Saudi Crown Prince to Return to White House, Surviving Biden’s ‘Pariah’ Campaign

It is the first trip MBS has made to the United States since 2018, when the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in Istanbul caused a diplomatic rift with the Western world.

Khashoggi, a native of Saudi Arabia and longtime critic of the monarchy based in the United States and employed by the Washington Post, was lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, with the promise of a document he needed to marry his Turkish fiancée. He was killed by agents of the Saudi government, who dismembered his body and sought to dispose of the evidence.

The Khashoggi killing became a massive international scandal with repercussions that would last for years. The Saudi government contended that rogue operatives killed him, possibly by accident while attempting to restrain him and bring him back to Saudi Arabia to face sedition charges. Several top officials were fired and 11 individuals were put on trial for the murder. The investigation cleared MBS of any involvement with Khashoggi’s killing.

Critics claimed the Saudi investigation was a complete whitewash and castigated Western leaders for not doing enough to hold the Saudis accountable. The Turkish government remains furious over the killing on its soil.

Read Full Article Here