, as he starved Yemenis, as he crushed dissent. Will it continue to sell him weapons if it's confirmed that he murdered a brave journalist, Jamal Khashoggi?".
Even Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and one of Mr. Trump’s closest allies in Congress, said that" if the Saudis were responsible for Mr. Khashoggi’s death, there would be “hell to pay.”
The Saudi government should provide the White house any information they have about Mr. Khashoggi’s whereabouts if they are serious about their relationship with the US.
One more thing: Our technology and financial titans should not attend the conference next week at Devos:( Devos in the Desert).
117
@Padman
Moral decency? Under the current administration, it would be appropriate to replace the 50 stars on the US flag with $ signs.
12
I guess the Saudi Arabian government thought the Trump family would have no problem exterminating this pesky journalist as the president refers to the press as “the enemy of the people.” And I think in a week, at the end of the news cycle, they will probably be correct. The reporter worked for “Jeff Bezos Fake News” anyway.
173
the conference should be cancelled. i for one will be watching that Jamie Dimon and Stephen Schwarzman do not attend nor anyone from their firms.
76
@a p
If I were Dimon, Schwarzman or Kushner, I'd be watching for those dancing swords.
5
The long and short of it is Mr. MBS wants to rule Saudi Arabia for the next fifty years and he wants to do it without dissent, so it's likely there will be many more of these killings as time goes on and his friends better get used to it.
59
@Sohrab Batmanglidj
No nation has friends only interests. Charles de Gaulle
6
According to Nikki Haley Kushner is a genius so no worries here.
261
@Susan...and nikki is getting outta dodge before her little
travel scandal spoils her oh- so- many accomplishments as UN ambassador.what a sad joke the con don and his adm. is.
Kushner has enabled an incredible amount of bloodshed in the Middle East. Few human beings can so clearly be tied to so many deaths.
Wether he is willingly complicit, or simply complicit due to incompetence is debatable, but mass graves follow Kushner’s policies.
212
The body language from the White House is one of boredom and suggests it will not be very active in pursuing this case and will encourage diversions and more procrastination. After all it was Trump's encouragement giving MBS a carte blanche that is partly responsible for this unhinged behaviour.
108
The western media is projecting this disappearance as the first of its kind in the Saudi Kingdom and its neighbourhood, when the reality is far different. Any one who does not follow the Regimes regulations, especially Sharia compliance disappears, so why this special concern? Obbiviously, to malign Trump administration which has no role in running or regulating the kingdom. Do we hear any protests anywhere in the Muslim world against this disappearance? Recall the protests that erupt in Muslim world whenever a cartoon or a write up or a book accused of showing disrespect to Islam appears anywhere in the world. Judge the current silence accordingly and spare the non-Muslim world the risks associated with interventions in the Muslim world. Also recall, how disastrous the West supported Arab Springs and elimination of strong dictators from West Asia do have turned out to be?
4
@submit
The attacks on journalists are in fact far worse this year than any year I can remember in my entire life. While Saudi Arabia regularly tortures and abuses its own citizens, killing people outside its borders, and in particular killing journalists is appalling and not typical.
15
Yes. In short the Middle East inferno was ignited by the US when we hung out in Saudi and provoked 9/11 and the invaded Iraq. Our activities in Syria, Libya, and Yemen added to the carnage. All this continues unabated.
Better we should withdraw totally from that area.
5
Yes but not quite as bad as when they took
down the world trade towers.
But they have lots of oil.
13
Kushner's bet on the prince isn't in doubt. He bet he will make a boatload of money from that country by kissing up to them and he will. He could not care less about anyone else. He's just like his father-in -law.
358
@Pat and his father - the apple has fallen right under the tree and rotted.
9
@Pat. Her exact words were Jared is a hidden genius, well hidden it appears. Actually Mr. Kushner is hidden in many ways, rarely speaking in public, which cuts down on the documented lies, I suppose.
7
Wasn't Jared Kushner President Trump's wonder boy who was going to bring lasting peace to the Middle East? Perhaps Kushner can start by coercing the Saudis to either (a) publish a time-stamped video showing Khasshoggi leaving the embassy some time after he had entered it, or (b) allow a team of forensic specialists, preferably headed by the US, into the embassy to see if there are traces of butchery. Don't stall for too long to minimize the number of times the compound can be washed down with an assortment of chemicals.
162
Once again, it proves that Jared Kushner is a babe in the woods and, like his father-in-law, has no idea who he is dealing with on the world stage. Either that or he has put our national interest aside in the service of furthering the business interests of the Kushner and Trump families. Neither option should give us comfort.
432
@Rene Balcer
Jared Kushner looks and sounds like Alfred E. Neuman. No babe in the woods other than the son of a convicted felon father and the son-in-law of a corrupt President of the United States could ever be naturally born as ignorant and stupid as Jared Kushner. Kushner has had to work long and hard at his craft to become this dumb by nurture.
Since Trump has called the press the enemy of the people and deemed Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos his foe as well perhaps Prince Mohammad bin Salman thought this would be okay?
2
@Rene Balcer It would seem that Don the Con is fine with whatever the Saudis do, as long as it can be financially beneficial. Note that one of the first comments was "we have jobs", not a comment about the possible status of Mr. Khashoggi. It sure looks like he doesn't want to upset the deals that he and Jared are making (have secretly made?) with the Saudis.
2
Khashoggi’s Disappearance Puts Kushner’s Bet on Saudi Crown Prince at Risk
[ How absurd, how tragically absurd. "Betting" on a prince who is wantonly laying waste to Yemen is beyond risky, rather completely immoral. ]
78
An appropriate U.S. response would be to reaffirm the JCPOA and thereby enlist the EU in efforts to pushback Iranian steps in the Middle East in Syria and elsewhere. This would signal U.S. dissatisfaction with Saudi actions including its behavior in Yemen, the repression of human rights and press freedom in Saudi Arabia itself. It could also result in a unified effort to thwart Iran's ambitions in the ME that are presently very difficult to advance because of the U.S. hostile move against the Security Council itself as an instrument for crisis prevention and management through its withdrawal from JCPOA and imposition of unilateral sanctions that violate the spirit of Security Council resolution 2231 that authorized JCPOA.
The JPOA is the stellar example of the Security Council as an institution in addressing global challenges. All permanent members of the Security Council joined forces in enforcing the sanctions authorized by the Security Council that brought Iran to the negotiating table. The JCPOA was resisted strongly by Saudi Arabia. However, the purpose of the JCPOA was not to address Iran's role in the Middle East as such but rather to limit Iran's potential to develop nuclear weapons. In the latter the JCPOA has been demonstrated to be effective and continues to be adhered to by Iran and is fully supported by the EU, China, and Russia as well as other major states including India.
21