Al-Jazeera, Qatar, December 3
Despite the fact that over two months have passed since the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey, U.S. media outlets continue to report on the matter on a nearly daily basis. Part of this reporting comes in response to recent leaks made by CIA officials on the involvement of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in the decision to kill the Saudi-American journalist. According to the American findings, Bin Salman had been directly involved in the operation and personally gave the order to carry out the killing. This should be a shocking discovery for any decent human. Even the most militant supporters of Saudi Arabia in America have been struggling to deal with these revelations and defend the crown prince. The only person determined to ignore this mounting evidence is U.S. President Donald Trump who launched a direct attack on his own intelligence agency and denied the findings presented to him by senior CIA officials. Thankfully, the vast majority of the American public doesn’t believe Trump’s lies. The American people were willing to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabia’s attacks in Yemen. They were willing to condone the continuous encroachment of human rights in the kingdom. But the killing of Khashoggi was a step too far. I believe that it is only a matter of time until Congress launches a formal investigation into Trump’s politicization of intelligence and refusal to accept the CIA’s findings. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Bin Salman is closely monitoring these developments in an effort to protect himself. If this matter continues to unfold with such great public attention, Bin Salman will be forced to make major changes to his government, including a potential rearrangement in the Royal House. Otherwise, he will find his own neck on the line. –Hassan Brari