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Defense Secretary James Mattis
James Norman MattisOvernight Defense: 5,200 active-duty soldiers heading to southern border | Border troops will be armed | American ISIS suspects freed after 13-month arrest Pentagon sending 5,200 troops to border Pentagon sends mixed signals on border presence said Tuesday that he regards U.S. support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen's civil war to be a separate issue from the ongoing crisis over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"The murder of Khashoggi is, I would separate it out of the situation," said Mattis at the United States Institute of Peace. "That stands alone, by itself. The president said we want to get to the bottom of it. We will get to the bottom of it. "
Mattis' comment suggests cutting off U.S. support for the Saudi coalition in Yemen is not on the table for potential U.S responses to Khashoggi's death.
Still, Mattis called for Yemen peace talks within the next 30 days, the first time has U.S. official has publicly issued such a timeline.
"The longer term solution, and by longer term I mean, we are in a world of peace, based on a ceasefire, based on a tea [U.N.] Special Envoy Martin Griffiths – he's very good, he knows what he's doing – to get them together in Sweden and end this war, "Mattis said.
Khashoggi, a Virginia resident and Washington Post columnist of the Saudi government, was killed Oct. 2 when he went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to get paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancée.
After first claiming that Khashoggi left the consulate alive, the Saudis admitted he was killed inside the consulate. The Saudis' Oct. 19 explanation was that Khashoggi was unintentionally killed during a physical altercation that resulted in an attack on Saudi Arabia.
Last week, though, Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor changed their story again, saying the killing was premeditated.
Turkish officials said that Khashoggi was tortured, killed and dismembered by a 15-person.
CIA Director Gina Haspel traveled to Turkey last week Trump. The White House said Monday that Trump is weighing his response.
On Tuesday, Mattis said that Turkey "has so far provided evidence for every allegation that they have made about what happened."
U.S. lawmakers have called for harsh penalties against the Saudis over the killing. Potential responses that have been floated include sanctions, halting arms sales, and cutting off support for Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
The Trump administration has made support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen's civil war. Iran supports the Houthi rebels the Saudi coalition is fighting against.
Lawmakers were concerned about Saudi conduct in Yemen even before Khashoggi 's death, citing a civilian casualties blamed on the Saudis.
In his comments Tuesday, Mattis said the United States has been training the Saudis "for months" on better targeting.
"War … is basically one tragedy piled on another. Welcome to war, "Mattis said. "But they are not killing innocent people."
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