When Biden took office, one of his first acts was the elimination of our border security. Like a power-hungry dictator, Biden simply decided to ignore our immigration laws. His catastrophic border policy resulted in untold millions of unidentified foreign citizens from around the world pouring into our country. Its impact is now being felt in cities across the country. The worst is yet to come. PETER LEMISKA - AND WE'RE ALREADY THERE!!!
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
TRUMP RULES OUT FURTHER ACTION AGAINST THE MURDERING 9-11 INVADING SAUDIS DICTATORSHIP - TRUMP SAYS HE SMELLS DEALS AHEAD AND WANTS THE FILTHY SAUDIS TO FUND HIS PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
HOW MUCH IN BRIBES HAVE THE 9-11 INVADING
SAUDIS PUMPED INTO THE PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES
OF BUSH, CLINTON, CLINTON FOUNDATION AND
OBOMB?
Dem Rep Connolly: Trump’s Khashoggi Statement ‘One of the Most Amoral’ by a President
“I think that’s one of the most amoral statements any president of the United States has ever uttered," Democrat Rep. @GerryConnolly says about President Trump's statement on the Saudi crown prince and the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. http://cnn.it/2QXn8hR
On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) criticized President Trump’s statement on Saudi Arabia and the murder of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi as “one of the most amoral statements any president of the United States has ever uttered.”
Connolly said, “I think that’s one of the most amoral statements any president of the United States has ever uttered. A man was murdered in cold blood, premeditated. Our intelligence community says it was with the knowledge, if not the architecture of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. And essentially, on the day our president pardons two turkeys before Thanksgiving, he effectively pardons the crown prince of Saudi Arabia for murdering an American resident.”
Tuesday on MSNBC, network host Ali Velshi said President Donald Trump’s statement standing by Saudi Arabia despite allegations Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi sounded like it was “written by a 7-year-old.”
Velshi said, “First of all, it’s written like it’s written by a 7-year-old.”
He continued, “It starts with America first with an exclamation mark…and then it talks about Iran. So there’s this distraction going on. As long as I can tell you bad things about Iran, then Saudi Arabia, which is an enemy of our enemy, must by definition be a friend.”
He added, “And Mike Pompeo and the president keep on talking about America’s interests. It’s just disingenuous. Saudi Arabia needs America much more than America needs Saudi Arabia. We’ve actually got a lot less going on with the Saudis than the president quotes. As you said, the Saudis can’t rush around and re-machine 70 years’ worth of stuff they’ve been buying from America.”
Velshi concluded, “It does beg the question, what’s going on? What is happening with Jared Kushner and Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman that you can’t acknowledge something everyone else in the world has figured out and the understanding that a thing like this couldn’t have happened without the crown price, the son of the king, knowing about it?”
President Donald Trump released a statement on Tuesday afternoon denouncing the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as a “terrible” crime and an action the United States “does not condone,” but he also indicated he would take no further action against the Saudi government.
President Trump’s lengthy statement began with a summary of American interests in the Middle East, stressing the importance of Saudi Arabia as an opponent of Iranian aggression and a partner against “Radical Islamic Terrorism.” He rejected the argument that Saudi Arabia is responsible for the bloody civil war and humanitarian crisis in Yemen:
The world is a very dangerous place!
The country of Iran, as an example, is responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilize Iraq’s fragile attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed millions of his own citizens), and much more. Likewise, the Iranians have killed many Americans and other innocent people throughout the Middle East. Iran states openly, and with great force, “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Iran is considered “the world’s leading sponsor of terror.”
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia would gladly withdraw from Yemen if the Iranians would agree to leave. They would immediately provide desperately needed humanitarian assistance. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has agreed to spend billions of dollars in leading the fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism.
Trump also noted America’s strategic and financial relationship with the Saudis and argued that punishing the monarchy with a heavy hand would simply drive it into the waiting arms of America’s great geopolitical adversaries:
After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $450 billion in the United States. This is a record amount of money. It will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, tremendous economic development, and much additional wealth for the United States. Of the $450 billion, $110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors. If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries – and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!
The president acknowledged the Saudi government presented a case against Khashoggi but said his murder was still an “unacceptable and horrible crime.”
He portrayed the claims of innocence by King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the practical ruler of the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as somewhat dubious, but explained his administration has little choice but to accept them, given the impracticality of taking harsh punitive action beyond the Treasury Department sanctions announced last week:
The crime against Jamal Khashoggi was a terrible one, and one that our country does not condone. Indeed, we have taken strong action against those already known to have participated in the murder. After great independent research, we now know many details of this horrible crime. We have already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Mr. Khashoggi, and the disposal of his body.
Representatives of Saudi Arabia say that Jamal Khashoggi was an “enemy of the state” and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, but my decision is in no way based on that – this is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi. Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!
That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. It is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!
Trump concluded by acknowledging many congressional representatives will disagree with his decision, but he said it was the only course consistent with his “America First” philosophy of international relations:
I understand there are members of Congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction – and they are free to do so. I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America. After the United States, Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producing nation in the world. They have worked closely with us and have been very responsive to my requests to keeping oil prices at reasonable levels – so important for the world. As President of the United States I intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm. Very simply it is called America First!
Some of the senators and representatives unlikely to be satisfied with President Trump’s statement are prominent Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who described Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed as “irrational” and “unhinged” just a few days ago and declared, “I have no intention of ever working with him again.”
Another is Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who pronounced on Sunday “overwhelming” evidence of the crown prince’s involvement in the Khashoggi murder and said, “I don’t think we can sweep this under the rug.”
Congressional leaders skeptical of Riyadh’s story about Khashoggi’s death have suggested punitive measures ranging from sanctions against more high-level officials and royals to suspending arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the very courses of action President Trump rejected in his statement.
The New York Timesreported on Tuesday that President Trump “dictated the sentiment in the statement” because he “wanted to put a comment in a single place that White House aides could refer to when journalists asked about Mr. Khashoggi’s death.”
“But the sentiment is one Mr. Trump has
repeatedly uttered to aides: The United
States has a long history of overlooking Saudi
misdeeds out of foreign policy concerns, but
he felt he was uniquely being picked on
publicly. The death was brutal, but it was just
one person. And the press will never be
satisfied with anything he says about it,”
theTimes added.
Trump rules out further action against Saudi regime over Khashoggi’s murder
By James Cogan 21 November 2018
President Donald Trump issued a statement yesterday, which declared “America First” considerations ruled out taking any further action against the Saudi Arabian regime over the brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The only US response has been token sanctions imposed last week on 17 Saudi individuals, who the regime itself had implicated in the crime.
Trump made his announcement following the publication of claims on November 16 in the WashingtonPost that the “CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination.” The crown prince is the heir to the throne and de facto head of the monarchical dictatorship that rules over the oil-rich country.
Khashoggi, who had fallen out with the regime and publicly criticised it, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2 by a 15-man hit-team. His body was then dismembered and disposed of in an unknown location.
Trump brushed aside the top-level Saudi involvement in Khashoggi’s murder, writing: “[I]t could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event—maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!”
His statement crudely spelled out that his only real concern was the “national interest” of American imperialism, which were its economic relations with the Saudi monarchy and Saudi support for US aggression in the Middle East, particularly with Syria and Iran.
The Saudi regime, he declared, “had agreed to spend and invest $450 billion” in the US, including $110 billion in purchases of military equipment. If the US cancelled the contracts, “Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries.” Saudi Arabia, he went on, was “a great ally in our very important fight against Iran.” It was also the largest oil producing country after the US and had been “very responsive to my requests to keep oil prices at reasonable levels.”
According to WashingtonPost sources, as well as statements by Turkish agencies, the evidence that Khashoggi’s murder was ordered by the crown prince is overwhelming.
The Post reported that US intelligence intercepted a call by the crown prince to the Saudi ambassador to Turkey, Khalid bin Salman, instructing him to give assurances to Khashoggi that he could safely pick up divorce documents from the consulate. He was murdered within “moments” of entering the building. One member of the hit-team then called a top aide of the crown prince to report that the “operation had been completed.”
The version of events that was belatedly given by the Saudi regime—after insisting for over two weeks that Khashoggi has left the consulate unharmed—is that the killing was not planned and was a “terrible mistake.” It resulted from a “fight” in which the journalist died, after which officials sought to “conceal” what happened.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir declared that a Saudi investigation had shown that “the crown prince” had “nothing to do with this issue.” Some 11 people have been arrested in Saudi Arabia and the regime has indicated it will apply the death penalty to some of them.
The Saudi claims were so fantastic that they were almost universally dismissed as an embarrassing tissue of lies within the American establishment. Trump’s endorsement of the transparent attempt to protect the crown prince has therefore provoked a raft of cynical criticism by his opponents in the Democratic Party and his own Republican Party, as well as in numerous media comments.
Despite all its war crimes, factions of the American capitalist class still desperately attempt to conceal the predatory character of its foreign policy with claims to be upholding “democracy,” the “rule of law” or “human rights.” They expected that the Trump administration would subject the Saudi regime to some further cosmetic wrist-slapping—without, of course, threatening US relations with the country.
A comment by CNN White House reporter Stephen Collinson summed up the concern over Trump’s “America First” statement. He complained that Trump’s statement amounted to “effectively repudiating the concept of American Exceptionalism, the idea that the US is embarked on a unique, moral mission exemplified by support for freedom, democracy and universal values.”
Collinson felt compelled to admit that “Washington’s actions, in the Vietnam War for instance or in the war on terror, have been seen by outsiders as falling well short of the lofty principles it has preached to others.” American relations with the brutal Saudi regime, he also confessed, “have often fallen on the hypocritical side of this line.”
But Trump, he bewailed, “is getting rid of any pretense.” His statement on Saudi Arabia “represented the latest show of force from a President who is showing signs of breaking free from any remaining restraints, and is increasingly confident in a course that has sown historic disruption.”
In the New York Times, Thomas Friedman, who was one of the chief propagandists for the illegal invasion of Iraq and has justified numerous other war crimes as “humanitarian” operations, sanctimoniously condemned Trump’s exoneration of the Saudi murder of Khashoggi. He asserted that he should have at least demanded some quid pro quo from the crown prince, such as the release of women imprisoned for driving and a ceasefire in the brutal Saudi air war against Yemen, which has killed tens of thousands and put millions at risk of starvation.
Friedman complained: “[W]hat is the intangible damage to our moral standing all over the world from such a grotesque blood-for-money transaction?”
The reality is that Trump, who is the personification of the parasitism and criminality of the American ruling class, could not care less what the world’s population think about the policies of his administration. To protect the interests of a billionaire corporate oligarchy, it has escalated the decades-long drive by US imperialism to prevent any power or group of powers challenging American global dominance.
Under Trump, the US has effectively declared economic war on the world and is openly threatening military conflict with Russia and China if they do not submit to American dictates. In the Middle East, it has mapped out a strategy of destroying the regional influence exerted by Iran—an agenda that is assisted by the closest possible relations with both Israel and the Saudi dictatorship, regardless of what crimes they commit.
The tattered and discredited “democratic” mask of American imperialism has well and truly been tossed into the gutter. That is the only real concern in the US ruling circles over Trump’s statement.
'We were told that he did not play a role': Trump continues to defend Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi despite CIA concluding that he WAS behind brutal execution
Trump reiterated uncertainty over Crown Prince's involvement in the murder
But CIA has reportedly determined that bin Salman did order hit on Khashoggi
President says he expects to receive a briefing from CIA sometime on Saturday
Khashoggi was murdered inside Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2
President Donald Trump has continued to cast doubt on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even after the CIA reportedly concluded that he ordered the hit. The Saudi government has denied that claim.
'We haven't been briefed yet. The CIA is going to be speaking to me today,' Trump told reporters on Saturday morning before leaving the White House for a visit to California. 'As of this moment we were told that he did not play a role. We're going to have to find out what they have to say.'
Trump said he will be talking with 'the CIA later and lots of others' while he was on Air Force One, and would also speak with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
In his remarks outside the White House, the president spoke of Saudi Arabia as 'a truly spectacular ally in terms of jobs and economic development.' 'I have to take a lot of things into consideration' when deciding what measures to take against the kingdom.
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'We haven't been briefed yet. The CIA is going to be speaking to me today,' Trump told reporters before leaving the White House for a visit to California
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The CIA has reportedly concluded that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince (left) ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (right). Trump will meet with the CIA on Saturday
The intelligence agencies' conclusion will bolster efforts in Congress to further punish the close U.S. ally for the killing. The Trump administration this past week penalized 17 Saudi officials for their alleged role in the killing, but American lawmakers have called on the administration to curtail arms sales to Saudi Arabia or take other harsher punitive measures.
The U.S. official familiar with the intelligence agencies' conclusion was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke only condition of anonymity Friday. The conclusion was first reported by The Washington Post.
Saudi Arabia's top diplomat has said the crown prince had 'absolutely' nothing to do with the killing.
Vice President Mike Pence told reporters traveling with him at a summit of Pacific Rim nations in Papua New Guinea that he could not comment on 'classified information.'
He said Saturday 'the murder of Jamal Khashoggi was an atrocity. It was also an affront to a free and independent press, and the United States is determined to hold all of those accountable who are responsible for that murder.'
Trump defends Saudi Crown Prince before headed to California
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Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, reacts while watching a tribute video to her husband at a commemorative ceremony
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A man holds a poster showing images of bin Salman and Khashoggi, describing the prince as 'assassin' and Khashoggi as 'martyr' during funeral prayers for Khashoggi in Istanbul on Friday
CIA says Saudi Crown Prince ordered Khashoggi murder
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The United States will 'follow the facts,' Pence said, while trying to find a way of preserving a 'strong and historic partnership' with Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi, a Saudi who lived in the United States, was a columnist for the Post and often criticized the royal family. He was killed October 2 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish and Saudi authorities say he was killed inside the consulate by a team from the kingdom after he went there to get marriage documents.
This past week, U.S. intelligence officials briefed members of the Senate and House intelligence committees, and the Treasury Department announced economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials suspected of being responsible for or complicit in the killing.
Among those targeted for sanctions were Mohammed al-Otaibi, the diplomat in charge of the consulate, and Maher Mutreb, who was part of the crown prince's entourage on trips abroad.
The sanctions freeze any assets the 17 may have in the U.S. and prohibit any Americans from doing business with them.
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A tough critic of the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Khashoggi, disappeared after he entered the Saudi consulate (pictured) in Istanbul on October 2 to collect a document
Also this past week, the top prosecutor in Saudi Arabia announced he will seek the death penalty against five men suspected in the killing. The prosecutor's announcement sought to quiet the global outcry over Khashoggi's death and distance the killers and their operation from the kingdom's leadership, primarily the crown prince.
Trump has called the killing a botched operation that was carried out very poorly and has said 'the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups.'
But he has resisted calls to cut off arms sales to the kingdom and has been reluctant to antagonize the Saudi rulers. Trump considers the Saudis vital allies in his Mideast agenda.
The Post, citing unnamed sources, also reported that U.S. intelligence agencies reviewed a phone call that the prince's brother, Khalid bin Salman, had with Khashoggi. The newspaper said the prince's brother, who is the current Saudi ambassador to the United States, told Khashoggi he would be safe in going to the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to retrieve the documents he needed to get married.
The newspaper said it was not known whether the ambassador knew Khashoggi would be killed. But it said he made the call at the direction the crown prince, and the call was intercepted by U.S. intelligence.
Turkey says they shared tapes linked to death of Khashoggi with US
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Fatimah Baeshen, a spokeswoman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, said that claim was false.
She said in a statement issued to The Associated Press that the ambassador met Khashoggi in person once in late September 2017. After that, they communicated via text messages, she said. The last text message the ambassador sent to Khashoggi was on Oct. 26, 2017, she said.
Baeshen said the ambassador did not discuss with Khashoggi 'anything related to going to Turkey.'
'Ambassador Prince Khalid bin Salman has never had any phone conversations with him,' she said.
'You are welcome to check the phone records and cell phone content to corroborate this - in which case, you would have to request it from Turkish authorities,' Baeshen said, adding that Saudi prosecutors have checked the phone records numerous times to no avail.
The ambassador himself tweeted: 'The last contact I had with Mr. Khashoggi was via text on Oct. 26, 2017. I never talked to him by phone and certainly never suggested he go to Turkey for any reason. I ask the U.S. government to release any information regarding this claim.'
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