[ad_1]
The complexities surrounding the kidnapping, torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Turkey this month remain wrapped in a web of intrigue, but the way they have been conducted bears a striking resemblance to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. killed more than 3,000 Americans.
For nearly two decades, controversy has erupted over how the 19 men, including 15 Saudi nationals, could literally have been flying under the radar for almost two years. For many investigators, it appears that the 9/11 attackers were extremely lucky or had a lot of help, if not both.
A striking similarity between the events that occurred this month and the September 11 attacks is the structure of the strike teams involved. According to the Turkish media, Khashoggi's killers reportedly arrived in separate teams to carry out the attacks. According to the reports, two teams of Saudi soldiers arrived in plain clothes on two flights and, after leading the attack, left in two teams.
The September 11 Saudi assailants also dressed in civilian clothes and lived in separate terrorist cells for more than a year before carrying out attacks on separate flights.
But the most striking similarity of the two attacks was the relationship between the attackers and the Saudi ruling elite. Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks, shared close ties with the Saudi monarchy, mainly because of the activities of his father, Mohammed bin Laden, to build and restore mosques in Mecca and in whole country. Until his death in a plane crash in 1967, bin Laden enjoyed a close friendship with the Saudi king. his sons, including Osama bin Laden, inherited this relationship.
On the basis of several media accounts, the team of 15 Saudis arrived in Turkey aboard jets belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (known as MbS). Several members of the team reportedly ensured the personal security of MbS and were led by the closest lieutenants, including adviser Saud al-Qahtani and Saudi intelligence chief Major Ahmed al-Assiri.
Although the links between the Saudi Arabian army and government in the assassination of Khashoggi seem obvious, the links between the Saudi government officials and the 9/11 attacks remain somewhat unclear. That does not mean they are not there. In a survey conducted in 2017, Politico documented an attorney's attempt to prove that Saudi Arabia funded the 9/11 attacks. New York lawyer Jim Kreindler, who represents the families of more than 800 victims of the attacks, believes that terrorists benefit from the help of the Saudi government.
He is not alone in this opinion. Former Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.), Co-chair of the Sept. 11 congressional joint inquiry, has publicly stated, "I stopped calling what our government did to hide. Concealment suggests passive activity. What they do now, I call an aggressive deception. "
Graham adds, "I came to the conclusion that there was a support network trying to assess how the 19 hijackers could get away with their significant limitations. Most did not speak English, most were never in the United States and most were not well educated. How could they carry out such a complex task?
The fatal objection and the veto of President Obama, who was then a candidate Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, activists ask Washington officials to rename the street in front of the Saudi Arabian Embassy after Khashoggi On five occasions of the final debate in the Senate of Indiana, Avenatti said the FBI He had informed that he was targeted by a bomb attack against an email. called in October 2016 one of the weak points of his presidency, the Congress voted unanimously the law on justice against terrorism terrorists. This law allows US courts to discover facts about the possible involvement of the Saudi government in the funding of 9/11. attacks. The fact that a deeply divided Congress met to cancel the president's veto implies that the American people think the terrorists almost certainly had a state sponsor.
The particular way in which the 9/11 attacks and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi were orchestrated – using military personnel in civilian clothes, arriving in teams, and the apparent relations of the attackers with the Saudi ruling elite – all indicates a common ancestor. Styles rhyme, even if the targets differ.
The United States may have forgotten the lessons of 9/11. Previous administrations have made agreements with the Saudis on the basis of US access to Saudi Arabia's vast oil reserves. It seemed like a marriage contracted in paradise. But given the apparent willingness of the Saudi government to provide a safe haven for terrorist factions and the indiscriminate attack on a US resident in a protected foreign consulate, the relationship needs to be further explored.
The Trump administration should not make the mistake that previous administrations have made by assuming that mutually beneficial economic and geopolitical relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia are free from serious risks. A marriage of convenience perhaps, but done in the sky it is not.
Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is the author of the book "Reawakening Virtues" and was advisor and spokesperson for Ben Carson's presidential campaign in 2016.
[ad_2]Source link
