LIVE - #IsraelGate, #Khashoggi & Trump's Dirty Deal with Saudi Arabia
Blackstone
Intelligence
Trump
Affirms Support For MbS, Warns "World Is A Dangerous Place"
20
November, 2018
After
promising to publish a "very
full report" about the
CIA's findings related to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's
complicity in the death of Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi, President
Trump on Tuesday instead released a statement where he once again
defended the US's relationship with the kingdom, and questioned
whether MbS even knew about the killing.
While
Trump described the murder as a "terrible" and
"unacceptable" crime, he claimed that as US intelligence
agencies continue to investigate, they could still find that MbS
wasn't responsible for ordering Khashoggi's murder.
Oil
prices moved lower on the statement as investors interpreted it as
just another sign that the US won't follow through with any material
sanctions or other punitive measures against the kingdom itself
(though the Treasury Department did sanction 17 individual Saudis,
including a senior aide to the prince, over their alleged
involvement. Presumably, as long as the kingdom does everything in
its power to keep oil prices low, Trump won't give them any problems.
Trump
statement on Saudi
role in Khashoggi case
"shameful" - Iran
20
November, 2018
GENEVA
(Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on
Tuesday it was “shameful” that U.S. President Donald Trump had
pledged support for Saudi Arabia despite the murder of dissident
journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate.
FILE
PHOTO - Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrives at the
EU council in Brussels, Belgium May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Trump
had issued a statement that began: “The world is a very dangerous
place!
“The
country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war
against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq’s fragile
attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in
Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed
millions of his own citizens), and much more.”
Trump
went on to vow to stay a “steadfast partner” of Riyadh despite
saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known
about the plan to murder Khashoggi in Istanbul.
Zarif
tweeted that “Mr. Trump bizarrely devotes the FIRST paragraph of
his shameful statement on Saudi atrocities to accuse IRAN of every
sort of malfeasance he can think of”.
Zarif
also referred to Trump’s unfavourable comparison of forestry
management in wildfire-ravaged California and Finland, adding:
“Perhaps
we’re also responsible for the California fires, because we didn’t
help rake the forests — just like the Finns do?”
Finland
baffled by Trump's raking comments
Iran
and Saudi Arabia are regional rivals and have supported opposing
sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and different political
factions in Iraq and Lebanon.
But
Iran and Hezbollah deny supporting terrorism, Tehran denies arming
Yemen’s Houthi militia while accusing Saudi-backed forces of
killing civilians there, and Iranian-trained Shi’ite paramilitaries
helped Iraq’s government to reverse the Islamic State militant
group’s seizure of swathes of Iraqi territory.
When
visiting the scene of California’s devastating Camp Fire on
Saturday, Trump said Finland had managed to avoid such fires by
spending “a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things”
to clear forest floors.
Read
the full statement below:
America
First!
The
world is a very dangerous place!
The
country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war
against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq's fragile
attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in
Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed
millions of his own citizens), and much more. Likewise, the Iranians
have killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the
Middle East. Iran states openly, and with great force, "Death to
America!" and "Death to Israel!" Iran is considered
"the world's leading sponsor of terror."
On
the other hand, Saudi Arabia would gladly withdraw from Yemen if the
Iranians would agree to leave. They would immediately provide
desperately needed humanitarian assistance. Additionally,
Saudi Arabia has agreed to spend billions of dollars in leading the
fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism.
After
my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom
agreed to spend and invest $45c) billion in the United States. This
is a record amount of money. It will create hundreds of thousands of
jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for
the United States. Of the $45 billion will be spent on the purchase
of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many
other great U.S. defense contractors. If
we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the
enormous beneficiaries - and very happy to acquire all of this
newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from
the United States!
The
crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our
country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against
those already said to have participated in the murder. After
great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible
crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been
involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his
body.
Representatives
of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an "enemy of the
state" and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision
is in no way based on that - this is an unacceptable and horrible
crime. King
Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad b. Salimn vigorously deny any
knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr.
Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all
information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had
knowledge of this tragic event - maybe he did and maybe he didn't!
That
being said, we
may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal
Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight
against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner
of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our count, Israel and all
other partners in the region. It
is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism
throughout the world!
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