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Old 10-16-2018, 07:09 AM
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Arrow Saudi Arabia may say it killed Jamal Khashoggi by accident

Saudi Arabia may say it killed Jamal Khashoggi by accident
By Alex Ward@AlexWardVoxalex.ward@vox.com Oct 16, 2018, 9:30am EDT
RE: https://www.vox.com/world/2018/10/16...rder-consulate

It’s possible this is all just an effort to absolve Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of blame.

Saudi Arabia may soon admit to killing a prominent journalist — by accident. It’s the latest development in a story that has gripped the world and plunged Washington-Riyadh relations to their lowest point in the Trump era.

Multiple outlets say that Saudi officials are preparing to disclose that Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi writer and dissident who wrote for the Washington Post, was killed during a visit to Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2. It’s possible the admission will be released as a report, but Riyadh could yet change its mind and take no responsibility whatsoever.

If the Saudis choose to say anything, they will reportedly admit their plan was to abduct Khashoggi in Turkey and take him back to Saudi Arabia. But while he was being interrogated in the consulate, something went wrong, eventually leading to the journalist’s grim death.

The Saudi explanation likely will try to absolve Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of his country known as MBS, of any wrongdoing. US intelligence, though, reportedly says Saudi officials wanted to lure Khashoggi back to the kingdom in a plan authorized by MBS.

This report would come after weeks of Saudi denials that it had anything to do with Khashoggi’s disappearance. At one point, the kingdom claimed the Washington Post writer had left the consulate hours after trying to get paperwork for his marriage to a Turkish citizen. But Khashoggi’s fiancée, who was waiting outside the building for him, never saw him leave.

Khashoggi was a Saudi citizen but had been living in the United States over the past year to escape persecution. It’s unclear how global leaders — and in particular, President Donald Trump — would react to Riyadh’s admission.

Trump sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with Saudi leadership on Tuesday. Pompeo already met with King Salman, the country’s leader, and even sat down with MBS.

A bipartisan group of senators has asked Trump to place sanctions on Saudi Arabia if the kingdom was responsible for Khashoggi’s disappearance. Trump, however, has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to take any actions that could imperil a litany of arms sales to Riyadh, totaling $110 billion. What’s more, he implied that wasn’t willing to put the weapons deal on the line because Khashoggi was only a US resident, not a citizen.

The report won’t help Saudi Arabia’s image
If such a report is released, it would still have to be verified. After all, Khashoggi was a prominent dissident who earned the ire of MBS, and it’s very possible Saudi leadership wanted the writer dead.

In the meantime, it’s unlikely that Saudi Arabia’s admission will help with the fallout over Khashoggi.

Riyadh plans to host a three-day conference starting on October 23 called the Future Investment Initiative that’s been nicknamed “Davos in the Desert.” One reason Saudi Arabia put the meeting together was to attract foreign money and strengthen its economy.

But the chiefs of Wall Street giants JPMorgan Chase, Blackstone Group, and BlackRock all pulled out of the conference over the weekend because of the Khashoggi situation. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon had originally planned to give a keynote address at the conference, so this leaves Saudi Arabia just over a week to find another prominent speaker for its showpiece.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, however, still plans to attend the event. On Monday, Trump dismissed the idea that Riyadh may have killed Khashoggi, telling reporters that perhaps “rogue killers” were at fault.

If Saudi Arabia wants to get back into the world’s good graces, it will need to do much more than admit an operation went horribly wrong. But the real path to global acceptance would require Riyadh to stop trying to silence — or at worst, kill — its critics.

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Personal note: Trump will believe this - but its BS.

Boats
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Old 10-16-2018, 07:14 AM
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'Certain evidence' of Khashoggi's murder found in consulate: Report
By: Ece Goksedef 10-16-18
RE: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/k...peo-1637515087

Source tells MEE the consulate has been meticulously searched, with particular attention focused on soil samples from the garden

Turkish investigations into the presumed murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul resumed on Tuesday, with investigators due to enter the consul-general’s house nearby.

On Monday, a team of Turkish investigators and forensics experts entered the consulate 13 days after the prominent Saudi journalist was last seen walking into the building.

They spent nine hours searching the building, security sources told Middle East Eye, and took samples of soil from the garden.

According to the sources, these samples will be a priority of the investigation.

Sources have told MEE that Khashoggi was tortured, murdered and dismembered after he entered the consulate on 2 October.

Turkish authorities have told MEE that they have video and audio recordings of the journalist’s alleged murder, and found evidence of blood in the consulate’s sewage system before being allowed into the consulate.

A Turkish source involved in the investigation told MEE the probe on Monday had been meticulous.

“We went inside all the rooms, without any exceptions. We got into the exclusively protected rooms with high-level security where they have their cryptosystems, also the rooms which are secured against any audio recordings,” the source said.

“We got everything we wanted and took it with us out of the consulate to continue investigation. We didn’t dig the garden but searched it with dogs and took some samples.”

According to the source, the investigators took hammers to some walls and flooring to explore behind them.

Turkish investigators had been poised to enter the consulate for days, however the Saudis rescinded their offer of cooperation after the identities of a “hit squad” of 15 Saudis suspected of being involved in Khashoggi’s murder were leaked to the press.

There was also disagreement over whether investigators would be allowed into the consulate-general’s house.

Although the Saudis acquiesced to Turkish demands to probe the consulate and consul-general’s house, investigators were not allowed into the residency last night.

Talks between the Turkish foreign ministry and the Saudi diplomatic mission in Ankara resulted in Riyadh vowing to allow a probe into the consul-general's home.

A Turkish team is set to enter the building this aftenoon, "unless something else comes up from the Saudi side", a source said.

Shifting story
Saudi officials have strongly denied any involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance and say that he left the consulate soon after arriving. However, they have not presented any evidence to corroborate their claim and say that video cameras at the consulate were not recording at the time.

On Monday it appeared the Saudis were set to change their story and say that Khashoggi was killed in a botched interrogation.

King Salman opened an internal investigation into the prominent government critic’s disappearance over the weekend, and on Monday US President Donald Trump said “rogue killers” may be behind it after speaking to the Saudi leader by phone.

CNN reported that the Saudis are soon to announce that the operation was carried out without clearance from top officials in the government – namely Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and his circle.

However, three of the 15 Saudi suspects are members of MBS’s personal bodyguard, Turkish sources have told MEE.

Khashoggi himself told MEE shortly before his death that one of MBS’s closest aides had personally told the journalist in 2017 that he had angered the top echelons of the Saudi royal court and was banned from tweeting and writing.

Remarks Khashoggi made last year at the Washington Institute think tank about the Saudi government’s relationship with the Trump administration appear behind the veteran journalist's fallout with the royal court.

Following his writing ban, Khashoggi left the kingdom, joining the Washington Post as a columnist and living between the US capital and Istanbul.

As a Virginia resident and Post columnist, Khashoggi’s disappearance has drawn the White House into the Saudi-Turkish standoff.

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held crisis talks with King Salman in Riyadh, as the kingdom tried to quash the fallout from the presumed murder.

The US State Department said Pompeo expressed concern about Khashoggi's fate in the meeting. America's top diplomat later met with MBS, too.

A Turkish security source told MEE that investigators were waiting to see whether the Saudis would officially change their story and the extent they would admit culpability for Khashoggi’s death before releasing evidence found in the consulate.

Turkish sources have told MEE that they do not trust the Saudis, and expect them to hinder the investigation.

The Saudis repainted the consulate’s interior following Khashoggi’s disappearance, a top Turkish official told MEE.

On Monday, before the investigators moved in, professional cleaners were seen entering the consulate through the front door.

The United Nations's human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said on Tuesday that diplomatic immunity should be lifted so that investigations into Khashoggi's disappearance can be as thorough as possible.

“Given there seems to be clear evidence that Mr Khashoggi entered the consulate and has never been seen since, the onus is on the Saudi authorities to reveal what happened to him from that point onwards,” she added.

Bachelet stopped short of calling for an independent international investigation, unlike Khashoggi's family, who late on Monday released a statement after a long period of silence.

“We are sadly and anxiously following the conflicting news regarding the fate of our father after losing contact with him two weeks ago, when he disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Our family is traumatized, and yearns to be together during this painful time," the statement said.

"The strong moral and legal responsibility which our father instilled in us obliges us to call for the establishment of an independent and impartial international commission to inquire into the circumstances of his death. We are grateful to all those who have respected our privacy during these difficult times."
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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