Khashoggi was an ambitious young reporter who knew that to rise in Saudi journalism you don’t need professionalism, courage, or ethics. In Saudi Arabia, you need to attach yourself to the right prince. Early on, Khashoggi became close to two of them: Prince Turki Al-Faysal (who headed Saudi intelligence) and his brother, Prince Khalid Al-Faysal, who owned Al-Watan (The Motherland) where Khashoggi had his first (Arabic) editing job.
SAUDI CONNECTION
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Did Saudis, CIA Fear Khashoggi 9/11 Bombshell?
16 minutes readFINIAN CUNNINGHAM—Khashoggi’s articles appeared to be taking on increasingly critical tone against the heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The 33-year-old Crown Prince, or MbS as he’s known, is de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, in place of his aging father, King Salman. While Western media and several leaders, such as Presidents Trump and Macron, have been indulging MbS as “a reformer”, Khashoggi was spoiling this Saudi public relations effort by criticizing the war in Yemen, the blockade on Qatar and the crackdown on Saudi critics back home.
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OpEds: Deal Will Blame Khashoggi Death on Botched Interrogation
21 minutes readThe floated story will of course not be believed. A forceful interrogation in a consulate going wrong is not plausible. One does not need to fly in 15 operators, including a specialist for autopsies, just to ask a few questions. The intent was either to kidnap the guy or to outright kill him. The trial ballon seems to come from U.S. sources, not from the Saudis. Trump yesterday spoke of a ‘rogue element’ who may have caused the incident. U.S. intelligence services seem to believe that Khashoggi was indeed killed. The Wall Street Journal reports that Turkey provided its evidence: The Turkish government has shared with U.S. officials what it describes as audio and video recordings purporting to show that Mr. Khashoggi was killed in the building, people familiar with the matter said.
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America, and the West in general, never really liked Saudi Arabia. At best, the West tolerated the ultra-conservative undemocratic suppressive kingdom of sand that exported fundamentalism and terror, but this can all change with a stroke of a pen and Saudi Arabia may soon find itself in need of protection from its protector.
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Repercussions: The Killing of Saudi Journalist Khashoggi Could Spell the End for Mohammad bin Salman
25 minutes readF. PIERACCINI—Jamal Khashoggi is a controversial figure, a representative of the shadowy world of collaboration that sometimes exists between journalism and the intelligence agencies, in this case involving the intelligence agencies of Saudi Arabia and the United States. It has been virtually confirmed by official circles within the Al Saud family that Khashoggi was an agent in the employ of Riyadh and the CIA during the Soviet presence in Afghanistan.