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The Biden administration released the intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi which concludes that “Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” However, the United States will not impose sanctions on the Crown Prince.
“We base this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control over decision-making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key advisor and members of Muhammad bin Salman’s protection service in the operation, and the support of the crown prince to the use of violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi, ”the report said.
The report says members of the team responsible for Khashoggi’s murder included officials who worked for a close advisor to the crown prince, often referred to as MBS, as well as seven members of the prince’s personal protection elite.
“Since 2017, the Crown Prince has exercised absolute control over the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi officials carried out an operation of this nature without the permission of the Crown Prince,” the report said. .
At a press conference on Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC the report speaks for itself as to why the United States is not directly punishing MBS.
The report cites several people who presumably played a role in Khashoggi’s murder, although it concedes that “we do not know whether these people knew in advance that the operation would result in Khashoggi’s death.”
CBS News reported in 2018 that the CIA estimated that MBS ordered Khashoggi’s death. The crown prince has denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s murder. The 59-year-old Washington Post columnist, who often criticized the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was killed after entering a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
The new administration appears to be focused on preserving the United States’ strategic relationship with the Kingdom, as MBS is likely to be king one day.
The State Department announced a new policy direction on Friday that the Secretary of State called “the Khashoggi ban.” This is a new visa restriction policy allowing the State Department to impose visa restrictions on people who, acting on behalf of a foreign government, “have been directly engaged in counter-dissident activities. extraterritorial acts, including those who suppress, harass, Monitor, threaten or injure journalists, activists or others perceived as dissidents for their work, or who engage in such activities towards families or d ‘other close associates of these people, “Blinken said Friday.
The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on the Saudi Rapid Response Force and a former Saudi intelligence official for their role in Khashoggi’s death.
However, neither the “Khashoggi ban” nor the sanctions will have a direct impact on MBS.
President Biden spoke with Saudi King Salman on Thursday, ahead of the report’s release. MBS is the Secretary of Defense, but is generally expected to rise to power after Salman’s death.
The White House is considering issuing decrees written with the intention of protecting journalists, although those protections are not specifically directed against Saudi Arabia. Democratic Senators Patrick Leahy and Amy Klobuchar also introduced a bill to ensure that governments that commit human rights violations against journalists are held accountable with measures such as targeted sanctions and restricted aid.
Former President Trump refused to reprimand Saudi Arabia or MBS for the murder of a US resident.
Several lawmakers have called on Mr Biden to respond to Khashoggi’s death, possibly with sanctions.
“It was an absolute atrocity and this American ally thought he could do it reasonably and get away with it, and the previous government didn’t care, it was shocking,” Senator Tim Kaine told reporters on Thursday. The Virginia Democrat also noted that Khashoggi was a resident of his state.
Republican Senator John Cornyn told reporters that Mr Biden must express to King Salman that Khashoggi’s death was “not acceptable”.
“I think we have to make it clear that we understand what happened,” said Cornyn. “And it is not acceptable, in the United States or other civilized countries, to enter and assassinate and dismember your political opponents or members of the press.”
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