Here’s an astonishing failure by two otherwise excellent New York Times reporters: they wrote a long, valuable analysis about why the U.S. is “standing by” the murderous crown prince of Saudi Arabia — but they only mentioned Israel’s support for him twice.
In a front-page story in today’s paper, David D. Kirkpatrick and Ben Hubbard explain why the kingdom’s de facto leader, 33-year-old Mohammed bin Salman, is in no immediate danger of losing power despite (almost certainly) ordering the murder a month ago of the dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. They report that the U.S. government is continuing to support the crown prince, and that “Major figures in [American] finance signaled that they, too, intended to look past the killing.”
But the de facto Israel-Saudi Arabia alliance is only mentioned in passing. Surely reporters as good as Kirkpatrick and Hubbard could have found high-level sources within both Israel and the U.S. who could have detailed the obvious — that Israel wants Mohammed bin Salman to stay exactly where he is, no matter what brutal crimes he ordered. And in the Trump administration, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has more influence in a U.S. government than he ever has had before.
Today, a full month after Jamal Khashoggi was apparently killed and dismembered in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Netanyahu finally commented publicly on the Khashoggi killing. After a meeting in Bulgaria, he said:
What happened in the Istanbul consulate was horrendous and it should be duly dealt with. Yet at the same time I say it, it is very important for the stability of the world, for the region and for the world, that Saudi Arabia remain stable.”
Meanwhile, Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, published a heartfelt plea in the Washington Post. After some moving personal memories, she challenged the rest of the world, especially the United States:
It is now up to the international community to bring the perpetrators to justice. Of all nations, the United States should be leading the way. The country was founded on the ideals of liberty and justice for all, the First Amendment enshrining the ideals personified by Jamal. But the Trump administration has taken a position that is devoid of moral foundation.
At least the U.S. criticized the killing of her fiancee, even if in the end Trump will not take action. Until today, official Israel said not a word.
Article after article, you can clearly see the New York Times is pro Israel, is biased, and have many journalists who try to portray Israel as the beacon of shining light. They have no credibility when it comes to Israel.
A very appropriate cartoon.
Maybe somebody should ask the paper’s executive editor–when’s the last time it had one who was not obsessed with minding Israel’s store?
Saudis have always had as powerful a lobby among very powerful political entities in the US as israel has had. And at times their lobbying power was superior to Israel. North is too israel-centric to admit this i suspect
And the accompanying cartoonist obviously believes Iran’s meddling in Yemen is strictly humanitarian not geo-strategic, just as their expansion into Iraq Syria Lebanon and Gaza is all about saving lives.
@DaBakr
“Saudis have always had as powerful a lobby among very powerful political entities in the US as israel has had. And at times their lobbying power was superior to Israel”
Examples/names/institutions/dates/policies. please. You know those annoying irritating “entities” known as facts.
It would also help to know when Iran invaded Iraq,Syria,Lebanon and Gaza or anywhere else for that matter. I must have missed the news broadcasts.
Israel’s influence, while mighty, is not the basis for US actions in the Middle East. Control of oil, geography and establishment of military bases determine US policy. Israel and Saudi Arabia are useful tools for the oil and financial monopolies. Israel and the Saudi royals work on behalf of US imperialism. Destroying secular nationalist governments, supporting US friends, invading US enemies, supplying terrorists, assassins, money, weapons. When open aggression by the US needs to be avoided, the US can rely on Israel and the Saudis.
See for example Noam Chomsky:.
Jeff Halper, at the end of a long essay bullets why Israel is so useful to the US. “Israel’s military influence as a point-country for American Empire stems from four main sources:” See