America's Dilemma in Relations with Saudi Arabia
(Baonghean.vn) - The assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabia puts US President Donald Trump in a difficult situation.
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| US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office at the White House. Photo: AP |
Will Mr Trump remain a close US ally and accept whatever Riyadh says about the killing? Or will he risk a rift and back the CIA’s conclusion that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, ordered Khashoggi’s murder?
Recently, under international pressure, Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor announced the arrest of 21 suspects and charged 11 subjects, saying 5 subjects could face the death penalty.
At the same time, Washington announced sanctions against 17 Saudi citizens accused of involvement in the murder of journalist Khashoggi, including two people close to Crown Prince Mohammed.
Neither side has named the mastermind behind the incident. However, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times, the CIA is certain that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered it. This puts President Trump in a difficult position.
The White House chief has forged a deep alliance with Riyadh over their shared opposition to Iran and a shared goal of maintaining stable global oil prices. President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also has close ties to Crown Prince Mohammed.
For that reason, President Trump has so far refused to directly criticize Prince Mohammed in the shocking murder, claiming he has not seen any evidence. He said he had only heard a summary of the CIA's conclusions in the case.
“President Trump has two options. He can agree with the intelligence assessment and agree with what Congress wants to do, which means publicly and privately that the United States will no longer work with Prince Mohammed. Or he can oppose everything and try to protect the White House’s relationship with the crown prince.”
According to this expert, both options are potentially high risk. According to Ms. Dunne, cutting ties with the son of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud is an extreme step, but does not mean completely severing diplomatic relations, because Saudi Arabia is not Crown Prince Mohammed and vice versa.
However, the move could change the hierarchy within the Saudi royal family, with unpredictable consequences for the relationship between Riyadh and Washington.
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| Saudi Arabia's assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi puts US President Donald Trump in a difficult position. Photo: Getty |
On the other hand, if President Trump does not criticize Crown Prince Mohammed, the US Congress could take action that would damage bilateral relations, such as freezing arms sales to the Middle Eastern country.
Meanwhile, Suzanne Maloney, an expert at the Brookings Institution, said that Mr. Trump’s current ambivalent attitude also poses risks to bilateral relations, but even a direct public accusation would not be effective. According to this expert, the most optimal solution is to make a clear “behind the scenes” point of view that Saudi Arabia has gone too far./.
