Saudi Arabia, as the reports say, may soon admit about killing a noted journalist by accident. It’s the latest update in a story that has gripped the world and Washington-Riyadh relations to their lowest point in the Trump era.
Multiple information from media says that Saudi officials are preparing to disclose that Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi writer, and dissenter who wrote for the Washington Post, was killed during a visit to Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2. It’s possible the admission will be released as a report, but Riyadh could take no responsibility whatsoever concerned.
If the Saudis choose to say anything about the issue, they will reportedly admit they planned to abduct Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey and take him back to Saudi Arabia. But while he was being interrogated in the office, something went wrong, eventually leading to the journalist’s mystery death.
Khashoggi was a Saudi citizen but had been living in the United States over the past year to escape oppression. It’s unclear how global leaders, in particular, President Donald Trump would react to this issue.
If Saudi Arabia wants to get back into the world’s good diplomats, it will need to do much more than admit an operation that went wrong. A bipartisan group of senators has asked Trump to place sanctions on Saudi Arabia if the country was responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance. Trump, however, has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to take any actions that could imperil a series of arms sales to Riyadh, totaling $110 billion. He also implied that he wasn’t willing to put the weapons deal on the line because Khashoggi was only a US resident, rather not a citizen.
But the real path to global peace would require Riyadh to stop trying to silence its critics.
