Trump Defends 'Friend' MBS: Khashoggi Murder Just a 'Misunderstanding'
When a reporter dared to ask MBS about 9/11 and Khashoggi, Trump interjected, dismissing Khashoggi's murder with the chillingly flippant, 'a lot of people didn’t like him.' This isn't just Trump's usual diplomatic grace; it's a direct echo of how successive U.S. administrations have whitewashed Saudi transgressions. Remember the 28 pages of the 9/11 report that remained classified for years,
hinting at Saudi involvement? Or the endless arms deals ($110 billion under Trump alone, in 2017) that flowed to Riyadh even as MBS allegedly ordered the dismemberment of a journalist? The 'friendship' appears remarkably resilient to inconvenient truths. One might wonder if 'a lot of people didn't like him' could also apply to the thousands of Yemenis bombed by Saudi forces, often with
U.S.-supplied weapons. But apparently, some lives are more 'likable' than others, especially when they grease the wheels of geopolitics and oil markets. The price of silence seems to be a reliable supply of crude and 'stability' in the region.