Tag: Saudi Arabia

U.S. releases report finding Saudi prince approved Khashoggi operation

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Driving the news: The White House also announced sanctions on entities implicated in the murder, though not on MBS directly. Officials also announced a new “Khashoggi ban” under which individuals accused of harassing journalists or dissidents outside their borders can be barred from entering the U.S. 

Why it matters: The grisly October 2018 murder of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul sparked worldwide outrage and calls for the U.S. to fundamentally reevaluate its relationship with the Gulf kingdom.

  • Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines pledged in her Senate confirmation hearing to comply with a law passed by Congress in 2019 that required ODNI to release the names of the Saudi officials believed to be responsible or complicit in Khashoggi’s killing within 30 days. Continue reading.

U.S. markets crater as coronavirus, oil prices trigger brief halt in trading

Washington Post logoOil prices dive to the $30s while investors flee for safe havens like U.S. treasuries and gold, amplifying recession fears

The stock markets suffered stunning declines Monday — with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 2014 points — as the threat of a coronavirus-fueled oil war and ongoing panic about the spreading disease grew and triggered a rare forced halt to trading early in the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average cratered 7.8 percent to close at 23,851. The S&P 500, a broader measure of stocks, shed 7.6 percent by the close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 7.3 percent.

The New York Stock Exchange tripped the so-called “circuit breaker” at a time of relentless volatility for global markets, which have been battered for weeks as the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold. The forced 15-minute break initially appeared to have a stabilizing effect, but selling resumed before the end of the regular trading. Continue reading.

Pentagon Denies Trump Claim That Saudi ‘Paid’ For US Troops

Aaron Rupar

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INGRAHAM: Don’t the American people have a right to know what specifically was targeted by Soleimani?

TRUMP: “I don’t think so.”

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Donald Trump is the most explicitly transactional of modern presidents, and it’s gotten him into trouble. His offering of support from the U.S. government to Ukraine in exchange for a personal favor — an announcement of investigations into his political rivals — wound up making him the third American president to be impeached.

And in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham last Friday, Trump revealed he was engaging in another explicit quid pro quo — not, apparently, for a personal favor, but corrupting nonetheless — with Saudi Arabia.

“We’re sending more [troops] to Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabia is paying us for it,” Trump said. “I said ‘Listen, you’re a very rich country. You want more troops? I’m going to send them to you. But you’ve got to pay us.’” Continue reading.

Saudi sentencing in Khashoggi killing draws criticism — except from White House

The Hill logoSaudi Arabia’s death sentence Monday for five people connected to journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing after a trial shrouded in secrecy has prompted widespread criticism — except from the White House.

The White House has not issued an official statement as of Monday afternoon, but a senior administration called the sentencing an “important step.”

“This is an important step in holding those responsible for this terrible crime accountable, and we encourage Saudi Arabia to continue with a fair and transparent judicial process,” the official said.

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In the weeks before Navy base shooting, Trump touted his travel ban

Washington Post logo“So, we have a travel ban, but they didn’t say that. They didn’t say that. They forgot to tell you the last part. So, we’re keeping terrorists, we’re keeping criminals and violent extremists, the hell out of our country, we’re keeping them out, and we’re doing great on the border.”

— President Trump, campaign rally in Sunrise, Fla., Nov. 26, 2019

“It’s called, excuse me, a travel ban, and it was recently voted on very favorably in a thing called the United States Supreme Court, was held totally constitutional, and we are now keeping terrorists, criminals and violent extremists the hell out of our country.”

— Trump, campaign rally in Bossier City, La., Nov. 14, 2019

“My administration implemented the travel ban to block migration from some of the world’s most dangerous and deadly places. And we’re keeping terrorists, criminals and violent extremists the hell out of our country. That’s what we’re doing.”

— Trump, campaign rally in Monroe, La., Nov. 6, 2019 Continue reading “In the weeks before Navy base shooting, Trump touted his travel ban”

For Trump, Instinct After Florida Killings Is Simple: Protect Saudis

New York Times logoBefore issuing his own condolences, the president channeled the Saudi king’s, and avoided any discussion of the hard questions about why the U.S. is training Saudi officers.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — When a Saudi Air Force officer opened fire on his classmates at a naval base in Pensacola, Fla., on Friday, he killed three, wounded eight and exposed anew the strange dynamic between President Trump and the Saudi leadership: The president’s first instinct was to tamp down any suggestion that the Saudi government needed to be held to account.

Hours later, Mr. Trump announced on Twitter that he had received a condolence call from King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who clearly sought to ensure that the episode did not further fracture their relationship. On Saturday, leaving the White House for a trip here for a Republican fund-raiser and a speech on Israeli-American relations, Mr. Trump told reporters that “they are devastated in Saudi Arabia,” noting that “the king will be involved in taking care of families and loved ones.” He never used the word “terrorism.”

What was missing was any assurance that the Saudis would aid in the investigation, help identify the suspect’s motives, or answer the many questions about the vetting process for a coveted slot at one of the country’s premier schools for training allied officers. Or, more broadly, why the United States continues to train members of the Saudi military even as that same military faces credible accusations of repeated human rights abuses in Yemen, including the dropping of munitions that maximize civilian casualties.

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Jared Kushner Attending Saudi Conference Raises ‘Red Flag” with Saudi Arabian in His Financial Disclosure: Ethics Experts

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s participating in Saudi Arabia’s annual investment conference this week raised ethics concerns from a watchdog alleging that the Saudi government is a part-owner of a company building a Trump-branded property that Kushner’s wife Ivanka Trump holds a stake in.

Kushner, a senior White House adviser, arrived at the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, a year after Western leaders, including some from the United States boycotted the conference due to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In a report on its website Tuesday, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) pointed to its finding from last year that the Trump Organization’s business partner in Indonesia signed a deal with a Saudi government-owned construction firm to build a Trump-branded resort. The agreement was apparently reached three weeks before Khashoggi disappeared.

View the complete October 30 article by Jessica Kwong on the Newsweek website here.

Scoop: The grandees headed to Saudi Arabia’s “Davos in the Desert”

Axios logoNever mind the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi — there’s money to be made. That’s the clear message sent by the list of grandees scheduled to attend the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later this month.

Axios has obtained a “Draft Narrative Program” for the conference, marked “Not Final — Subject to Change.” Any of the names on the program could therefore still pull out. Those names include heads of state, including Narendra Modi of India and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil.

  • The Trump administration is represented by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. Former Treasury undersecretary David Malpass, now the president of the World Bank, is also on the list, as is former White House communications chief Anthony Scaramucci.

View the complete October 23 article by Felix Salmon on the Axios website here.

Trump’s claim the Saudis will pay ‘100 percent of the cost’

Washington Post logoYou read where we’re sending some troops to Saudi Arabia. That’s true. Because we want to help Saudi Arabia. They have been a very good ally. They’ve agreed to pay for the cost of those troops. They’ve agreed to pay fully for the cost of everything we’re doing over there. . . . Saudi Arabia is paying for 100 percent of the cost, including the cost of our soldiers. And that negotiation took a very short time — like, maybe, about 35 seconds.”

— President Trump, remarks at the White House, Oct. 16

“We are sending troops and other things to the Middle East to help Saudi Arabia. But are you ready? Saudi Arabia, at my request, has agreed to pay us for everything we’re doing. That’s a first. But Saudi Arabia — and other countries, too, now — but Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay us for everything we’re doing to help them.”

— Trump, remarks to reporters, Oct. 11

“Then the president said, ‘Well, the reason I’m taking the troops out of Syria is because I promised them at campaign to bring the troops home.’ My question to him was, ‘Is Saudi Arabia home? Is Saudi Arabia home? Why are our troops going to Saudi Arabia if you promised to bring them home?’ He said, ‘Well, the Saudi Arabians are paying for it.’ Really, we’re putting our troops in harm’s way for Saudi Arabia because they’re paying — it just didn’t add up.”

— House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), recounting to reporters a conversation at the White House with Trump, Oct. 17 Continue reading “Trump’s claim the Saudis will pay ‘100 percent of the cost’”

Trump ramps up rhetoric on Iran

The Hill logoPresident Trump is ramping up his rhetoric on Iran following attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia over the weekend that the United States has blamed on Tehran.

Trump has hinted at the potential for military action in the wake of the attacks on two Saudi oil sites and also referred back to Iran’s role in shooting down a U.S. military drone in June, an event that ramped up already high tensions between Washington and Tehran.

“Remember when Iran shot down a drone, saying knowingly that it was in their ‘airspace’ when, in fact, it was nowhere close,” Trump tweeted Monday.

View the complete September 16 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.