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Statement by President Donald J. Trump on his talks with Saudi Arabia
The world is a very dangerous place!
Iran, for example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, attempting to destabilize Iraq's fragile attempt at democracy, supporting the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, supporting dictator Bashar Assad in Syria ( who killed millions of his own citizens), and so much more. Similarly, the Iranians have killed many Americans and other innocents across the Middle East. Iran declares openly and with great force: "Death to America!" and "Death to Israel!" Iran is considered "the first global sponsor of terror".
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia would gladly withdraw from Yemen if the Iranians agreed to leave. They would immediately provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance. In addition, Saudi Arabia has agreed to spend billions of dollars to lead the fight against radical Islamist terrorism.
After my highly negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $ 450 billion in the United States. It is a sum of money record. This will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, considerable economic development and considerable additional wealth for the United States. Of this $ 450 billion, $ 110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and many other major US defense contractors. If we cancel these contracts stupidly, Russia and China would be the huge beneficiaries – and very happy to acquire all these newly acquired business. It would be a wonderful gift for them directly from the United States!
The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible crime that our country does not approve of. Indeed, we have taken strong action against people already known to have participated in the murder. After extensive independent research, we now know many details about this horrible crime. We have already punished 17 Saudis who allegedly participated in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and the disposition of his body.
Representatives of Saudi Arabia have stated that Jamal Khashoggi is an "enemy of the state" and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that. It is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of Mr. Khashoggi's murder. Our intelligence agencies continue to evaluate all the information, but it could very well be that the crown prince was aware of this tragic event – maybe he did it and maybe it was not. he did not do it!
That being said, we may never know all the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, we have relations 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 an unwavering partner of Saudi Arabia to defend the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. Our overriding goal is to completely eliminate the threat of terrorism in the world!
I understand that some members of the congress wish, for political or other reasons, to go in a different direction – and they are free to do so. I will consider all ideas presented to me, but only if they are compatible with the absolute safety and security of America. After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing country in the world. They worked closely with us and were very responsive to my request to keep oil prices at reasonable levels – so important to the world. As President of the United States, I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, the United States defends its national interests and vigorously challenges countries that wish to wrong. Very simply, this is called America First!
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