Even some Republican senators such as Lindsay Graham asserted that they have been disappointed with Mohammad bin Salman, despite their initial optimism, and demanded his withdrawal from power.
They believe that the presence of bin Salman in Riyadh, and subsequently the continued support of Donald Trump and other White House officials for him, would be costly for Washington in the international system. However, it seems that Trump doesn’t intend to stop supporting the young prince of Saudi Arabia!
Trump is now looking to ignore the murder of Jamal Khashoggi so that it won’t disturb the Washington-Riyadh relationship. This is while the US President’s defense of Saudi Arabia, whose leaders have denied knowledge of the brutal murder of Khashoggi while acknowledging that its agents carried it out, marks another instance of the American authorities’ violation of human rights.
In a recent article, the Washington Post has once again called into question the Trump government's approach to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. This source noted that while the US government should try to maintain strategic relations with Saudi Arabia, Trump should stop supporting bin Salman.
This is while Trump avoided blaming Mohammed bin Salman, despite the CIA’s findings that the Saudi crown prince had ordered the assassination. When the US President was asked that who should be held accountable for Khashoggi’s murder, Trump said; “maybe the world should be held accountable, because the world is a vicious place.”
As the Washington Post has pointed out, Trump's concerns over the Khashoggi’s case is about the strategic relationship that exists between Washington and Riyadh, an issue that even the US Department of State has referred to. That’s why Donald Trump, under the influence of these strategic relationships, is unwilling to approve the CIA's investigation of bin Salman crimes.
The article reads; “Congressional Republicans continued to line up this weekend to criticize President Trump over his defense of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the CIA believes ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi”
“I disagree with the president’s assessment,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s inconsistent with the intelligence I’ve seen...?.? The intelligence I’ve seen suggests that this was ordered by the crown prince.”
The Washington Post also wrote; “the White House has been struggling to square a widespread sense that the crown prince directed the killing with a desire for Saudi support for its foreign policy priorities and the need to manage close relationships between bin Salman, the Trump administration and members of Trump's family.”
According to this source, Trump, while referring to Saudi Arabia’s influence over the oil price, said that abandoning Saudis would be a “terrible mistake”, and that he’s not going to destroy the US economy over bin Salman’s crimes!
"In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran," said Trump.
The highlight of the Washington Post's analysis is the part it confesses to the failure of "Trump-bin Salman" alliance in confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran and the regional power of our country. Accordingly, the US reliance on bin Salman to face Iran didn’t work.
This is what many other sources had to acknowledge besides the Washington Post. However, the tensions raised in the US political atmosphere regarding Mohammed bin Salman is an indication of the disagreements over US foreign policy. This is what makes the situation harder for Trump and his companions.
MNA/TT
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