Pure speculation on my part - I suspect Khashoggi was used as "a Sacrificial Lamb" - under
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's orders and it was Talal's loyal goons, that arrived at the airport that day and went to the
Saudi Consulate in Istanbul?
In the video below, it notes that Khashoggi had close ties with both, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Bin Laden Group. King Salman demoted the Muslim Brotherhood, while the Bin Laden's were part of the Royalty that were arrested/detained in the MBS round up. The one who had the most to lose "financially" was Alwaleed bin Talal. He was made to sign over most of his assets, to the tune of Billion's of dollars and then reduced to house arrest.
I also suspect, Alwaleed bin Talal was behind "a botched assassination attempt on MBS" which resulted in the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas shootings, as a cover up? Probably why, MBS stripped him of everything and rounded up those who were loyal to Alwaleed bin Talal?
With Khashoggi, first seeking refuge in Turkey and then in the U.S., he was the perfect "patsy" to set up "to disappear" from a Saudi Consulate in Turkey - casting shadows over MBS and King Salman? The fact that this Khashoggi situation developed just before a major business conference in Riyadh,
scheduled for Oct. 23-25, giving many high profile businesses and major investment firms, time to pull out of the Conference, is also suspicious in it's timing?
Personally, I don't feel that MBS or King Salman are involved "in anyway" with Khashoggi's "disappearance" and that this incident is being used - by unknown actors, (Alwaleed bin Talal?) as a Coup, to oust MBS and his Father, King Salman from power? With MBS and King Salman out of the way, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal can try to recover his Billion's in assets, along with his Royal status?
Trump may be right - that it was “rogue killers” that may have been responsible?
Cross-Post from here:
July 2016 Military Coup in Turkey
Webb noted that the Muslim Brotherhood only came under attack in Saudi Arabia under King Salman, citing its "fall from grace" as originating in the split between Faisal al-Saud and King Abdullah, which is also why Khashoggi sought refuge in Turkey, "because Turkey — Erdogan — supports the Muslim Brotherhood."
This is one of the better video's I've come across, that gives some vital background on Khashoggi, from a University of California Professor. At the (3:26 min. mark) an old newspaper clipping shows Khashoggi with a group of Mujahedeen soldiers. Khashoggi was also close to Bin Laden's inner circle and the Muslim Brotherhood. Professor Abukhalil states that Khashoggi was more selective of what he said in the Washington Post but in Arabic publications, he was more verbal and outspoken on many subjects. In Saudi Arabia, Khashiggi was more aligned with the ruling Royalty that Prince Salman arrested.
Khashoggi Picked the Wrong Prince
Published on Oct 15, 2018 (16:56 min.)
Saudi Arabia to build five royal palaces in 'city of future' Friday 9 February 2018
Saudi Arabia to build five royal palaces in 'city of future'
The Saudi government has begun to award contracts for the development of a huge business zone in the northwest of the country, asking local construction companies to build five palaces for members of the royal family there, sources close to the matter told Reuters.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans for the 26,500sq km zone, known as NEOM and dubbed a city of the future, at an international investment conference in Riyadh last October. Officials said public and private investment in the area was eventually expected to total $500bn.
The palaces for the king, crown prince and other senior royals, to be located on the Red Sea coast about 150 km west of the city of Tabuk, are among the first contracts awarded for NEOM, said the sources who declined to be identified as an official announcement has not yet been made.
Saudi Binladin Group, the country's biggest construction firm, has been mandated to build one of the palaces in a sign that it retains the government's support despite the recent detention of some of its owners in a supposed crackdown on corruption, the sources said.
Binladin chairman Bakr Bin Laden and several family members were held alongside scores of princes, senior officials and businessmen in the purge, announced in November.
Last month, Binladin said some owners of the firm might transfer part of their stakes to the state in a financial settlement of allegations against them, and most or all of the family members have now been released.
MEE reported in November that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who was arrested in the purge and released last month, had refused to invest in NEOM before his detention.
Fri. Oct. 19, 2018 - As Khashoggi crisis grows, Saudi King asserts Authority, checks Son's Power: sources
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-king-insight/as-khashoggi-crisis-grows-saudi-king-asserts-authority-checks-sons-power-sources-idUSKCN1MT1LF
So grave is the fallout from the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that King Salman has felt compelled to intervene, five sources with links to the Saudi royal family said.
Last Thursday, Oct. 11, the king dispatched his most trusted aide, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, to Istanbul to try to defuse the crisis.
World leaders were demanding an explanation and concern was growing in parts of the royal court that the king’s son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to whom he has delegated vast powers, was struggling to contain the fallout, the sources said.
During Prince Khaled’s visit, Turkey and Saudi Arabia agreed to form a joint working group to investigate Khashoggi’s disappearance. The king subsequently ordered the Saudi public prosecutor to open an inquiry based on its findings.
“The selection of Khaled, a senior royal with high status, is telling as he is the king’s personal adviser, his right hand man and has had very strong ties and a friendship with (Turkish President) Erdogan,” said a Saudi source with links to government circles.
Since the meeting between Prince Khaled and Erdogan, King Salman has been “asserting himself” in managing the affair,
according to a different source, a Saudi businessman who lives abroad but is close to royal circles.
Saudi officials did not immediately respond to Reuters questions about the king’s involvement in helping to supervise the crisis. A spokesman for Prince Khaled referred Reuters to government representatives in Riyadh.
Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and leading critic of Prince Mohammed, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkish officials say they believe the Saudi journalist was murdered there and his body removed, allegations which Saudi Arabia has strongly denied.
Initially the king, who has handed the day-to-day running of Saudi Arabia to his son, commonly known as MbS, was unaware of the extent of the crisis, according to two of the sources with knowledge of the Saudi royal court. That was partly because MbS aides had been directing the king to glowing news about the country on Saudi TV channels, the sources said.
That changed as the crisis grew.
“Even if MbS wanted to keep this away from the king he couldn’t because the story about Khashoggi’s disappearance was on all the Arab and Saudi TV channels watched by the king,” one of the five sources said.
“The king started asking aides and MbS about it. MbS had to tell him and asked him to intervene when Khashoggi’s case became a global crisis,” this source said.
Since he acceded to the throne in January 2015, the king has given MbS, his favorite son, increasing authority to run Saudi Arabia. But the king’s latest intervention reflects growing disquiet among some members of the royal court about MbS’s fitness to govern, the five sources said.
MbS, 33, has implemented a series of high-profile social and economic reforms since his father’s accession, including ending a ban on women driving and opening cinemas in the conservative kingdom.
But he has also marginalized senior members of the royal family and consolidated control over Saudi’s security and intelligence agencies.
His reforms have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, a purge of top royals and businessmen on corruption charges, and a costly war in Yemen.
Khashoggi’s disappearance has further tarnished the crown prince’s reputation, deepening questions among Western allies and some Saudis about his leadership.
Even if he is his favorite son, the king needs to have a comprehensive view for his survival and the survival of the royal family,” said a fourth Saudi source with links to the royal court. “In the end it will snowball on all of them.”
Saudi officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
MISCALCULATION
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly denied any role in Khashoggi’s disappearance. But the sources familiar with the royal court said the reaction from the United States, an ally for decades, had contributed to the king’s intervention.
“When the situation got out of control and there was an uproar in the United States, MbS informed his father that there was a problem and that they have to face it,” another source with knowledge of the royal court said.
The crown prince and his aides had initially thought the crisis would pass but they “miscalculated its repercussions”, this source said.
Turkish officials have made clear they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, and two Turkish sources have told Reuters police have audio recordings to back up that assertion.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican close to President Donald Trump, on Tuesday accused MbS of ordering Khashoggi’s murder and called him a “wrecking ball” who is jeopardizing relations with the United States. He did not say what evidence he was basing the allegation on.
Trump said on Thursday he presumed Khashoggi was dead but that he still wanted to get to the bottom of what exactly happened. Asked what would be the consequences for Saudi Arabia, Trump said: “Well, it’ll have to be very severe. I mean, it’s bad, bad stuff. But we’ll see what happens.”
Trump has previously said “rogue killers” may have been responsible and has ruled out cancelling arms deals worth tens of billions of dollars. On Tuesday, Trump said he had spoken with MbS and that the crown prince told him he did not know what had happened in the consulate where Khashoggi went missing.
The case poses a dilemma for the United States, as well as Britain and other Western nations. Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter, spends lavishly on Western arms and is an ally in efforts to contain the influence of Iran.
But in a sign of the damage, a succession of international banking and business chiefs, including IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, JP Morgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon and Ford Chairman Bill Ford, have pulled out of a high-profile investment conference in Saudi Arabia this month.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday also abandoned plans to attend, as did Britain’s trade minister and the French and Dutch finance ministers, putting the event in question.
Saudi officials have said they plan to move forward with the conference, scheduled for Oct. 23-25, despite the wave of cancellations.
Neither JP Morgan nor Ford would elaborate on the reasons for the decision not to attend and did not comment on whether concerns about the disappearance of Khashoggi were a factor.
Lagarde had previously said she was “horrified” by media reports about Khashoggi’s disappearance. An IMF spokesperson did not give a reason for her deferring her trip to the Middle East.
TAKING CONTROL
Before the king’s intervention, Saudi authorities had been striking a defiant tone, threatening on Sunday to retaliate with greater action against the U.S. and others if sanctions are imposed over Khashoggi’s disappearance. A Saudi-owned media outlet warned the result would be disruption in Saudi oil production and a sharp rise in world oil prices.
“Reaction and threats to the possible sanctions of the last 24 hours were still (coming) from the crown prince,” the businessman close to royal circles said on Monday. “The king is now holding the file personally ... and the tone is very different.”
The king has spoken directly with Erdogan and Trump in recent days. Both the king and his son met U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he visited Riyadh on Tuesday.
King Salman, 82, spent decades as part of the inner circle of the Al Saud dynasty, which long ruled by consensus. In four decades as governor of Riyadh, he earned a reputation as a royal enforcer who punished princes who were out of line.
Whether he is willing or able to resume that role in this crisis remains unclear, palace insiders say. One source with links to the royal court said the king was “captivated” by MbS and ultimately would protect him.
Still, there is precedent for the king’s intervention.
He stepped in this year to shelve the planned listing of national oil company Saudi Aramco, the brainchild of MbS and a cornerstone of his economic reforms, three sources with ties to government insiders told Reuters in August. Saudi officials have said the government remains committed to the plans.
And when MbS gave the impression last year that Riyadh endorsed the Trump administration’s still nebulous Middle East peace plan, including U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the king made a public correction, reaffirming Riyadh’s commitment to the Arab and Muslim identity of the city.
Despite these rare instances of pushback, several of the sources close to the royal family said that King Salman had grown increasingly detached from decisions taken by MbS.
“He has been living in an artificially-created bubble,” said one of the sources. Lately, though, the king’s advisers have grown frustrated and begun warning him of the risks of leaving the crown prince’s power unchecked.
“The people around him are starting to tell him to wake up to what’s happening,” the source said.
Fri Oct 19, 2018 - Saudi Conference Boycott over Khashoggi shows Political threat to economy
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-politics-dissident-investment/saudi-conference-boycott-over-khashoggi-shows-political-threat-to-economy-idUSKCN1MT1S4
A Western boycott of a major business conference in Riyadh next week suggests rising political risks in Saudi Arabia
could harm its ambitions to attract foreign capital and diversify its economy away from oil.
Rather than whipping up interest in Saudi investment opportunities, the event risks becoming a public relations debacle because of the disappearance of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, company executives and analysts say.
Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia denies this.
More than two dozen top officials and executives from the United States and Europe, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the chief executives of JP Morgan Chase and HSBC, have canceled plans to attend the Future Investment Initiative due to unease over the Khashoggi affair.
That may not prevent the event from proceeding - over 150 speakers from more than 140 organizations originally signed up, organizers said. But it deprives the conference of much of its star power.
As Western companies fret over the risk to their reputations of doing deals and possible exposure to any sanctions imposed over the Khashoggi case, they are likely to put much new business in Saudi Arabia on hold for now.
The freeze may apply to both new Western contracts or investments in Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi government’s own program of buying corporate assets abroad through its $250 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF).
“Most Western businesses will come under pressure to reconsider their exposure to Saudi Arabia in light of the Khashoggi affair,” said Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East practice of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
But the freeze on new deals may start to ease within a few months. Many Western firms have too much at stake to abandon the Middle East’s biggest economy; privately, some told Reuters they would send lower-level executives to the conference.
BILLIONS AT STAKE
Larry Fink, chief executive of U.S. investment manager BlackRock, said he was pulling out of the conference but would not cut ties with Saudi Arabia as he wanted to “preserve the relationships that we’d worked so long for”.
Companies in China and Japan have shown little or no sign of withdrawing from the event, so U.S. and European firms may lose out on business if they stay cool toward Riyadh for too long.
“In the new year the impact may start to ease, particularly given that the U.S. seems to be helping Saudi Arabia sweep the incident under the carpet,” said Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to protect Washington’s security cooperation with Saudi Arabia and billions of dollars of military equipment sales to Riyadh. He raised the possibility that “rogue killers” murdered Khashoggi, a theory which could absolve Saudi leaders from responsibility.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said on Friday that allegations about Khashoggi’s case would be totally unacceptable if true but he added Britain had a strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia, and that any British action would be “considered”.
Tuvey and others predicted the cost of any sanctions would be small. The option most widely discussed by U.S. politicians is the so-called Magnitsky Act, which can impose visa bans and asset freezes on individuals over human rights issues.
If a small group of Saudis were found responsible for Khashoggi’s death and sanctioned this way, it could be embarrassing for Riyadh but have no significant economic impact.
A Gulf banker who works with Saudi Arabia said that however the Khashoggi affair ended, the opportunities to earn fees arranging deals for the PIF meant Western banks would ultimately be “back on their knees seeking business” from it.
After the killing of student protesters in Beijing in June 1989, direct foreign investment in China sank over 20 percent in the first half of 1990 but about a year later, it was once again growing strongly.
Financial market moves show investors are worried about the Khashoggi affair but not nearly as fearful as they were after oil prices began plunging in 2014.
The Saudi riyal fell in the forwards market and the cost of insuring Saudi debt against default is up, but by small margins compared to past bouts of instability.
LONG TERM
But even after normal business ties with the West resume, Khashoggi may cast a shadow over foreign capital flows into Saudi Arabia. Western companies may be keen to earn fees and win contracts, but perceptions of rising political risk could limit foreign direct investment.
A Gulf banker said she was receiving many queries about the Khashoggi affair from foreign clients as it was the latest in a series of crises under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including the arrest of scores of officials and businessmen in a corruption purge last year.
“It’s cumulative – the Yemen war, the dispute with Qatar, the tensions with Canada and Germany, the arrests of women activists. They add up to an impression of impulsive policy-making, and that worries investors.”
If Riyadh escapes major sanctions over Khashoggi, it may still face a less sympathetic U.S. Congress. This could, for example, lead to a revival of efforts to pass legislation exposing OPEC oil producers to anti-trust lawsuits.
And some fear the affair could weaken the 33-year-old Prince Mohammed’s domestic authority, creating political instability or slowing his reform drive, which has included slashing the state budget deficit and lifting a ban on women driving.
The reforms and the corruption crackdown have won Prince Mohammed support among many Saudis, but have also hurt some royal family members and businessmen. The Khashoggi affair could conceivably become the catalyst for a backlash.
“We’re worried that this could derail all the work that has been put in the past year towards the economic and social reforms,” said a banker in Riyadh.
