History forgotten, Saudi Arabia trumps Pakistan and Iran

President Trump uses American jobs as the reason he’s setting aside the CIA’s report that—as has been inescapably obvious for weeks—Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in their Istanbul Consulate. How about the thousands of American jobs already being lost as a result of the President’s new trade war with China—the one he said would be “easy”?

Another reason the President gives is Saudi Arabia’s support for his take-no-prisoners policies against Iran, despite the Islamic Republic’s continued compliance with the multilateral nuclear agreement. Coddling a brutal autocrat—the Shah—was how we lost Iran 40 years ago in the first place. What happens when the Saudi regime is overthrown because we encouraged their excesses? And who will take over then? Meanwhile, the homegrown Saudi animosity against Iran requires no incentivizing from Washington.

In almost the same breath, on Twitter, the President also slammed Pakistan for allowing Osama bin Laden to hide from justice. And what does Pakistan do for us anyway... Well, aside from the fact that our assistance helps stabilize a regime that owns nuclear weapons, and that—with a few well-placed Trump tweets—Pakistan could be far more anti-American than it is—let's stop and really think for a moment about OBL.

Let’s consider not where Osama was hiding, but where he got his start and his cash and nearly all the recruits for his 9/11 attack on our homeland. That’s right—Saudi Arabia!

So, if enabling Osama is the litmus test for cutting off relations, then why is Donald Trump doubling down on the Saudis?

I won’t ask to end relations with Saudi Arabia over the killing of one journalist, no matter how significant and no matter how egregious the crime. Nearly 20 years ago, Ukraine’s then-President was implicated in the beheading of a journalist, and the United States didn’t slap an embargo or cut off assistance and cooperation. We have national interests that go beyond individual crimes at the highest levels.

We also need to keep in mind that, in his speech in Riyadh last year, President Trump emphasized that he doesn’t care what governments do to their own people as long as they’re with us in the fight against terrorism. Never mind that such an attitude toward repressive regimes actually enhances recruiting by terrorist groups... It’s ridiculous for the U.S. Government to sanction over a dozen Saudis for involvement in the Khashoggi murder without including the Crown Prince who had to have ordered it. I say “had to” because during the last year or more, MBS has made painfully clear to every Saudi that nothing significant happens in the Kingdom without his say-so. No major transactions, no senior appointments, no military offensives in Yemen, and no murders of high-profile dissidents in overseas consulates.

I would add, if we’re going to call on the Administration to sanction the Saudi regime, then Khashoggi should be at least halfway down the list of reasons. It’s far behind the senseless mass-bombing campaign and forced famine in Yemen, the wholesale extortion of scores of princes and entrepreneurs in the name of “fighting” corruption, the brazen kidnapping of the Lebanese Prime Minister, and the continued detention of women’s rights activists even after he unilaterally lifted the ban on women driving. Where were the calls for holding the Crown Prince accountable BEFORE he happened to pick on Khashoggi, a worthy favorite of Washington’s policy elite?

There are no heroes or champions in all of this. But we can all still make an effort to honor the facts behind Khashoggi’s demise as well as our limited options on either side of the Indian Ocean, and the ongoing slaughter and starvation in Yemen.