Donald Trump has been a bit slow to speak publicly and angrily about what happened to a U.S. resident who died a gruesome death at the hands of Saudi Arabia agents.
However, the president has declared his belief that the Saudis are lying and are being “deceitful” about the circumstances surrounding journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death.
What’s next? Sanctions, perhaps? Might there be a rethinking of that $100 billion arms deal that’s pending with the Saudis? An expulsion of Saudi diplomats from the United States?
Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He reportedly was chopped to pieces, while still alive. The Turks vow to reveal the “naked truth” into what happened to this man.
As for the Saudis, they have been playing a game of “cover my a**” with the United States and the rest of the world.
Donald Trump is beginning to turn the jets up under the Saudis’ backside. He must continue. He must ratchet it up even more. He must demand in the strongest terms possible that the Saudis explain what happened to Khashoggi and stop looking for lame alibis.
And he must take up the cudgel for the message Khashoggi was trying to deliver: that the Arab world must allow for more freedom of expression, a noble cause that tragically appears to have cost him his life.
Welcome to the fight, Mr. President.