Boz Kaloyanov
The recent murder of Jamal Khashoggi, journalist and dissident against the current Saudi Arabian regime, is the latest in a long line of politically-motivated killings that the United States has done nothing about.
Khashoggi was a famous Saudi journalist that recently fled to the US after falling out of favor with the ruling family. On a recent trip to Turkey, Khashoggi was killed. The Saudi government claims that this was not a state-sanctioned operation, but the Turkish president personally took a hardline stance saying the opposite. He claims to have an audio recording of Khashoggi’s murder as proof.
Khashoggi’s death is a perfect example of the suppression of free speech and the press in the Middle East, but there is another issue: the US’s lack of a serious response. This is perfectly outlined by what Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law of President Trump, said during a CNN interview. He was asked whether he trusts an investigation by Saudi Arabia into the matter.
“Once those facts come in, the secretary of state will work with our national security team to help us determine what we want to believe and what we think is credible and what we think is not credible,” Kushner said.
Does Kushner not realize how ludicrous “what we want to believe” sounds? No statement more clearly shows how the US is handling this crisis: with a lack of moral integrity, and a clear focus on economic and diplomatic gains. Saudi Arabia may be a valuable economic ally, but they are also notorious for silencing dissidents. As someone involved in journalism, the US’s seemingly indifferent stance worries me.
Sadly, this is not just representative of this current administration. The US government’s record has been one of preventing justice in the Middle East for some time now. For example, President Obama intervened in the pardoning of a Yemeni journalist who exposed the US’s involvement in a bombing of a region of Yemen that killed over 30 innocent people.
Our district’s own representative, David Price, sits on the House Appropriations Committee, and more specifically the Homeland Security, and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittees, the latter of which he is a ranking member. He has not issued any official comment at all on Khasshogi’s murder, and this lack of a statement reflects very poorly on him as a representative of the first amendment, especially during an election year.
I’m glad to hear that North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is open to action even against the Crown Prince. However, Richard Burr, North Carolina’s other Senator, has not said anything significant on the matter, and neither has Mark Meadows, our state’s representative from the 11th district and member of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for dealing with matters like this.
Other congressmen across the country have made statements condemning the murder, but I’m afraid nothing more will happen. Khashoggi’s death presented an opportunity for the US to stand up for principles of freedom and fairness. Saudi Arabia may be our ally, but they should not be exempt from investigation.
It is absolutely hypocritical for our representatives to stand idly by as innocent people are slain. We should ask more of our congressmen, or else we are no better than the autocratic, repressive regimes we have historically rallied and fought against.