OPINION:
Outrage against Saudi Arabia is boiling over due to the suspected murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. I wish I had seen a fraction of that outrage 17 years ago on 9/11 after 3,000 people were brutally murdered by being burned alive or crushed under the unforgiving weight of the World Trade Center.
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are demanding that President Trump hold Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for The Washington Post journalist’s disappearance; Authorities in Turkey are calling it a murder. As usual when dealing with the Saudi government, there is more than what meets the eye. Mr. Trump wishes to find all of the facts are on the table before he can hold the Saudi prince responsible.
Contrary to the suggestion from the left that Mr. Trump has a personal affection for the Sharia-abiding dictatorship or that he has an agenda that will allow him personal gain, I say nonsense. The president’s former life as a businessman, complete with his lavish hotels and a flashy business model, is far too provocative for the Saudi sixth-century cultural sensitivities. Mr. Trump even publicly humiliated the Saudi royal family at his last four rallies.
I firmly believe that our president is fighting for America’s interests, and that is no less true in his dealings with Mohammed bin Salman. He recognizes that MBS is a useful idiot, whose hunger for power, wealth and Western approval can be useful to the Trump administration. Here’s why I believe that to be so:
1) MBS is working with Mr. Trump on a major deal regarding Israel. Included is a peace treaty between the Arabs and Israel that may arguably bring some sort of stability to the Middle East. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem with MBS’s cooperation was the first step of this supposed peace plan.
2) MBS has aided the United States and Israel by diffusing the aggression of Iran. The prince has built coalitions between the Saudi government and the Emirates to ensure that sanctions against Iran will cause no rippling within oil markets. To that end, he increased his oil production by nearly 10 percent to offset the shortage caused by the sanctions.
3) He is working tirelessly to defang the Islamist movement driven by the Muslim Brotherhood by outlawing the organization both within his country and in Egypt. This has been done by putting more than 500 Islamic religious leaders under house arrest and forbidding the grand imam of the Kaaba to pray for the destruction of the Jews, an ancient tradition followed since the time of Muhammad.
It is clear to me why Mr. Trump is working with MBS. The larger question is why Mr. Khashoggi was hired by The Washington Post. Furthermore, why was he allowed to live in the United States? It seems that Mr. Khashoggi is not the innocent journalist that The Washington Post would have you believe he is.
Jamal Khashoggi, before his fame as a journalist, was a sworn member of the Muslim Brotherhood while he was in Egypt. Mr. Khashoggi was a close friend of Osama bin Laden and fought alongside him in Afghanistan, and his association with America’s mortal enemy was no secret. Mr. Khashoggi outed himself in numerous articles he wrote praising and advocating for al Qaeda and bin Laden. Why was a man with this kind of incriminating past allowed to live and work in the United States? And why are our leaders in Washington so outraged about his disappearance and murder?
Not surprisingly, the media is once again ignoring the facts. True to form, they rush to condemn MBS without waiting for evidence. Is it because MBS is single-handedly delivering a crushing blow to the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist movement, Iran and the anti-Israel contingent? Suspicious, to say the least, that the mainstream media rushes to judge the man who is effectively aiding Mr. Trump in dismantling their agenda.
Without any substantial evidence to add credibility to their claims, the media says that a group of intelligent, high-ranking Saudi officers killed Mr. Khashoggi while at the consulate in Turkey. I, for one, find it difficult to understand how such high-ranking officers could botch the job so badly. The crown prince has the resources and the know-how to make sure the job could be done in a quieter, cleaner manner if he were responsible.
An example of his ability is presented with his arrest of more than 300 royal family members in the recent years, including Walid bin Talal, founder of the Islamic Centers at Harvard and Georgetown University, and the man who is allegedly responsible for helping former President Obama get into Harvard.
Also among the arrested was the founder of the Saudi intelligence agency, Muhammad bin Nayef. I have a hunch that, rather than perpetrating the deed, the deed was an attempt to discredit and remove MSB from power. It is entirely probable that the alleged murder being pinned on MSB was a coup attempt against the current Saudi king and his son from disgruntled members of his own family.
If the Trump administration rushes headlong to judgment using the skewed narrative of the mainstream media, he will fall directly into the hands of the ferocity of the Islamist movement — a movement seeking to disable all of the work MSB has done with the United States to bring stability and peace to the Middle East. And it would truly be a sad day for America if we allow that to happen because of the death of a not-so-innocent man.
• Mark Christian, a physician, is an ex-Sunni Muslim, counter-terrorism expert, and a frequent speaker and lecturer on all aspects of political Islam.
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