Washington: The United States on Friday released its reports on US-based Journalist, Jamal Khashoggi’s extinction. The report publicly accused the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia of approving the hideous murder.
The declassified US intelligence assessment revealed,” The prince, who is de facto ruler of the long-time US ally and oil provider, “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.” It clearly stated it was ‘highly unlikely’ that the 2018 murder could have taken place without input from MBS. Apparently, the murder is said to fit MBS’s pattern of using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad.
Khashoggi, a US resident who wrote opinion columns for the Washington Post critical of the crown prince’s policies, was killed and dismembered by a team of operatives linked to the crown prince in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia, however, denied involvement by the Crown Prince. Later the country accepted its social responsibility towards the killing but terms it a rogue operation which don’t involve MBS. The Treasury Department announced it was capping assets and criminalizing transactions with a former intelligence official as well as the Rapid Intervention Force, an elite unit that the report said “exists to defend the crown prince” and “answers only to him.”
Biden’s decision to release the report stated to have been completed during the Former President’s tenure is to preserve ties with the Kingdom as he seeks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with its regional rival Iran and to address other challenges including fighting Islamist extremism and advancing Arab-Israeli ties. The administration is also considering cancelling arms deals with the Arabs that violate human rights while limiting future military sales.