Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to capture or kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to an intelligence report released on Friday by the Biden government, which could have far-reaching implications for US relations. and Saudi Arabia.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence cited the Crown Prince’s control of decision-making in Saudi Arabia, as well as the involvement of a key adviser and members of his protective detachment in the operation that killed Khashoggi.
“Since 2017, Prince Heir has had absolute control of Kingdom security and intelligence organizations, making it highly unlikely that Saudi authorities have carried out such an operation without Prince Heir’s authorization,” the report said.
The intelligence assessment also noted “the Crown Prince’s support for the use of violent measures to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”
The CIA-led assessment, which has so far been classified, comes as President Joe Biden plans to reshape the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia after years in which the Trump administration ignored the kingdom’s human rights abuses despite condemnation in Congress and the United Nations.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old U.S. resident and Washington Post contributor who had criticized the Saudi royal family, entered a Saudi consulate in Turkey on October 2, 2018 and never left. He was killed by a group of assassins, who then dismembered his body. His remains were never recovered.
In a diplomatic rebuke to the Crown Prince, the White House made clear this week that Biden does not see Bin Salman, 35, as his counterpart and will instead conduct relations through his elderly father, King Salman. Young bin Salman has been the public face of the kingdom since he became Crown Prince in 2017.
Robert Mahoney, deputy executive of the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, speaks during a news conference to launch an appeal to the UN on the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the United Nations in New York, USA, on October 18, 2018.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
“Regarding Saudi Arabia, I would say that we have made it clear from the beginning that we are going to recalibrate our relationship with Saudi Arabia,” said Psaki on Tuesday at the White House.
On Thursday, Biden in his first connection with the 85-year-old king “affirmed the importance that the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law,” according to a White House reading.
Biden also told Salman that “he will work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible,” the White House said.
Khashoggi’s name was not mentioned in the reading.
Saudi officials at first denied any knowledge of Khashoggi’s death, and later claimed that the journalist got into a fight inside the consulate and died in the confrontation. Saudi officials ended up admitting that Khashoggi was killed in a “dishonest operation”, while denying that Bin Salman was involved.
A United Nations investigator concluded in a June 2019 report that Khashoggi was “the victim of a deliberate and premeditated execution, an extrajudicial murder for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible under international human rights law”.
Trump sought to publicly cast doubt on the Crown Prince’s involvement in Khashoggi’s death, even after several media outlets reported that the CIA concluded that Bin Salman himself ordered the journalist’s death. Trump said the CIA had “nothing definitive”, while asserting that the oil-rich kingdom would remain a “constant partner” of the U.S.
“It may very well be that the Crown Prince knew about this tragic event – maybe yes, maybe not!” Trump said less than two months after Khashoggi’s death. Trump’s conciliatory stance contrasted sharply with the outrage of members of Congress and the media about Khashoggi’s death.
The Trump administration conducted relations through the Crown Prince, who maintained close personal ties with members of the Trump family, particularly former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Trump made Saudi Arabia his first stop in the Middle East when he made his first visit to the region in 2017. The kingdom extended the red carpet for the former reality star.
The Trump administration leveraged its ties to the Gulf monarchies to normalize relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The former president also vetoed an effort by Congress to block billions of dollars in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE, and an attempt to end US involvement in the Yemen war.
Biden’s review of relations with Saudi Arabia is part of a broader shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East.
The president ended US support for the Saudi Arabian war in Yemen as he seeks to return to the negotiating table with Iran, an enemy of Riyadh, over its nuclear program.
The US President last week called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his first conversation with a Middle Eastern leader since taking office. The Saudis and Israelis are de facto allies, although they have no formal diplomatic ties, in their efforts to contain Iranian influence in the region.
Biden on Thursday “discussed regional security” in his liaison with King Salman, noting his government’s efforts to end the war in Yemen “and the US commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory while facing attacks from groups aligned with Iran, “said White Reading from home said.
Biden and Salman also “affirmed the historical nature of the relationship and agreed to work together on mutual issues of concern and interest,” according to the White House.
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