An American President, a Crown Prince and a cover up

It is now history that Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance into a Saudi Arabia consulate in Turkey coincided with his disappearance from the face of the earth. Yet, President Trump has sought to distance himself from the global condemnation of Saudi Arabia. The President even suggested that the kingdom had been prematurely accused of killing Khashoggi.

Mr Trump had earlier stated that he would not want to jeopardise an imminent arms deal between the world's pre-emminent super-power and the desert kingdom. The President went on to put a value on the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia but failed to put a value on the life of the 59-year-old journalist. He seemed to have thrown his considerable weight behind Saudi Arabia without even waiting for a thorough investigation to be carried out.

However, from all indications, it now seems certain that the Washington Post columnist was killed on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This is despite all the denials and clumsy obfuscation. Strangely, considering their insistence that they did no harm to the writer, the Saudi authorities have not been able to produce Khashoggi who was last seen entering their embassy in Turkey on 2nd of October, 2018.

Ideally, one would have expected the leader of the Free World to be more circumspect whenever it comes to commenting on the issue of the sanctity of human life, not President Trump. The irony is that America sees herself as the policeman of the planet chasing terrorists from pillar to post. It is therefore puzzling that an American President would want to turn a blind eye to a brazen terrorist act by a Saudi Crown Prince.

Happily, the beauty of the American system is that the President cannot corral members of Congress to toe his line. It was therefore refreshing to hear what Marco Rubio, a Republican senator, had to say. He said that there was not “enough money in the world to purchase back our credibility on human rights” if America took Saudi Arabia's explanation for granted and did not punish Riyadh. He added that reputation was more important than continued arms sales.

It is understandable that America wants to maintain her relations with a key Middle East ally, especially because it is key to keeping an eye on a restless region of the world. Nevertheless, those who aspire to rulership like the young, inexperienced, aggressive Crown Prince need to understand the rules of engagement.

In the light of recent happenings, could Saudi Arabia return to a generation represented by the man the crown prince replaced as heir, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 59.