President Trump said Tuesday the U.S. won’t break with its “steadfast partner” Saudi Arabia despite the international furor surrounding Riyadh’s role in the brutal killing of a journalist, citing the need for the kingdom’s help in fighting Iran, stabilizing global energy markets and investing in the U.S. economy and buying U.S. weapons.
After weeks of trying to balance Saudi Arabia’s strategic value against widespread suspicion that the ruling family’s crown prince directed the killing of Virginia-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate in Turkey, Mr. Trump came down on the side of maintaining close ties with the oil-rich kingdom, seen as a bulwark against Tehran.
The decision came amid reports U.S. intelligence agencies were close to concluding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had to know about the 15-member Saudi “hit team” sent to Istanbul to deal with the journalist.
“We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Mr. Trump said in a two-page statement that began with a condemnation of Iran. “In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region.”
Speaking to reporters later, Mr. Trump said the Saudi situation is “very complex.”
“It’s a shame, but it is what it is,” the president said. “If we abandon Saudi Arabia, it would be a terrible mistake. I’m not going to destroy our economy by being foolish with Saudi Arabia.”
SEE ALSO: Iranian minister mocks Trump, calls Saudi statement ‘shameful’
Lawmakers from both parties quickly blasted Mr. Trump’s announcement, calling for U.S. intelligence officials to reveal what they know about the murder and threatening to cut off future arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
“We should immediately end support to the Saudis in the war in Yemen and bring that conflict to an end, suspend arms sales to the Kingdom, and diminish our reliance on Riyadh regarding other matters in the region,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who is in line to become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee in January.
Outgoing Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who has voiced support for new sanctions against the Saudis, tweeted, “I never thought I’d see the day a White House would moonlight as a public relations firm for the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.”
Mr. Corker and ranking Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey wrote to Mr. Trump Tuesday demanding he make a determination within 120 days whether the Saudi crown prince is responsible for the murder. They initiated the process under the Magnitsky Act, which requires the president to make such a determination in foreign cases of “extrajudicial killings” or torture, and to decide whether sanctions should be imposed.
Mr. Trump said if Congress wants to punish Saudi Arabia for the killing, “they are free to do so.” But he said he will always place U.S. national security as his first priority when weighing whether to approve sanctions or endanger relations with a critical ally.
“I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America,” Mr. Trump said in the statement. “After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing nation in the world. They have worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels — so important for the world.”
Mr. Trump’s press release was titled “America first!”
’A mean, nasty world’
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a former CIA director, echoed Mr. Trump’s view.
“It’s a mean, nasty world out there, particularly in the Middle East,” Mr. Pompeo said, calling the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia “absolutely vital to America’s security.”
The president’s announcement came on the same day he was expected to have received a thorough intelligence assessment on the culpability for the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, a legal U.S. resident. He was killed on Oct. 2 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The U.S. has audio tapes of Mr. Khashoggi being tortured and killed; Mr. Trump said he won’t listen to the “vicious” recordings.
Many current and former U.S. officials say the murder, which was carried out by at least 17 Saudi operatives, could not have taken place without the approval of the crown prince, who has day-to-day control in the kingdom and is a key ally of the administration.
“King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi,” Mr. Trump said. “Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
Despite news reports that the CIA has concluded that Mohammad ordered the assassination. The president told reporters that the CIA has “nothing definitive” on the crown prince’s involvement.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said she was “shocked” by Mr. Trump’s failure to impose sanctions on the Saudi government. She said she will vote against “any future arms sales and appropriations” for Saudi Arabia.
“This was a premeditated murder, plain and simple,” she said. “Given the fact that Saudi security organizations are under the absolute control of the crown prince, there’s every reason to believe the crown prince gave the order.”
Some Republicans, such as Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida, raised human rights concerns over the Mr. Trump’s action. Mr. Graham said the president is making the same mistake that former President Barack Obama did with Iran by “looking the other way” from its destabilizing behavior.
“Likewise, it is not in our national security interests to look the other way when it comes to the brutal murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Mr. Graham said.”I firmly believe there will be strong bipartisan support for serious sanctions against Saudi Arabia, including appropriate members of the royal family, for this barbaric act which defied all civilized norms.”
Mr. Graham, normally a dependable ally of the White House, said although Saudi Arabia is a strategic ally, “the behavior of the Crown Prince — in multiple ways — has shown disrespect for the relationship and made him, in my view, beyond toxic.”
“I fully realize we have to deal with bad actors and imperfect situations on the international stage,” Mr. Graham said. “However, when we lose our moral voice, we lose our strongest asset.”
Former CIA Director John O. Brennan, an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump, called on Congress to publicize the CIA’s report on the murder.
“Since Mr. Trump excels in dishonesty, it is now up to members of Congress to obtain & declassify the CIA findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s death,” Mr. Brennan tweeted. “No one in Saudi Arabia — most especially the Crown Prince — should escape accountability for such a heinous act.”
Questioning Khashoggi
The president’s statement also raised contentions that Mr. Khashoggi, a U.S. resident Saudi citizen who wrote columns for The Washington Post, was a subversive and possible extremist.
“Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an ’enemy of the state’ and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that — this is an unacceptable and horrible crime,” Mr. Trump said. “After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.”
The 17 individuals already sanctioned by the U.S. are the 15-man team that carried out the assassination in Turkey, the Saudi consul general in Istanbul, and a senior adviser to the crown prince. The Saudi government has blamed and arrested the same people for the killing.
The kingdom at first said Mr. Khashoggi’s death was an accident, then called it a rogue operation gone wrong.
Human rights groups, and lawmakers in both parties in Congress, have been calling for the administration to sanction Saudi Arabia and reassess the U.S. alliance with the kingdom.
Instead, Mr. Trump outlined a foreign policy that essentially reaffirms the position of Saudi Arabia, a longtime ally of the U.S., as the most dependable Arab partner in a region that includes adversaries such as Iran, Syria and Islamist terrorist networks.
“The world is a very dangerous place!” Mr. Trump said in the statement. “The country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq’s fragile attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed millions of his own citizens), and much more.”
He said Iranians “have killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East.”
“Iran states openly, and with great force, ’Death to America!’ and ’Death to Israel!’” Mr. Trump said. “Iran is considered ’the world’s leading sponsor of terror.’ Saudi Arabia has agreed to spend billions of dollars in leading the fight against radical Islamic terrorism.”
Iran’s foreign minister called Mr. Trump’s comments “shameful.”
The president also put a price tag on the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom is a crucial customer for American businesses.
“After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States,” Mr. Trump said. “This is a record amount of money. It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for the United States. Of the $450 billion, $110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors.”
He asserted, “If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries — and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!”
Private analysts say that Mr. Trump’s estimates of the actual value of the deals and of the American jobs they will create are vastly inflated.
Mr. Pompeo downplayed questions about the actual value of U.S. weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. Critics say of the $110 billion in purported arms sales, only about $14.5 billion of the current deals have actually gone through, which the rest being future options that may or may not come through.
“Some of these defense contracts are complex, lengthy contract negotiations,” Mr. Pompeo said, adding that the administration is “very hopeful” the negotiations will be completed soon.
“We actually hope the number will end up being even greater,” he said.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.