Heading to Buenos Aires Nov. 30 for the G20 summit, 33-year-old Saudi Defense Minister Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman plans to conduct business-as-usual meeting with heads-of-state, ignoring completely his role in the Oct.2 murder-and-disappearance of 59-year-old Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. When the CIA found Nov. 16 that Bin Salama ordered Khashoggi’s assassination, the Trump White House could no longer give the 33-year-old defacto Saudi ruler a free pass. Whatever one thinks of Khashoggi, engaging in an extrajudicial assassination raises disturbing questions about how Democratically-based states can do business-as-usual with Bin Salman at the G20. Saudi Arabia has emphatically denied Bin Salman’s involvement in Khashoggi’s murder, something disputed by the CIA and practically everyone else that’s telling the truth. U.S.-educated Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir warned foreign states on disputing the Saudi narrative on Khashoggi.
Khashoggi’s death rocked the world community, with many nations doing business with Saudi Arabia unable to turn-a-blind eye, especially because Khashoggi wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post, largely critical of Bin Salman and the Kingdom. What shocked Saudi officials was Khashoggi’s openness in calling the Kingdom out on daily human rights abuses, including unequal treatment of woman and gays. Dealing with gays as social disease, the Kingdom can’t fathom that any of its population could possibly be gay, preferring to behead or excommunicate them to spare the Kingdom embarrassment. Letting Bin Salman go to the G20, knowing he committed and played a role in Khashoggi’s death, slaps Western powers in face, making it difficult for the United States or European Union to conduct business-as-usual. King Salman’s unwillingness to accept that his chosen son no longer has credibility on the world stage shows how he’s no longer in power.
For all intents-and-purposes, Bin Salman runs the Saudi monarchy for his ailing 82-yearold father, unable to perform basic functions as head-of-state. Once regarded as a reformer, Bin Salman’s now regarded as a ruthless dictator, akin to the homicidal tactics of 35-year-old North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. While Kim plays around with nukes and intercontinental ballistic missiles, he still murders his rivals, even close family. Whether Bin Salman’s at Kim’s level of depravity or not, he ordered the murder off a free lance journalist filing reports on the Washington Post opinion page. Expecting world leaders to embrace Bin Salman after what happened to Khashoggi is unrealistic. If King Salman or any of his personal advisers have any sense, they’d put Bin Salman on hiatus, alt least as long as the controversy remains unresolved. Expecting Turkish Presisnt Recep Tayyip Erdogan to meet with the Crown Prince would put Erdogan in a compromising position.
Turkey Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said today there’s “no reason” that President Erdogan could not meet with Bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Edogan has to weigh the decision carefully, especially if he doesn’t plan to give a full explanation of why he held Erdogan’s audience. Erdogan’s been relentless with Saud Arabia, demanding the truth come out about what happened Oct. 2 in Istanbul. Erdogan admitted that he’s heard the security tape recording Saudi operatives strangling Khashoggi, dismembering his remains and disposing it at some unknown locations. Despite looking for what’s left of the Washington Post opinion columnist, the Turkish government has been stymied in their effort ot track down he remains. Meeting with Bin Salman at the G20 would tell Western officials that Erdogan isn’t worthy of EU membership. With the U.K. ending its EU membership, Turkey hs renewed hope of joining the Western Alliance. Already part of NATO, Turkey wants to join the EU at the earlies possible time.
Through the Khashoggi Affair, Erdogan has sought full-and-complete disclosure to force Saudi Arabia into compliance. When you consider all the machinations for the Khashoggi nightmare, Saudi Arabia has made things far worse, showing tone deafness about Bin Salman’s continued presence on the world stage. Hobnobbing with world leaders makes everyone look bad, leaving King Salman no option but to replace his son with Mecca Gov. Khaled al-Faisal. Sending Bin Salaman to the G20 makes it difficult for everyone in Buenos Aires. Until and unless there’s independent confirmation of Bin Salman’s innocence in the Khashoggi Affair, he’s not suitable on the world stage. With the recent crisis between Russia and Ukraine, world leaders need less distractions to figure out how to prevent the region from breaking out into renewed war. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko declared martial law Nov. 26, placing Ukraine on a war footing.
President Donald Trump, battling his own domestic troubles, can’t afford to welcome Bin Salman with open arms in Buenos Aires. Now a distraction on world affairs to Saudi Arabia, King Salman should replace his son with his close confident al-Faisal before he makes a scene in Buenos Aires. Trump already caused a stir bucking Congress calling for punitive sanctions against Saudi Arabia for the extrajudicial assassination of Khashoggi. Trump contends that cancelling billions worth of defense contracts would only harm American companies and the U.S. economy. Since Khashoggi was not a U.S. citizen, there’s little the U.S. should sacrifice to make a point to Crown Prince Bin Salman. If King Salman replaces his son for al-Faisal or someone else, the controversy would go away, especially in Congress where passions, not common sense, rule the day. Whether or not anyone can prove Bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s death, he’s still left himself radioactive.
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