Saudi Arabia: Trump Defends Prince

An Indefensible Alliance: Trump Shields a Prince in a Murder’s Shadow

Donald Trump, while serving as United States president, openly supported Mohammed bin Salman at a White House gathering. The president asserted that the Saudi royal had no information concerning the 2018 murder of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. Trump received the man who effectively governs the kingdom and downplayed the violent affair, remarking that such unfortunate incidents occur. The president's comments positioned him directly against the conclusions of his own country's intelligence apparatus. This firm declaration of support aimed to smooth over a diplomatic crisis and reinforce the strong personal and political bond he had cultivated with the young Saudi leader, prioritising the strategic alliance over profound human rights concerns that had sparked global outrage and condemnation.

The Brutal Reality of a State-Sanctioned Murder

Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi journalist critical of his own government, walked into the Saudi diplomatic building located in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. He never emerged. Inside the compound, a team of Saudi agents ambushed, suffocated, and dismembered him. The mission was premeditated and executed with shocking brutality, designed to silence a dissenting voice that had grown influential through his columns in The Washington Post. Turkish authorities, through covert recordings from within the consulate, pieced together a gruesome account of his final moments. The international community reacted with horror to the details of the killing. This act exposed the ruthless measures the Saudi state would employ to neutralize its opponents, even when they were on foreign territory.

An Unwavering Denial from Riyadh

The Saudi royal, Mohammed bin Salman, has always denied he was personally involved in the killing. While in the American capital, he maintained that his nation undertook all correct measures for its inquiry into the death. The kingdom's leader characterized the event as a sorrowful incident and a significant error. While he has, in some interviews, accepted a general form of responsibility as the nation's leader under whose watch the incident occurred, he has firmly denied ordering the operation or having any prior awareness of it. Riyadh’s official narrative attributes the act to a rogue rendition team that exceeded its authority, a version of events that many international observers and intelligence agencies find implausible given the seniority of the officials involved.

The Damning Conclusion of US Intelligence

A report from America’s intelligence community, declassified and released to the world in 2021 during Joe Biden’s presidency, offered a sharply contrasting viewpoint. The assessment stated with confidence that the Saudi royal, Mohammed bin Salman, had personally authorized the mission in Istanbul with the objective to apprehend or eliminate Jamal Khashoggi. Intelligence officials based their findings on the prince's absolute control over the kingdom's security and intelligence organisations, making it highly unlikely that such a sensitive and high-profile mission could have proceeded without his explicit authorisation. The report also identified several members of the hit squad who belonged to the inner security detail of the Saudi leader, which further solidified the connection between the perpetrators and the top echelons of the Saudi government.

Trump’s Calculated Dismissal of His Own Spies

President Trump openly chose to disregard the findings of his own intelligence agencies. Inside the Oval Office, he admonished a journalist for raising the subject of the murder, asserting that Khashoggi was a divisive person whom many people did not like. This public siding with a foreign leader over established American intelligence assessments was a hallmark of his presidency. For Trump, the strategic and economic benefits of the US-Saudi alliance far outweighed the diplomatic fallout from the journalist's death. The relationship was crucial for his administration's Middle East policy, which centred on containing Iranian influence and securing massive arms deals; this made the Saudi leader an essential ally that Trump was resolved to shield from any consequences.

A Widow’s Tireless Pursuit of Justice

Hanan Elatr, who was married to Jamal Khashoggi, directly contested the president’s justification for the Saudi royal. She highlighted the clear inconsistency in his remarks, recalling for the public that the Saudi leader himself had acknowledged culpability for the act during a 2019 broadcast interview. Hanan has since become a determined advocate for justice for her late husband. She has pursued legal action in the United States, seeking to hold the Saudi government accountable. Having been given political refuge in America, she currently lives in the vicinity of the nation's capital and persists in her campaign for an official apology and restitution from the Saudi kingdom, making certain that the memory of her husband is not forgotten due to political convenience.

The Biden Shift: From Pariah to Pragmatism

President Joe Biden entered office promising a radical departure from his predecessor’s approach. In his campaign, he pledged to treat Saudi Arabia as an international outcast because of its abuses related to human rights, specifically citing the Khashoggi murder. His administration promptly released the incriminating intelligence report that Trump had suppressed and imposed sanctions on numerous Saudi officials. However, geopolitical realities soon tempered this hard-line stance. Faced with soaring energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the need for a united front against Iran, Biden travelled to Saudi Arabia in 2022. The trip, marked by an infamous fist bump with the Saudi leader, indicated a shift back toward a more practical partnership with the kingdom, driven by mutual interests.

Image Credit by - Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Geopolitical Stakes of a Royal Visit

The Saudi leader's discussion with Trump involved far more than managing the fallout from a killing. The agenda was packed with high-stakes discussions crucial to both nations. The leaders were expected to put the final touches on agreements related to non-military nuclear energy, a major development for any nation in that region. They also talked about closer collaboration in fields like technology and artificial intelligence, reflecting Saudi Arabia's ambition to become a modern, diversified economy. A central topic was a massive increase in Saudi investment into the United States, with the Saudi royal promising to increase his country's financial commitment to one trillion dollars. This financial leverage underscored the deep economic interdependence that forms the bedrock of the alliance, often insulating it from political and ethical controversies.

Vision 2030: A Kingdom’s Ambitious Overhaul

The discussions were framed within the context of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, the master plan from the Crown Prince to reshape the nation. This ambitious project aims to reduce the kingdom’s deep-seated dependence on oil revenues, diversify its economy, and implement widespread social reforms. The vision includes the development of futuristic megacities like Neom, the promotion of tourism, and the empowerment of women by allowing them to drive and enter the workforce in greater numbers. The kingdom's de facto ruler styles himself as a modernising figure guiding a traditionalist nation into the modern era. This narrative of modernisation is a key part of his international diplomacy, designed to attract foreign investment and project an image of progress.

The Allure of Saudi Investment

A primary driver of the warm relationship between the Trump administration and Riyadh was the immense financial power wielded by the kingdom. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has become one of the world's most influential sovereign wealth funds, channelling hundreds of billions of dollars into global markets and technology companies. The promise from the Saudi leader to boost investment in the US to a trillion dollars was a strong motivation for Washington to ignore other problems. This economic statecraft makes Saudi Arabia an irresistible partner for Western nations, with leaders and corporations often finding it difficult to reconcile their stated values with the vast opportunities for profit and economic growth offered by the wealthy Gulf state.

A New Era of Artificial Intelligence

Saudi Arabia’s push into artificial intelligence was a significant focal point of the discussions. The kingdom has allocated billions of dollars to become a global leader in AI by 2030, viewing it as a cornerstone of its post-oil future. The talks with the Trump administration aimed to foster partnerships with leading American tech firms, encouraging them to establish research centres and data hubs in the country. For the US, this represents a major export opportunity and a chance to shape the development of AI in a strategically vital region. For Saudi Arabia, mastering AI is not just an economic goal but also a tool for enhancing state surveillance and security, a duality that reflects the broader character of its reform agenda.

Nuclear Ambitions in the Desert

The potential for a US-Saudi civilian nuclear energy agreement was a particularly sensitive topic. Riyadh has long expressed its desire to develop a nuclear power programme to meet its growing energy demands and free up more crude oil for export. While the stated goal is peaceful energy production, the prospect of a nuclear-capable Saudi Arabia raises serious proliferation concerns in a volatile region, especially given its intense rivalry with Iran, which has its own contested nuclear programme. Washington has insisted on strict non-proliferation safeguards, known as the "gold standard," which would prevent the kingdom from enriching uranium or reprocessing plutonium, activities that could be diverted to a weapons programme.

The F-35 Controversy

A further significant topic of conversation was the possible transaction involving sophisticated F-35 combat aircraft for the Saudi armed forces. This prospect caused considerable alarm among officials in Israel, a key US ally and the sole nation within that region to fly the complex stealth planes. Israeli leaders have consistently argued that providing such advanced weaponry to an Arab neighbour could diminish their nation's strategic military advantage, a concept that has historically informed US arms deals there. President Trump, however, appeared to dismiss these concerns, stating his belief that both Israel and Saudi Arabia were worthy of the most advanced hardware available. He expressed confidence an agreement involving Riyadh and the American defense contractor, Lockheed Martin, would move forward.

Sport as a Tool of Statecraft

The presence of Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo at a formal evening meal honouring the Saudi leader was intentional. It highlighted Saudi Arabia's aggressive and well-funded foray into the world of professional sport. The kingdom has invested billions in attracting top athletes, hosting major sporting events, and even creating its own golf league, LIV Golf. Critics label this strategy "sportswashing," arguing that it is a deliberate attempt to use the glamour and global appeal of sport to divert attention from the nation's appalling history concerning human rights and to repair its global standing. By associating itself with celebrated figures like Ronaldo, the kingdom seeks to project an image of openness and modernity, deflecting scrutiny from matters such as the murder of Khashoggi and the continuing suppression of political opposition.

The Unsettling Legacy of Impunity

The entire Khashoggi affair has left a disturbing legacy regarding international accountability. The decision by the United States under Trump to shield the individual identified by its own intelligence agencies as responsible for the murder sent a powerful message to authoritarian leaders worldwide. It suggested that if a nation is strategically or economically important enough, its leaders can operate with impunity, even when committing heinous crimes abroad. This precedent undermines the global framework of human rights and the rule of law, creating a more dangerous world for journalists, activists, and dissidents everywhere who dare to speak out against powerful regimes. The pursuit of justice has been subordinated to the perceived national interest.

Jared Kushner’s Enduring Saudi Connection

A pivotal person in solidifying the Trump-MBS connection was Jared Kushner, who was the president's son-in-law and a high-ranking adviser. Kushner developed a remarkably tight personal connection with the Saudi leader, frequently speaking with him directly beyond standard diplomatic protocols. This link was fundamental to the administration's policies in the Middle East, including its unwavering backing of Riyadh. The proximity of this association attracted major scrutiny after Kushner departed from his government role. His newly formed private equity firm, Affinity Partners, received a staggering two-billion-dollar investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, a move that raised serious ethical questions about whether his official actions were influenced by the prospect of future personal financial gain from his Saudi counterparts.

Sanctions Without a Primary Target

Following the murder, the Biden government enacted certain punitive measures. It implemented the "Khashoggi Ban," a visa restriction policy targeting individuals who, acting on behalf of a foreign government, are believed to have been directly engaged in serious extraterritorial counter-dissident activities. Sanctions were also placed on dozens of lower-level Saudi officials implicated in the plot, freezing their assets and barring them from the US financial system. However, these actions conspicuously avoided the one person the intelligence report named as having authorized the mission: the Saudi leader personally. The choice to penalise the operatives but not the individual in command was an obvious political move, designed to signal disapproval without rupturing the essential strategic partnership.

The Chilling Effect on Dissent

The murder of Jamal Khashoggi had a profound and immediate chilling effect on Saudi critics and activists around the globe. His abduction and killing from within a diplomatic mission on foreign soil was a brazen demonstration of the kingdom’s reach and its intolerance for dissent. It sent a clear and terrifying message that no critic, no matter how prominent or where they lived, was safe from the grasp of the Saudi state. This climate of fear has intensified the crackdown on free expression within the kingdom and has forced many exiled dissidents into silence, fearing for their lives and the safety of their families back home. The assassination successfully achieved its goal of intimidating and silencing critical voices.

An Alliance Forged in Mutual Interest

In the end, the lasting US-Saudi partnership rests upon a base of stark, shared interests that have outlasted different administrations and political divisions. For the United States, Saudi Arabia remains a critical partner in ensuring the stability of global energy markets, a bulwark against Iranian expansionism, and a key player in regional counter-terrorism efforts. For Saudi Arabia, the US provides a vital security guarantee and access to the world's most advanced military technology. These shared strategic priorities have consistently proven more powerful than concerns over human rights or democratic values, creating a durable, if often deeply uncomfortable, partnership that carries on shaping the political environment within that region.

A Kingdom of Contradictions

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under its current de facto leadership, shows a multifaceted and frequently conflicting image to the globe. It is a nation undergoing rapid social and economic transformation, where cinemas have opened and women are gaining new freedoms. At the same time, it is a regime that has intensified its repression of dissent, jailing activists, cracking down on any hint of opposition, and perpetrating the brutal murder of a journalist. The Saudi royal is at once celebrated as a forward-thinking moderniser and denounced as a merciless tyrant. This duality forces world leaders, including those in Washington, into a difficult balancing act, constantly weighing the kingdom's strategic importance and economic opportunities against its flagrant disregard for fundamental human rights.