God, what a joke this is. The administration's response, that is. A smiling Pompeo, buddy-buddy. Arms sales so important to our economy. Arms used to slaughter innocents in Yemen, while we refuel their jets. Unlike Syria, Iran has no generals in Yemen, but no matter. Inside your embassy, you torture and dismember a critic. Not an avowed dissident even. A journalistic critic. And you get the public backing of the American administration.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amph...10/17/trump-is-totally-gullible-or-something/
"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who used to criticize Democratic secretaries of state for their willingness to be bamboozled by foreign leaders, appeared in Riyadh with a wide grin plastered on his face. Pumping the crown prince’s hand as though he was an old pal, Pompeo seemed to be there to deliver an escape route for the Saudis, not to hold them accountable for Khashoggi’s disappearance. (” ‘We are strong and old allies,’
Mohammed told Pompeo before reporters were ushered out. ‘We face our challenges together — the past, the day of, tomorrow.’ Pompeo replied with enthusiasm: ‘Absolutely.’ “) That stomach-turning display of camaraderie with the de facto leader of the thuggish regime is how we got to this spot in the first place — excessive trust, insufficient accountability. We look foolish and feeble, making excuses for a corrupt and violent regime that feels it can act with impunity.
The administration’s backing of a Saudi investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance from the Saudi Consulate is akin to cheering O.J. Simpson as he looks for the “real killers” of his ex-wife. Instead of buying into the Saudis’ ****-and-bull story that this was an interrogation and rendition operation that was not intended to murder Khashoggi, Trump should be demanding an independent investigation."
The Saudi story makes little sense. For starters, since when is it acceptable to kidnap an individual using one’s diplomatic compound as shelter? Beyond that, no one other than Trump could believe that a 15-person delegation with a bone-saw-carrying forensic specialist could jet in and out of Turkey and utilize the Saudi diplomatic offices without permission of high-level officials. Moreover, how does an interrogation get botched to such a degree — if this is the so-called defense — that someone dies? Surely, the Saudi team wouldn’t risk hacking up a journalist and bringing his remains back to a kingdom ruled with an iron hand unless they were awfully certain that the regime had their backs. Nevertheless, Trump wants to look for suspects!"
