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The Biden government has released a declassified US intelligence report that concludes that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman “approved” the operation that killed Jamal Khashoggi.
The assessment, which is dated February 11 and says it was declassified on Thursday, cites the ‘control’ MBS has over the security apparatus in the kingdom, where it is considered the most powerful figure.
But in the immediate political actions that followed the release of the assessment, the Treasury Department planned to sanction the Saudis, but not the crown prince.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement saying the world was “horrified” by Khashoggi’s assassination and announcing a new “Khashoggi’s ban” visa restriction for people linked to “anti-dissidents activities. “.
He said the government has taken action against 76 people, but did not identify Khashoggi.
According to the report of the Director of National Intelligence: “We assess that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman, approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.”
A declassified intelligence report from the Biden administration names Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the man who approved the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
‘We based this assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decision-making in the Kingdom, the direct involvement of a key adviser and members of Muhammad bin Slaman’s protective detachment in the operation, and the Crown Prince’s support for the use of violent measures. to silence dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi, ‘it read.
It points to the ‘absolute control of the crown prince of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations’, in a kingdom where his authority is already well established.
The report’s release does not provide any insight into the political decisions that lie ahead, including the possibility of imposing US sanctions on a critical power agent of a strategic ally.
Although the four-page assessment does not provide new data on the crime, the elements of which were captured in videos and recordings that drew public attention to the sensational murder, it contains several statements about where the power resides and the direct connections to the crown prince.
Khashoggi was a dissident and Washington Post columnist who was assassinated in 2018
This video capture taken on October 10, 2018 from CCTV images obtained from the Turkish news agency DHA shows Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (R) arriving at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 – Khashoggi , a contributor to the Washington Post, disappeared on October 2 after entering the consulate to obtain official documents prior to his marriage to his Turkish fiancee
President Donald Trump, flanked by Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner, meets with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 20, 2017
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman maintains “absolute control of Kindom’s intelligence and security organizations,” according to the assessment.
It says that the crown prince has’ absolute control of the Kingdom’s security and intelligence organizations, so it is highly unlikely that Saudi officials would have carried out an operation of this nature without the authorization of the crown prince.
Quote ‘the crown prince’s control of decision-making in the kingdom’.
It says the 15-member assault squad that traveled to Istanbul included officials who worked or were associated with the Saudi Center for Media Studies and Affairs (CSMARC) at the Royal Court. It says the group is led by Saud al-Qahtani, a ‘close adviser’ to MBS, who publicly claimed in mid-2018 that he did not make decisions without his approval.
It also included members of his elite personal detail: the Rapid Intervention Force. He exists’ to defend the Crown Prince, he only answers to him, and had been directly involved in previous operations to suppress dissidents in the Kingdom and abroad and under the direction of the Crown Prince.
The assessment lists 21 people in whom it said US intelligence had “high confidence” who participated in, “ordered” or were “complicit in or responsible” for Khashoggi’s death.
He states that “we do not know” if they knew in advance that it would result in his death.
The office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi that identified that the crown prince approved of the murder.
Its release heralds another chapter in Khashoggi’s horrific assassination in 2018 and poses a challenge to America’s relations with a strategic ally, a major arms buyer, and an oil power.
It was declassified by the director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines.
The Treasury Department announced that it would impose sanctions on Ahmad Hassan Mohammed al Asiri, former deputy director of the General Intelligence Presidency of Saudi Arabia.
A Treasury statement, which does not mention MBS, said that Asiri ‘was assigned to assassinate journalist Khashogg’ and that ‘Asiri himself was the ringleader of the operation and coordinated with Saud al-Qahtani to organize and dispatch the 15-man team. to assassinate and dismember Khashoggi on October 2, 2018 inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. ‘
President Joe Biden spoke this week with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, who according to the White House was his counterpart. The Trump administration had extensive contacts with MBS.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who is traveling with Biden, declined to say whether Biden mentioned the murder, which was not mentioned in an official reading of their conversation.
“I have no more to read from the call,” he said. He said that generally speaking, the president and officials at all levels have raised human rights concerns.
“Let me first say that we have made it clear at all levels that our intention is to re-calibrate the relationship and this will be a different relationship with the Saudi government,” he said.
Congress ordered the report to be released, although the Trump administration did not. She declined to say if any further action would take place, saying only ‘stay tuned’.
When asked if Biden was concerned that MBS would be in the succession, he replied: ‘This is for the government of Saudi Arabia to determine the way forward in its future leadership. I will say that the president has been clear, and we have made it clear with our actions that we are going to recalibrate the relationship, including ensuring that the commitment is counterpart to counterpart. ‘
House Intelligence Speaker on Twitter Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.): ‘The highest levels of the Saudi government, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, are responsible for the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. There must be responsibility, and we will continue to press for it. ‘
The crown prince has denied involvement in the October 2018 assassination of Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident who wrote columns critical of MBS. MBS accepted responsibility for the assassination as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. And Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue” extradition operation that went wrong.
Five men were sentenced to death for the journalist’s murder, but had their sentences commuted to 20 years in prison after being pardoned by the Khashoggi family.
Khashoggi fled Saudi Arabia in September 2017 to live in self-imposed exile. He was writing columns critical of the Saudi government, including King Salman and MBS, for The Washington Post when he was assassinated.
In October 2018, Khashoggi visited the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul to collect the necessary documentation for her marriage to a Turkish citizen. He was never seen leaving.
