US Intelligence Agencies Hold Saudi Crown Prince Responsible for Khashoggi’s Death
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
There’s virtually no doubt that Jamal Khashoggi was killed after entering the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate on October 2 – never seen or heard from since.
The latest US major media headlines indicated crown prince Mohammad bin Salman’s responsibility for what happened. Here’s a sampling:
NYT: “US Spy Agencies Are Increasingly Convinced of Saudi Prince’s Ties to Journalist’s Disappearance,” saying:
US “intelligence agencies have growing circumstantial evidence of the prince’s involvement — including the presence of members of his security detail and intercepts of Saudi officials discussing a possible plan to detain Mr. Khashoggi, according to American officials.”
It’s highly unlikely his elimination occurred without full knowledge and approval by the kingdom’s highest authority.
Turkish obtained audio evidence points to kingdom ruling authority responsibility for what happened, US intelligence perhaps having similar evidence.
The neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post headlined “Crown prince under scrutiny in journalist’s disappearance even as Saudis search for exculpatory explanation,” saying:
“(I)t will be difficult for (him) to escape scrutiny, as mounting evidence points not only to the Saudi government’s knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate, but also to a connection by (the crown prince) to his disappearance.”
“US intelligence reports, accounts from Khashoggi’s friends, passport records, and social media profiles paint a picture of a brutal killing that at least had its roots in Mohammed’s desire to silence Khashoggi, a former palace insider turned critic of the government and the prince in particular.”
The Wall Street Journal said Riyadh may admit Khashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate, blaming it on a botched interrogation.
Reuters quoted Senator Lindsey Graham, accusing the “rogue (Saudi) crown prince of ordering Khashoggi’s killing, jeopardizing relations with the US.
AP News headlined “Man linked to Saudi prince at consulate when writer vanished,” suggesting his involvement in Khashoggi’s death on orders from the highest authority in Riyadh.
CNN headlined “Jamal Khashoggi investigation closes in on Saudi Crown Prince’s inner circle,” suggesting culpability for his elimination goes right to the top of kingdom rule.
Al Jazeera said a joint Saudi/Turkish probe on Khashoggi “is nothing more than a cosmetic cover…a front to negotiate interests between the two nations” – Riyadh likely to throw money at Ankara to try smoothing them, wanting blame shifted from the crown prince to others for what happened.
Why is the kingdom only blasted for eliminating Khashoggi while its longstanding human rights abuses are largely ignored, along with its aggression in Yemen, support for ISIS and other terrorists, as well as its ties to US forever wars?
The killing of one individual is unacceptable. Yet it pales in comparison to mass murder in one nation after another, along with involvement in regional and domestic state-terror.
That’s where kingdom criticism should be most focused, Khashoggi’s murder a minor side issue by comparison.
My newest book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
