How Will Trump Handle Jamal Khashoggi

stumbler · Dec 8, 2018

What is significant about this is how many people inside Trump's White House are now ratting Kushner out.

Jared Kushner Chatted Private With Saudi Prince After Jamal Khashoggi Killing

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, repeatedly had private conversations with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including after the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, despite concerns from senior administration officials, according to The New York Times. Kushner’s chats with the Saudi leader prompted serious concerns among senior American officials who thought that his inexperience with foreign policy could put him at risk for Saudi manipulation. While a top administration tried to reinstate longstanding policies requiring that National Security Council staffers participate in every call with foreign leaders, Kushner and the prince kept calling and texting one another, the report claims. These first-name-basis exchanges continued following the grisly killing of Khashoggi on Oct. 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Following the CIA’s report that bin Salman ordered the murder, Kushner “became the prince’s most important defender inside the White House,” the Times said, citing sources familiar with internal discussions. Bin Salman and his aides plotted their courtship of Kushner for more than two years, and documents reveal that Saudi officials picked him as integral to firming up the Kingdom’s ties to Trump’s administration. One foreign policy expert told the Times this “bromance” fostered U.S. support of controversial Saudi policies, such as military intervention in Yemen.
Click to expand...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/jared...th-saudi-prince-after-jamal-khashoggi-killing

freethinker · Dec 10, 2018

freethinker · Dec 10, 2018

Distant Lover said: ↑

A lot of Congressional Democrats blindly followed George the Lesser because they thought he was telling the truth about an Iraqi atomic bomb program.

Also, because of 9/11 most white Americans wanted to hit back hard at Arabs, and Congressional Democrats were unwilling to try to lower the temperature of the prevailing war fever.
Click to expand...

From https://www.businessinsider.com/her...intelligence-assessment-on-wmd-in-iraq-2015-3

An expurgated version of the document was released as the result of a Freedom of Information Act request in 2004. But it wasn't until last year that a transparency activist named John Greenwald was able to obtain the intelligence estimate in its entirety. Greenwald provided the document to Jason Leopold of Vice News, which published it with analysis on March 19th.

The document determines that Saddam Hussein had an active chemical weapons program — although crucially, the CIA couldn't prove that his regime had actually resumed producing chemical and biological agents and cast doubt on the actual extent of Saddam's program.

The intelligence estimate also heavily qualified its evidence of any link between Saddam's regime and al Qaeda, noting that the sources were not entirely reliable.

The full document allows for a comparison of the CIA's actual findings with both the Bush administration's pre-war claims, and later post-war assessments of Saddam's actual WMD capabilities.

In December, the RAND Corporation issued a report that stated the CIA assessment "contained several qualifiers that were dropped ... As the draft NIE went up the intelligence chain of command, the conclusions were treated increasingly definitively."

In other words, the Bushistas cherry-picked us into the war in Iraq.

stumbler · Dec 10, 2018

How Jared Kushner became Saudi Arabia’s most valuable friend in the Trump administration
Saudi officials note Kushner's ignorance of Middle East politics made him key target for partnership

Senior US officials were worried. Since the early months of the Trump administration, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, had been having private, informal conversations with Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favourite son of Saudi Arabia’s king.

Given Mr Kushner’s political inexperience, the private exchanges could make him susceptible to Saudi manipulation, said three former senior US officials. In an effort to tighten practices at the White House, a new chief of staff tried to re-impose long-standing procedures stipulating National Security Council staff members should participate in all calls with foreign leaders.

But even with the restrictions in place, Mr Kushner, 37, and Crown Prince Mohammed, 33, kept chatting, according to three former White House officials and two others briefed by the Saudi royal court. In fact, they said, the two men were on a first-name basis, calling each other Jared and Mohammed in text messages and phone calls.

The exchanges continued even after the 2 October killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was ambushed and dismembered by Saudi agents, according to two former senior US officials and the two people briefed by the Saudis.

As the killing set off a firestorm around the world and US intelligence agencies concluded it was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed, Mr Kushner became the prince’s most important defender inside the White House, people familiar with its internal deliberations say.

Mr Kushner’s support for Crown Prince Mohammed in the moment of crisis is a striking demonstration of a singular bond that has helped draw President Donald Trump into an embrace of Saudi Arabia as one of his most important international allies.

But the ties between Mr Kushner and Crown Prince Mohammed did not happen on their own. The crown prince and his advisers, eager to enlist US support for his hawkish policies in the region and for his own consolidation of power, cultivated the relationship with Mr Kushner for more than two years, according to documents, emails and text messages reviewed by The New York Times.

A delegation of Saudis close to the crown prince visited the United States as early as the month Mr Trump was elected, the documents show, and brought back a report identifying Mr Kushner as a crucial focal point in the courtship of the new administration. He brought to the job scant knowledge about the region, a transactional mind-set and an intense focus on reaching a deal with the Palestinians that met Israel’s demands, the delegation noted.

Even then, before the inauguration, the Saudis were trying to position themselves as essential allies who could help the Trump administration fulfil its campaign pledges. In addition to offering to help resolve the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, the Saudis offered hundreds of billions of dollars in deals to buy US weapons and invest in US infrastructure. Mr Trump later announced versions of some of these items with great fanfare when he made his first foreign trip: to an Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The Saudis had extended that invitation during the delegation’s November 2016 visit.

“The inner circle is predominantly deal-makers who lack familiarity with political customs and deep institutions, and they support Jared Kushner,” the Saudi delegation wrote of the incoming administration in a slide presentation obtained by the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar, which provided it to The Times. Several Americans who spoke with the delegation confirmed the slide presentation’s accounts of the discussions.

The courtship of Mr Kushner appears to have worked.

Only a few months after Mr Trump moved into the White House, Mr Kushner was enquiring about the Saudi royal succession process and whether the United States could influence it, raising fears among senior officials that he sought to help Crown Prince Mohammed, who was not yet the crown prince, vault ahead in the line for the throne, two former senior White House officials said. US diplomats and intelligence officials feared the Trump administration might be seen as playing favourites in the delicate internal politics of the Saudi royal family, the officials said.

By March, Mr Kushner helped usher Crown Prince Mohammed into a formal lunch with Mr Trump in a state dining room at the White House, capitalising on a last-minute cancellation by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany because of a snowstorm.

“The relationship between Jared Kushner and Mohammed bin Salman constitutes the foundation of the Trump policy not just towards Saudi Arabia but towards the region,” said Martin Indyk, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Middle East envoy. The administration’s reliance on the Saudis in the peace process, its support for the kingdom’s feud with Qatar, a US ally, and its backing of the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, he said, all grew out of “that bromance.”

You will love him’
Before the 2016 presidential race, Mr Kushner’s most extensive exposure to the Middle East was through Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a Kushner family friend, and the Kushners had contributed heavily to Israeli non-profits supporting Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank.

But the Arab rulers of the oil-rich Persian Gulf mainly figured in Mr Kushner’s life as investors in US real estate, the Kushner family business.

So Tom Barrack, a Lebanese-American real estate investor with close ties to both Mr Trump and the Gulf rulers, set out during the campaign to introduce Mr Kushner to his associates as a useful ally.

“You will love him and he agrees with our agenda!” Mr Barrack wrote in May 2016 in an email to the Emirati ambassador in Washington, Youssef Otaiba.

‘Lack of familiarity’ with history
Top aides to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed also met with Mr Kushner on a trip to New York in November 2016, after the election.

The Saudi team included Musaad al-Aiban, a Cabinet minister involved in economic planning and national security, and Khaled al-Falih, installed by the crown prince as minister of energy and chairman of the state oil company, according to executives who met with them and a person who was briefed on the meetings. Mr Al-Aiban did not respond to a request for comment and Mr al-Falih could not be reached for comment.

The delegation made special note of what it characterised as Mr Kushner’s ignorance of Saudi Arabia.

“Kushner made clear his lack of familiarity with the history of Saudi-American relations and he asked about its support for terrorism,” the team noted in the slide presentation prepared for Riyadh. “After the discussion, he expressed his satisfaction with what was explained about the Saudi role in fighting terrorism” and what the Saudis said was their international leadership in fighting Islamist extremism.

Mr Kushner, the Saudi report said, also questioned the delegation’s motives, asking whether the group had always been interested in working with Mr Trump. As a candidate, Mr Trump had promised to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the United States and had singled out Saudi Arabia as a dangerous influence.

“Kushner wondered about Saudi Arabia’s desire for partnership and whether it came from opportunity or worry, and he wondered as well if it was specific to this US administration or whether it was presented to Hillary Clinton (for example: women driving),” read another slide, next to a photograph of Mr Kushner.

But Mr Kushner was clear about his own priorities, the report said. “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict was among the most important issues to draw Kushner’s attention,” the delegation reported, and therefore the best way to win him over.

“The Palestinian issue first: there is still no clear plan for the American administration towards the Middle East,” the delegation wrote, “except that the central interest is finding a historic solution to support the stability of Israel and solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

To cultivate ties with the Trump team, the Saudis had prepared a long list of initiatives they said would help Mr Trump deliver for his supporters.

Seizing on Mr Trump’s campaign vows for the “extreme vetting” of immigrants, the Saudi delegation proposed “establishing an intelligence and data” exchange “to help the American administration carry out its strategy of investigating those requesting residency (extreme vetting),” according to an Arabic version of a presentation for the Trump team.

And the delegation pledged “high-level coordination with the new American administration” to help with “defeating extremist thought.”

Several of the Saudi proposals were evidently welcomed.

One was a “joint centre to fight the ideology of extremism and terrorism.” Mr Trump helped inaugurate a Saudi version of the centre on his trip to Riyadh the following May.

Another Saudi proposal outlined what the Trump administration later called “an Arab NATO.” In their presentation, the Saudis described it as an Islamic military coalition of tens of thousands of troops “ready when the president-elect wishes to deploy them.”

Other initiatives appeared timed to Mr Trump’s first term in office, like proposals to spend $50 billion over four years on US defence contracts, to increase Saudi investment in the United States to $200 billion over four years, and to invest, with other Gulf states, up to $100 billion in American infrastructure.

And the delegation urged Mr Trump to come to Saudi Arabia himself to “launch the initiatives as part of a historic welcome celebration.”

A Saudi role in Middle East Peace
Israel had long argued to US diplomats that Saudi Arabia’s influence in the region made it essential to any peace deal, and the Israelis were developing high hopes for Crown Prince Mohammed because of his hawkish views towards Iran and his general iconoclasm (he would later make several statements, like affirming the Israeli “right” to land, that were notably more sympathetic to the Israeli position than those of other Saudi leaders.)

Within weeks of Mr Trump’s move into the White House, Mr Kushner had embraced the delegation’s proposal for the president to visit Riyadh, convinced by then that the alliance with Saudi Arabia would be crucial in his plans for the region, according to a person who discussed it with Mr Kushner and a second person familiar with his plans.

The secretary of state at the time, Rex Tillerson, opposed the idea. It would link the administration too closely to Riyadh, these people said, giving up flexibility and leverage. Mr Trump initially saw little benefit either, according to a person involved in his deliberations.

But by the time of the inauguration, Mr Kushner was already arguing that under the influence of Crown Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia could play a pivotal role in advancing a Middle East peace deal, according to three people familiar with his thinking. That would be the president’s legacy, Mr Kushner argued, according to a person involved in the discussions.

It was around the time of the White House visit in March 2017 that senior officials in the State Department and the Pentagon began to worry about the one-on-one communications between Crown Prince Mohammed — who is known to favour the online messaging service WhatsApp — and Mr Kushner. “There was a risk the Saudis were playing him,” one former White House official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Click to expand...

One former White House official argued Mr Kushner’s personal ties to Crown Prince Mohammed had sometimes been an asset. At one point, for example, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen had blocked a critical port, cutting off humanitarian and medical supplies. The national security adviser at the time, Lt General HR McMaster, suggested Mr Kushner call Crown Prince Mohammed to address the issue, the official said, and Mr McMaster believed Mr Kushner’s intercession had helped persuade the Saudis to loosen the restrictions.

Inside the White House, Mr Kushner has continued to argue that the president needs to stand by Crown Prince Mohammed because he remains essential to the administration’s broader Middle East strategy, according to people familiar with the deliberations.

Whether Crown Prince Mohammed can fulfil that role, however, remains to be seen. His initial approaches to the Palestinians were rejected by their leaders, and their resistance stiffened after the Trump administration recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital without waiting for a negotiated agreement on the city’s status.

Now the crown prince’s father, King Salman, 82, who is still the official head of state, has appeared to resist Mr Kushner’s Middle East peace plans as well.

“The Palestinian issue will remain our primary issue,” the king declared in a speech last month, “until the Palestinian people receive all of their legal rights.”

The New York Times

Click to expand...

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...n-khashoggi-mohammed-bin-salman-a8674626.html

Sanity_is_Relative · Dec 11, 2018

stumbler · Dec 11, 2018

Senate to consider resolution condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee said he would introduce as soon as Tuesday a joint resolution condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which could force President Donald Trump to decide whether to sign or veto.

Republican Senator Bob Corker said he expected the measure to pass the Senate, noting that its co-sponsors include Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. If it passes the House of Representatives, it would go to the White House for Trump to sign or veto.

Corker said he hoped to introduce the legislation as soon as later Tuesday. “Hopefully, we’ll have a very, very strong vote on a resolution condemning the crown prince,” Corker said.

Aides to Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the House planned to vote on the measure if it passed the Senate.

Separately, a House aide said that CIA Director Gina Haspel would hold a classified briefing for House leaders and the heads of national security committees on the Khashoggi situation on Wednesday.

Joint congressional resolutions must be signed by the president and have the force of law. The resolution’s content has not been released, so it was not clear whether the joint resolution would prompt any specific punishment against the crown prince or the kingdom, beyond a statement of condemnation.

Corker said it was largely similar to a resolution introduced last week by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and other Republicans and Democrats that condemned Khashoggi’s death and said the Senate “has a high level of confidence” that the Saudi crown prince was complicit in his murder.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who was a columnist for the Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe
Click to expand...

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/se...mning-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/

Distant Lover · Dec 11, 2018

ace's n 8's said: ↑

Get your fraudulent head out of your fraudulent ass...every mother fucking member of Congress had the same information as Bush did...CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL IS REQUIRED...for this nation to go to war.

Fraud.
Click to expand...

What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you say.

ace's n 8's · Dec 11, 2018

ace's n 8's said: ↑

Get your fraudulent head out of your fraudulent ass...every mother fucking member of Congress had the same information as Bush did...CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL IS REQUIRED...for this nation to go to war.

Fraud.
Click to expand...

Ratings for post #199
Thread:
How Will Trump Handle Jamal Khashoggi
Dislike x 1
Distant Lover

Typical of the standard leftist on this site...how so they dislike the truth.

ace's n 8's · Dec 11, 2018

Distant Lover said: ↑

What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you say.
Click to expand...

Have you ever considered therapy, due to your drunken dyslexia?

Fraud.

stumbler · Dec 12, 2018

‘He’s the leader of Saudi Arabia’: Trump stands by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he stood by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince despite a CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and pleas from U.S. senators for Trump to condemn the kingdom’s de facto ruler.

Trump refused to comment on whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was complicit in the murder, but he provided perhaps his most explicit show of support for the prince since Khashoggi’s death more than two months ago.

Asked by Reuters if standing by the kingdom meant standing by the prince, known as MbS, Trump responded: “Well, at this moment, it certainly does.”

Some members of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family are agitating to prevent MbS from becoming king, sources close to the royal court have told Reuters, and believe that the United States and Trump could play a determining role.

“I just haven’t heard that,” Trump said. “Honestly, I can’t comment on it because I had not heard that at all. In fact, if anything, I’ve heard that he’s very strongly in power.”
Click to expand...

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/he...rump-stands-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman/

stumbler · Dec 12, 2018

Its one thing for Trump to lie but when he can get members of his administration to go on national TV and lie we know the Trump administration is corrupt to its core.

WATCH: Sec. of State Mike Pompeo Evades Fox & Friends Questions about Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave an interview to Fox & Friends on Wednesday, during which, he faced a number of tough questions about America’s relationship with Saudi Arabia following Jamal Khashoggi‘s murder.

The Washington Post writer’s death continues to draw international outrage, even though President Trump and his administration insist there isn’t enough proof to determine that it happened under the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman. When asked about this, Pompeo continued this approach by calling Khashoggi’s death a “tragic incident,” but the U.S.-Saudi alliance must be preserved.

Brian Kilmeade eventually noted that many members of Congress are convinced of Salman’s guilt, especially after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed lawmakers about the evidence collected by her team. To this point, Kilmeade asked Pompeo “we know the prince knows, right?”

Pompeo declined to answer the question directly, so Kilmeade tried again with “so…when you looked him in the eye and he denied it, did you believe him?”

“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia decides who is running the country,” Pompeo dodged again. “I think this is what the president said yesterday. We are working closely with the kingdom to make sure that America is protected. That’s our interest there.”

When Ainsley Earhardt brought up the CIA’s reported “high confidence” assessment of Salman’s guilt, Pompeo pushed back with “some of the reporting that you have seen on that has been inaccurate.” He continued to insist that the Saudis have already “paid the price” for the murder even if the prince has not.
Click to expand...

https://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-s...ends-questions-about-jamal-khashoggis-murder/

stumbler · Dec 13, 2018

Defying Trump, US Senate advances resolution to end support for Saudis in Yemen war

In a rare break with President Donald Trump, the U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to move ahead with a resolution that would end U.S. military support for the Saudi Arabian-led coalition in the war in Yemen.

Eleven of Trump’s fellow Republicans voted with Democrats to provide the 60 votes needed to move ahead with the war powers resolution.

The vote was largely symbolic because the House of Representatives is not expected to take the matter up this year, and Trump has threatened a veto. But backers of the resolution said it sent an important message that lawmakers are unhappy with the humanitarian disaster in Yemen, and angry about the lack of a strong U.S. response to the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey.

The Trump administration had urged lawmakers not to oppose U.S. fueling and other support for the Saudi-led coalition as it battles the Houthis, Shi’ite Muslim fighters Yemen’s neighbors view as agents of Iran.

Many Republicans also have urged that lawmakers keep the Yemen conflict separate from anger over the murder of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident who was a columnist for the Washington Post.

Earlier on Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the Trump administration’s handling of Khashoggi’s killing, stressing Saudi Arabia’s importance as a U.S. ally against Iran.

Pompeo repeated his assertion that there was no direct evidence linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Oct. 2 murder of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, despite a CIA assessment it was likely he ordered the killing.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Gina Haspel briefed leaders of the House of Representatives behind closed doors about the killing. After the classified briefing, House members declined to comment beyond saying they had not heard anything that had changed their minds about Khashoggi’s death.

Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu; editing by David Gregorio and Jonathan Oatis
Click to expand...

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/de...nces-resolution-end-support-saudis-yemen-war/

stumbler · Dec 13, 2018

The Latest: Senate OKs resolution blaming Saudi crown prince

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the congressional response to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (all times local):

3:35 p.m.

The Senate has passed a resolution saying Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the slaying of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Senators unanimously passed a resolution Thursday in a direct rebuke to the crown prince. It calls for the Saudi Arabian government to "ensure appropriate accountability."

It's unclear whether the House will consider the measure. Senators voted on it after President Donald Trump equivocated on who is to blame for Khashoggi's death and praised the kingdom. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that bin Salman must have at least known of the plot.

Passage of the resolution came after senators passed a separate measure calling for the end of U.S. aid to the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

———

3:30 p.m.

Senators have voted to recommend that the U.S. stop supporting the Saudi-led war in Yemen, directly challenging both Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi's slaying.

The bipartisan vote Thursday comes two months after the Saudi journalist's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and after Trump has equivocated over who is to blame. U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known of the plot, but Trump has repeatedly praised the kingdom.

Frustration with the crown prince and the White House prompted several Republicans to support the Yemen resolution, a rebuke to the longtime ally. Others already had concerns about the brutality of the Yemen war.

It's unlikely the House will consider the resolution.

———

2:20 p.m.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have introduced a resolution rebuking Saudi Arabia for the slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (jah-MAHL' khahr-SHOHK'-jee).

The Senate could vote on the resolution as soon as Thursday, after considering a separate resolution that would recommend pulling U.S. aid from a Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Click to expand...

https://billingsgazette.com/news/na...cle_26f3294d-8af8-5424-9491-d055fc5f0a35.html

stumbler · Dec 16, 2018

Turkey is just openly blackmailing Trump but I don't think they realize Congress is not going to allow Trump to meet their demands. And Trump is so stupid and mentally ill (two different things)he doesn't understand he simply cannot do this.

Turkey: Trump working on cleric’s extradition

*Turkey's foreign minister said Sunday that President Trump told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that the U.S. is working to extradite one of Erdoğan's political foes, Reuters reported.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Trump told Erdoğan during the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina that the U.S. is working to extradite exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating a failed coup against the Turkish president in 2016.

“I have recently seen a credible probe by the FBI on how the Gülen organization avoids taxes,” Cavusoglu said, according to Reuters.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump pushed back last month on reports that the administration was considering extraditing Gülen amid an investigation into the death of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The president said Gülen's extradition was "not under consideration" at the time, though he added that the U.S. is always looking for "whatever we can do for Turkey."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged discussing Gülen's case with Turkish officials during a meeting after Khashoggi's death.

The killing of the journalist has led to tensions between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, as well as between Turkey and the kingdom. Erdoğan alleged that high-ranking Saudi officials were involved in Khashoggi's death, while the U.S. Senate last week passed a resolution stating the body found Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the journalist's killing.

The crown prince has denied involvement, though Saudi leadership has on multiple occasions changed its explanation of what happened to Khashoggi.
Click to expand...

*And here is the real problem. Trump constantly lies. And that puts Turkey in a position of saying anything they want. Because even if Trump denies it he lies so much no one can actually believe him.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/421573-turkey-trump-working-on-clerics-extradition

ace's n 8's · Dec 16, 2018

stumbler said: ↑

Turkey is just openly blackmailing Trump but I don't think they realize Congress is not going to allow Trump to meet their demands. And Trump is so stupid and mentally ill (two different things)he doesn't understand he simply cannot do this.

Turkey: Trump working on cleric’s extradition

*And here is the real problem. Trump constantly lies. And that puts Turkey in a position of saying anything they want. Because even if Trump denies it he lies so much no one can actually believe him.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/421573-turkey-trump-working-on-clerics-extradition
Click to expand...

I still have not heard of a logical reason the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had to kill the hack fuck journalist.

freethinker · Dec 17, 2018

stumbler · Dec 17, 2018

Saudi Arabia Hits Out at U.S. ‘Interference’ Over Jamal Khashoggi's Murder

Saudi Arabia has attacked the U.S. Senate after a bipartisan resolution was passed last week that directly blamed the kingdom’s rulers for the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi. Senators last Thursday passed the measure that blamed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for Khashoggi’s killing and called on Riyadh to “ensure appropriate accountability.” They also passed a measure calling for the end of U.S. aid to the Saudi-led war in Yemen. In a strongly worded statement issued early Monday, Saudi Arabia said the Senate’s resolution “contained blatant interferences” in the kingdom’s internal affairs and was based on “unsubstantiated claims and allegations.” The statement went on: “The kingdom categorically rejects any interference in its internal affairs, any and all accusations, in any manner, that disrespect its leadership... and any attempts to undermine its sovereignty or diminish its stature.” In October, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. The assassins have been linked to the Saudi crown prince.
Click to expand...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/saudi-arabia-hits-out-at-us-interference-over-jamal-khashoggis-murder

stumbler · Dec 21, 2018

Hey sorry Recep no can do on meeting your blackmail demand to hand a US resident over to you to torture and kill. Too much heat on that after your buddy Gen Flynn pleaded guilty. So how about I hand our good friends the Kurds over to you so you can slaughter them?

Ok Donald I will keep your secrets and protect MbS if you let me do that.

Trump Call With Turkish President Led To Abrupt US Pullout From Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually everyone involved in the fight against the Islamic State, according to U.S. and Turkish officials.

Trump stunned his Cabinet, lawmakers and much of the world with the move by rejecting the advice of his top aides and agreeing to a withdrawal in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, two officials briefed on the matter said.

The Dec. 14 call, described by officials who were not authorized to discuss the decision-making process publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, is a view into a Trump decision with profound consequences, including the resignation of widely respected Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

The White House, State Department and Pentagon all declined to comment on the account of the withdrawal decision.

U.S. troops first moved into Syria in 2015 to fight the Islamic State group, a year after the Pentagon first launched a campaign of airstrikes against the extremists in Iraq and Syria. Local ground forces with close U.S. support slowly pushed back IS in the years that followed and by the beginning of 2018, the extremists had lost more than 90 percent of the territory they once held.

Despite losing the physical caliphate, thousands of IS fighters remain in Iraq and Syria and the group continues to carry out insurgent attacks. Local commanders warn the group could easily move back into territory it once held if American forces completely withdraw.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arranged the Dec. 14 call a day after he had unsuccessfully sought clarity from Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu about Erdogan’s threats to launch a military operation against U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northeast Syria, where American forces are based.

Pompeo, Mattis and other members of the national security team prepared a list of talking points for Trump to tell Erdogan to back off, the officials said.

But the officials said Trump, who had previously accepted such advice and convinced the Turkish leader not to attack the Kurds and put U.S. troops at risk, ignored the script. Instead, the president sided with Erdogan.

The officials said the conversation set off a frantic, four-day scramble to convince the president either to reverse or delay the decision to give the military and Kurdish forces time to prepare for an orderly withdrawal. Trump, however, was unmoved, they said.

“The talking points were very firm,” said one of the officials, explaining that Trump was advised to clearly oppose a Turkish incursion into northern Syria and suggest the U.S. and Turkey work together to address security concerns. “Everybody said push back and try to offer (Turkey) something that’s a small win, possibly holding territory on the border, something like that.”

Erdogan, though, quickly put Trump on the defensive, reminding him that he had repeatedly said the only reason for U.S. troops to be in Syria was to defeat the Islamic State and that the group had been 99 percent defeated. “Why are you still there?” the second official said Erdogan asked Trump, telling him that the Turks could deal with the remaining IS militants.

With Erdogan on the line, Trump asked national security adviser John Bolton, who was listening in, why American troops remained in Syria if what the Turkish president was saying was true, according to the officials. Erdogan’s point, Bolton was forced to admit, had been backed up by Mattis, Pompeo, U.S. special envoy for Syria Jim Jeffrey andspecial envoy for the anti-ISIS coalition Brett McGurk, who have said that IS retains only 1 percent of its territory, the officials said.

Bolton stressed, however, that the entire national security team agreed that victory over IS had to be enduring, which means more than taking away its territory.

Trump was not dissuaded, according to the officials, who said the president quickly capitulated by pledging to withdraw, shocking both Bolton and Erdogan.

Caught off guard, Erdogan cautioned Trump against a hasty withdrawal, according to one official. While Turkey has made incursions into Syria in the past, it does not have the necessary forces mobilized on the border to move in and hold the large swaths of northeastern Syria where U.S. troops are positioned, the official said.

The call ended with Trump repeating to Erdogan that the U.S. would pull out, but offering no specifics on how it would be done, the officials said.

Over the weekend, the national security team raced to come up with a plan that would reverse, delay or somehow limit effects of the withdrawal, the officials said.

On Monday, Bolton, Mattis and Pompeo met at the White House to try to plot a middle course. But they were told by outgoing chief of staff John Kelly and his soon-to-be successor Mick Mulvaney that Trump was determined to pull out and was not to be delayed or denied, according to the officials. The trio met again on Tuesday morning to try to salvage things, but were again rebuffed, the officials said.

The White House had wanted to announce the decision on Tuesday — and press secretary Sarah Sanders scheduled a rare briefing specifically to announce it. But the Pentagon convinced Trump to hold off because the withdrawal plans weren’t complete and allies and Congress had not yet been notified, according to the officials. The first country aside from Turkey to be told of the impending pull-out was Israel, the officials said.

Word of the imminent withdrawal began to seep out early Wednesday after U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Joseph Votel started to inform his commanders on the ground and the Kurds of the decision.

Following the official announcement the White House emphasized that the U.S. will continue to support the fight against IS and remains ready to “re-engage” when needed. But in a tweet, the president said U.S. troops would no longer be fighting IS on behalf of others.

“Time to focus on our Country & bring our youth back home where they belong!”
Click to expand...

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/world-news/trump-call-turkey-erdogan-led-to-abrupt-us-pullout-syria

tenguy · Dec 21, 2018

Looks like Trump & t1 have the same spellcheck

Log in or Sign up

stumbler Porn Star

freethinker Pervy Bear

freethinker Pervy Bear

stumbler Porn Star

Sanity_is_Relative Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

Distant Lover Master of Facts

ace's n 8's Porn Star

ace's n 8's Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

ace's n 8's Porn Star

freethinker Pervy Bear

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

tenguy Reasoned voice of XNXX

How Will Trump Handle Jamal Khashoggi

nproxy.org

Log in or Sign up

stumbler Porn Star

freethinker Pervy Bear

freethinker Pervy Bear

stumbler Porn Star

Sanity_is_Relative Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

Distant Lover Master of Facts

ace's n 8's Porn Star

ace's n 8's Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

ace's n 8's Porn Star

freethinker Pervy Bear

stumbler Porn Star

stumbler Porn Star

tenguy Reasoned voice of XNXX

Useful Searches

nproxy.org