Both President Trump and Oklahoma Senator Lankford were telling the press yesterday that more investigation was necessary before any punitive action will be made against Saudi Arabia.
It reminds me of Carter's human rights policies that put the Shah on the skids. Yes, the Shah was corrupt and had a ruthless secret police (SAVAK) operation, but he was far better for our national interests than Khomeini. We lost so many assets in Iran, including listening stations along the Caspian. At one time, Tehran was our largest embassy. Over 70,000 Americans from the private sector worked in Tehran. There were over 50,000 Iranian students in the US. There was an Israeli trade mission in Tehran. It all changed in an instant and we are still living with the consequences today.
The Saudis have worked with us in many ways, some public and some not. If the Royal family is taken down, we may well have a Saudi form of Khomeini in charge of the world's largest reserves of exportable oil. We sell the Saudis billions of dollars of weapons, which create jobs in the US and reduce the unit costs for our military.
Khashoggi's ties to the MB are disturbing. And we must look at who benefits from the allegations that the Saudi's killed him. Turkey is no friend of the Saudis nor are the Iranians. The Saudis have been working with Israel on ways to deal with Iran, which the Saudis believe are their archenemy. The whole story seems bizarre and illogical. Hopefully, Trump will not take precipitous action pushed by Congress.
One further note. The current Crown Prince has taken on a number of reforms that rankle the religious conservatives and the elites. Recall the way he shook down the rich Saudi princes, including Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud. He was stuck in the Ritz-Carlton for 83 days while they shook him down for $6 billion. The current King is his uncle. Perhaps, many of these rich princes help hatch this scheme to take down the Crown Prince. Lots of palace intrigue.