Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Pressure on Saudi Arabia: "Forget about Vision 2030, Now It's More Like Vision 1090"


Rula Jebreal: My “Secret Interview” with Jamal Khashoggi Before His Brutal Murder by the Saudis


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has directly accused Saudi Arabia of the premeditated murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen alive entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in Turkey on October 2. Erdogan said a team of Saudi officials had planned Khashoggi’s murder days in advance, directly contradicting Saudi Arabia’s claim that Khashoggi died after a fight in the consulate. Turkish officials have claimed that audio and video recordings show Saudi officials used a bone saw to dismember Khashoggi’s body, but Erdogan made no mention of the audio and video recordings of the killing. Fallout from Khashoggi’s murder is being felt across the globe. We speak with Rula Jebreal, a journalist, author and foreign policy analyst who conducted one of the last known interviews with Khashoggi. She says calling Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a reformer is “like calling David Duke a civil rights activist.” Her new cover story for Newsweek is titled “Jamal Khashoggi Secret Interview: The Saudi Journalist’s Views of Islam, America and the 'Reformist' Prince Implicated in His Murder.”

Cooperating or Clashing over the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi? | Inside Story


Turkey’s President had promised what he called the 'naked truth'. 24 hours later, Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered his much anticipated speech to MPs in Ankara. He gave more details about the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. But the president said many questions remains unanswered – including who ordered his death and where is his body?

Erdogan said the Saudi journalist was the victim of a savage murder, planned days in advance – that contradicts Saudi accounts of an accidental killing. He says he doesn't doubt the credibility of King Salman – but is demanding answers and a full investigation into what happened in Istanbul three weeks ago.

There was no mention of Saudi Crown prince Mohammad bin Salman – who some suspect of ordering the killing of the writer who’d criticized him. Erdogan wants the identities of all involved - everyone from top to bottom held accountable and suspects to go on trial in Turkey. So, what now?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Galip Dalay - Research Director, Al Sharq Forum and Fellow with Brookings Institution; Steven Rogers - Trump for President Advisory Board; Toby Cadman - Extradition & Human Rights Lawyer


The Khashoggi Killing: Interview with Selim Atalay


Selim Atalay, Journalist and Commentator for 24TV, is talking about The Khashoggi killing.

Sky News Reveals the Remains of Murdered Journalist Khashoggi Have Been Found


Monday, October 22, 2018

Michael Bloomberg Calls for End of Divisiveness | CITIZEN by CNN


Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg closed the CITIZEN by CNN forum with a speech urging Americans to come together and end the divisiveness and called on the to go out an vote in the midterm elections.

#democracynow : Top US News & World Headlines — October 22, 2018


Can Saudi Arabia Get Away with Murder? | Inside Story


Turkey’s President is promising to reveal the ‘naked truth’ about what happened in Istanbul. That will be the first official release of details. Unofficially, Turkish sources have repeatedly leaked gruesome accounts of how the journalist was killed and dismembered three weeks ago.

The journalist was missing for two weeks before Saudi leaders eventually admitted his killing, they say by mistake, in their consulate in Istanbul. Their story has changed since then, what's being described as a 'rogue operation’ is the latest explanation. What isn’t changing is the kingdom’s insistence that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not order the operation to kill.

As the international outcry builds, critics are sceptical that the heir apparent didn’t know anything about it. Will pressure on the Saudis work?

Presenter: Peter Dobbie | Guests: Ali Al-Ahmed - Director, Gulf Affairs Institute and former Saudi political prisoner; Matthew Brodsky - Security Studies Group, Washington DC; Mustafa Akyol, CATO Instiitute's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity


Jared Kushner on Trump, Mideast Policy | Full Interview


Jared Kushner, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, said in a interview with Van Jones that the Trump administration is approaching Saudi Arabia's explanation for Jamal Khashoggi's death with "our eyes wide open." Jones and Kushner also discussed Mideast policy, prison reform on President Donald Trump at the CITIZEN by CNN event in New York.

Kushner on Khashoggi: In Fact-finding Phase


In an interview with CNN's Van Jones at CITIZEN by CNN, Jared Kushner says the White House is in a fact-finding phase when asked about Saudi Arabia's explanation for journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

US Congress Condemns Saudi Report on Kashoggi Murder | Al Jazeera English


Fewer than 24 hours after calling the Saudi report on the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi "credible", the US president has walked back that statement, saying that there had been "deception" and "lies". US congressional leadership was even more aggressive, calling for sanctions and an end to arms sales to Saudi Arabia. However, President Donald Trump continues to praise Saudi Arabia as an ally and is reluctant to act on the angry calls coming from Congress. Al Jazeera's Mike Hanaa reports from Washington, DC.

Trump Not Satisfied, But What's Next? l Inside Story


US president Donald Trump says there's clearly “deception and lies" about how Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed. And he says he's not satisfied, until he finds answers.

He's cast doubt on Saudi Arabia's explanations, which have changed several times since Khashoggi disappeared.

Trump has been criticised for defending the Kingdom and refusing to give up lucrative arms sales to Riyadh worth billions of dollars. Do his arguments about Saudi arms deals convince anyone? And will he put pressure on Riyadh?

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: Mohammed Cherkaoui, professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University; Andrew Smith, Spokesman for Campaign Against Arms Trade; Andrew Finkel, a Co-founder of P24 and a Foreign Correspondent in Turkey for over two decades.


Corker: I Think Saudis Killed Jamal Khashoggi


Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) says that he believes that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman orchestrated the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but wants to see the results of the investigation.

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Is Saudi Arabia's Claim Jamal Khashoggi Died in a Fistfight Credible? l Inside Story


Saudi Arabia now admits the journalist is dead - after weeks of denying it. Saudi Arabia says Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in Istanbul. The announcement was made on Saudi State TV in the middle of the night…17 days after the Saudi journalist was last seen going into the compound.

The Kingdom says there was a brawl and Khashoggi died. US President Donald Trump says he finds that explanation "credible" but many politicians in the US and around the world are skeptical; and Turkish Security sources have a different story. They say Khashoggi was tortured, murdered and his body dismembered.

Presenter: Imran Khan | Guests: John Jones, former U.S. Senior Congressional Adviser; Saad Al-Faqih, Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia; Amanda Rogers, Professor of Middle East and Islamic Studies at Colgate University


Smerconish: The Saudi Chokehold on the US


CNN's Michael Smerconish wants to know why Saudi Arabia holds sway over US presidents from both political parties along with major business leaders despite less American dependence on foreign oil and human rights abuses perpetrated by the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia Admits Khashoggi Killed in Istanbul Consulate | Al Jazeera English


Saudi Arabia has, for the first time, admitted that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

An announcement on Saudi media claimed Khashoggi died during a brawl between him and those he went to the consulate to meet.

Eighteen Saudi nationals have been arrested in connection with the death and at least five prominent officials have been sacked.

The story cut against the impressions given by Turkish investigators and left more questions than answers, including what happened to the journalist's remains.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons reports from Istanbul.


Friday, October 19, 2018

Will Jamal Khashoggi's Disappearance Impact US-Saudi Relations? I Inside Story


President Donald Trump has acknoweldged for the first time that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is likely dead.

More than two weeks after Jamal Khashoggi disappeared, his fate remains unclear; but US President Donald Trump has admitted, for the first time, the journalist may have been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Trump's comments, are a shift for the White House, and he's warning of 'severe' consequences if the Saudi leadership is involved. The shift in tone comes following his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Riyadh and Ankara earlier this week.

The president is now under mounting pressure to take action. Members of the House of Representatives have sent him a letter calling for sanctions against Saudi Arabia; so, how will this case impact the long-standing relationship between Washington and Riyadh?

Presenter: Imran Kahn | Guests: Kenneth Roth - Executive Director of Human Rights Watch; Galip Dalay - Research Director of Al Sharq Forum; Georges Malbrunot - Middle East Reporter at Le Figaro.


Jared Kushner Is Neck Deep in the Saudi Arabia Cover-up


According to new reports, Jared Kushner has been helping soothe Donald Trump’s nerves about the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi Arabia, telling the President that the public is going to forget about it very soon. While the public does have a short attention span, an administration that is covering up the death of a permanent resident at the hands of a foreign government isn’t the kind of thing that people seem to gloss over, especially considering the financial connections between the two families. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Dr. Madawi Al-Rasheed: In Khashoggi Murder, Saudi Arabia Must Not Be Allowed to Investigate Itself


As details continue to emerge about the disappearance and probable murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, we speak with Saudi dissident Madawi Al-Rasheed about Khashoggi’s history as a Saudi journalist & government insider and the future of Saudi Arabia. She is a visiting professor at the London School of Economics Middle East Center. She was stripped of her Saudi citizenship in 2005 for criticizing Saudi authorities. Her new piece in the New York Times is titled “Why King Salman Must Replace M.B.S.”

Brexit: Will There Be a Second Referendum? – UpFront


On this week’s UpFront, we debate Brexit and the prospects of a second referendum with Daniel Hannan, Conservative Member of the European Parliament and Lord Adonis, former Labour Cabinet Minister.

And we talk to Julián Castro, a former Obama cabinet official and a possible future US presidential candidate, about immigration, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and his vision for the future of the Democratic party in an age of Trump.