Thomas Jefferson sagaciously stated, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Journalism exposes scandals — the Pentagon Papers are a salient example; this illustrates the vitality of journalism as an institution for liberal democracy. Unfortunately, that brings us to the poignant story of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and journalist who was published in The Washington Post. As American students who live in a liberal democracy, we should appreciate the freedom of speech afforded to us here. Students in the United States aren’t considered dissidents; when an individual criticizes the current administration, there is no fear of violent retaliation.
Khashoggi, aged 59 years old, was last seen by his fiancee walking into the Saudi consul in Istanbul at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2. Within minutes of walking in, Khashoggi was tortured. He was dismembered, decollated and cut up into pieces with a bone saw. He was dead within minutes. He was allegedly butchered by a 15-man hit squad from Saudi Arabia nicknamed the “Tiger Team”; it arrived on two private jets and departed after a few hours.
On Saturday, Oct. 6, Turkish police stated Khashoggi was murdered in the consulate. On Oct. 15, after 13 days of Saudi denial and refusal to permit inspectors inside the consul, Turkish officials were allowed entry. Cleaning crews were spotted by journalists the day prior to the investigation entering the Saudi Consulate. The same day, while speaking with his usual sophistry (the president averages 8.3 lies per day), President Donald Trump informed the media, “It sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers.” This is a portentous indication of this administration’s behavior toward the situation from the beginning. On Oct. 17, the Turkish government leaked the audio recording of Khashoggi’s abhorrent butchery. Saudi Arabia has admitted that Khashoggi was killed, but claimed that it happened in the midst of a fight. Yesterday, Trump claimed that it was likely that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had knowledge of the plans to kill Khashoggi.
The Trump administration is pinioned; sanctioning Saudi Arabia would likely raise global oil prices, and due to deliberate government cynicism, the United States and its allies require Saudi oil. The Trump administration’s encomium about the $110 billion arms deal illustrates its ulterior motives: It can’t sanction Saudi Arabia — it hinged its Middle East policy on them.
The president should send a secret envoy for a political initiative with Iran, opening diplomatic channels and starting trade talks, akin to what former President Richard Nixon did with China. This offshore balancing will be an equipoise to the Middle East. Bin Salman is intractable. He has destabilized the region with his war on Yemen, creating a humanitarian Kafkaesque reality — it is the pits of a humanitarian crisis. Currently Iran has no nuclear weapons as stated by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Even if you speculate with the same fantasy as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Iran seeks to obtain nuclear weapons, we deterred the Soviet Union, which had 45,000 nuclear weapons for 40 years. This détente with Iran is necessary to stabilize the region: It will lower global oil prices, cease hostility in the Strait of Hormuz and create the possibility for a peaceful outcome in Yemen through regional or multilateral talks — that within itself is worthwhile to open diplomatic and trade talks.
Mendel Litzman is a junior majoring in political science.