Posted on 10/18/2018 12:28:38 PM PDT by reaganaut1
ISTANBUL — The rulers of Saudi Arabia are considering blaming a top intelligence official close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, three people with knowledge of the Saudi plans said Thursday.
The plan to assign blame to Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, a high-ranking adviser to the crown prince, would be an extraordinary recognition of the magnitude of international backlash to hit the kingdom since the death of Mr. Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi dissident. A resident of Virginia and contributor to The Washington Post, Mr. Khashoggi was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul 16 days ago.
Blaming General Assiri could also provide a plausible explanation for the killing and help deflect blame from the crown prince, who American intelligence agencies are increasingly convinced was behind Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Turkish officials have said they possess evidence showing that 15 Saudi agents dismembered and assassinated Mr. Khashoggi in the consulate. After two weeks of blanket denials and mounting pressure from Turkey and Washington, Saudi Arabia said it would conduct its own investigation to determine who was responsible.
[Four of the suspects in Jamal Khashoggi’s killing belong to the security team of the Saudi crown prince.]
But even with the investigation still ostensibly underway, the Saudis are already pointing to General Assiri as the culprit, according to the three people familiar with the Saudi plans. People close to the White House have already been briefed and given General Assiri’s name.
Whether that move will be enough to calm the international crisis and what it may mean for Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s day-to-day ruler, remain to be seen.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sure, the General will take one for the team.
Anything from the NYT is suspect.
They’re crafting a narrative, not reporting facts.
They better have already arrested Assiri or else be prepared for a coup. Intel Chiefs don’t retire quietly. Even here the director of the CIA in 1976 ended up taking over the country. :-)
Seriously, would this have even been a story if Khashoggi WEREN’T an occasional contributor to the Washington Compost?
Probably not.
Those above him will be the only way to take him down. He won't go willingly.
If Saudia Arabia caught a double agent (and I think that Khashoggi was exactly that would was just masquerading for a journalist) I can understand that they would want to eliminate him. But, the operation was clearly botched and this Intel dude was the guy who planned and executed the operation. Killing him in the Consulate was a major screw up, certainly to be caught red handed by the Turks. He is going to pay a price.
Ditto that. This freaky, ever-ballooning story rates about 90th on my important issues list....and I hope Pres. Trump will feel the same. Do we have to have a finger in EVERY pie in a mad, mad world?
Leni
Imagine how upset everyone would be if they water boarded him?
Blame the agent and exile him to live in one of the Saudi Palaces in Switzerland.
They’re crafting a narrative, not reporting facts.
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This is perfectly written. This story is completely meaningless outside the bubble. Not one person in Montana or the Trump rally gives a rats behind about any of this. Trump is playing it well enough. There is no international crisis...I haven’t heard a peep out of Europe
Who cares? Khashoggi was a scumbag.
It is my understanding, from a careful reading of an article in The Onion, that Khashoggi was accidentally killed during an assassination attempt gone wrong...
Who cares? Khashoggi was a scumbag.
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^^^^THIS^^^^^
or die trying
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