What a Despotic Aristocracy Looks Like

Columnists and contributors to the Washington Post are outraged that no members of the Saudi royal family were charged in the gruesome murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

David Ignatius

The Khashoggi case represented a breach of trust — not with the kingdom’s critics, but with its longtime supporters at the CIA, the Pentagon, the State Department and Congress. Officials from all those branches of government have told me repeatedly over the past year that to rebuild a strong U.S.-Saudi relationship, the kingdom needed to demonstrate that it had turned a page — and that such a murder of a dissident U.S.-based journalist could never happen again. Monday’s action is likely to widen that trust gap rather than repair it.

The CIA still believes that the crown prince bears ultimate responsibility for Khashoggi’s death. That’s why this case cuts so deep.

A sign of the fractured U.S.-Saudi bond was the decision this fall by the State Department, backed by the CIA, to reject a proposal to train the Saudi General Intelligence Presidency, as their spy service is known. U.S. officials think such training would be helpful, and they credit the GIP as a good partner over the years. But that’s not the problem: American Foreign Service and intelligence officers worry that the impulsive crown prince hasn’t learned a lesson from Khashoggi’s death — and could make more catastrophic mistakes.

Agnes Callamard

These verdicts are the antithesis of justice: the hit men are sentenced to death, potentially permanently silencing key witnesses, but the apparent masterminds walk free — barely touched by the investigation and trial. This is exactly what impunity looks like, and it must be denounced. Anyone who cares about freedom of the press — governments, as well as members of the public — must denounce this travesty until an actual impartial investigation holds those at the highest level responsible.

Actually, it’s exactly what despotic aristocracy looks like and to expect anything better is unrealistic in the extreme. As far as Saudi’s rulers are concerned the country has no purpose, no meaning other than to enrich its royal family, shield them from criticism, and preserve them in power.

Sadly, when our politicians become wealthy in a lifetime of alleged “public service”, I can only wonder how far away from that we are ourselves.

Meanwhile, just how useful is Saudi Arabia to U. S. interests, really? As their conflict with Yemen has amply demonstrated they are both cruel and incompetent. Why we are supporting them in it eludes me. Any notion that they’ll provide some sort of balance against Iran is fatuous.