BILL VAN AUKEN—Targeted assassinations, developed by the Israelis as a central instrument of state policy, were adapted by Washington in its so-called “global war on terror” on an industrial scale. The killings, torture and “extraordinary renditions” begun under the Bush administration—for which no one was ever punished, not to mention a “black site” torturer being elevated to director of the CIA—were institutionalized under Obama with the White House organizing its so-called “terror Tuesdays” in which targets for assassination were selected from files and photographs presented to the president and his aides. US wars of aggression that have claimed the lives of millions, the routine assassination of supposed “terrorists,” and the wholesale repudiation of international law as an unacceptable fetter on American interests, have created a fetid global political environment in which crimes like that committed against Khashoggi are not only possible, but inevitable.
SAUDI CONNECTION
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U.S. mainstream media ignores key elements of Saudi Arabia’s likely murder of Jamal Khashoggi
10 minutes readJAMES NORTH—Friedman nowhere admitted he had been terribly wrong to gush over bin Salman as a “reformer” — just as he has never apologized for his disgusting, full-throated endorsement of the disastrous U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. We repeat our standing call: “Fire Thomas Friedman.”
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The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the hypocrisy of the New York Times
12 minutes readJORDAN SHILTON—The Saudi regime, which serves as a key strategic ally of US imperialism in the Middle East, is notorious around the world for its ruthless repression against its own population. Saudi authorities beheaded almost 150 people by sword in 2017. In the first four months of 2018, the regime put 48 people to death in the same way, including half for non-violent crimes.
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, lionized by U.S. pundits and politicians, is a — suspected murderer
21 minutes read“Khashoggi bravely criticized the Saudi war against Yemen,”
If this story is confirmed, it is absolutely horrific and utterly to be condemned. However, let’s not idealise Khashoggi. He only started to criticise the war in Yemen AFTER he fell out with the crown prince. Before that, he had publically praised it. While Khashoggi is now being hailed as a dissident, in fact he made an entire career out of serving the Saudi regime, first as an acolyte of Bin Laden in Afghanistan (when this was approved by the Saudis) then as a court scribe in the pay of a succession of high-ranking princes. When the latest of these high-ranking princes, Waleed bin Talal, fell from grace with the crown prince, so too did his minions, among them Khashoggi. Truth is, the Saudi regime has been imprisoning and killing genuine dissidents for decades, but it never bothered Khashoggi until it started to affect him personally.
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But, while Turkey fiddles, her NATO allies are still not happy. They seek an excuse to intevene and escalate the war in Syria. So, on Tuesday, Israel and France down a Russian military plane, killing 14 Russian personnel. It’s a provocation.–one of very many Syria has endured and quite a few Russia has, too. But Russia doesn’t take the bait. There’s nothing to gain by retaliation. The plan remains the same: liberation of Idlib will come. So Russia calls this provocation “accidental.” Wars are not won by losing one’s head every time the enemy provokes–even at a wanton and a criminal act, a war crime, such as the one perpetrated by France and Israel.