# Saudi Arabia killed journalist **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 26, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837 "2021-02-26T19:11:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/1 "2021-02-26T19:11:49Z")
> **[US intelligence report finds Saudi Crown Prince responsible for approving...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/26/politics/biden-administration-khashoggi-report/index.html)** > > The US intelligence report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi says that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman approved the operation to capture or kill the Saudi journalist. and nothing will happen to them at all due to oil. They could kill 100 journalists on live TV and nothing will change. They don’t give a damn what anyone thinks. Gotta keep that oil price low! Maybe if the US did not import oil things might change, BTW most people don’t know the largest source of imported oil to the US is from Canada. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/2 "2021-02-26T19:28:01Z")
That’s not really news. Nor is the fact that powerful sovereign states can do what they wish even including apparently genocide. What would you recommend be done? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/3 "2021-02-26T19:30:33Z")
The U.S. is actually a net petroleum _exporter_, although it is still a net _crude_ oil importer. Still, the fact that the U.S. imports oil isn’t the issue. Oil exists in a highly (though not entirely) globalized market. Saudi Arabia is a “swing” producer and has outsized influence on global oil prices; even if the U.S. didn’t import a drop of Saudi oil, SA would still have a lot of influence on oil prices in the U.S., and maybe more importantly, prices for key U.S. allies and trade partners like Japan. Beyond that, Saudi Arabia is also in a key strategic position. It’s wealthy, a giant relative to other Gulf Arab states, right across a narrow gulf from Iran, next door to Iraq, with Syria, Israel, Egypt (and the Suez Canal), and the Horn of Africa all quite nearby. Not to mention being the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” (in Mecca and Medina). It’s also (relatively) stable and (relatively) friendly to the U.S., in a highly unstable region with a _lot_ of regimes and populations that don’t like the U.S. very much, to put it mildly. None of this is to say that the U.S. _should_ treat the Saudis with kid gloves. I _personally_ think the U.S. long-term relationship with the House of Saud has on balance been more costly than it’s been worth even in terms of realpolitik, and it’s been downright disastrous morally. It’s just that there’s a little more to the U.S. often turning a blind eye to their excesses and crimes than oil imports. ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/4 "2021-02-26T19:47:21Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > That’s not really news It is news, however, that the US has _officially_ implicated a member of the royal family in the murder. This will come, most likely, with Mohammed bin Salman losing his diplomatic status here. You’re right in that there will be no “real” consequences. But, a nation officially calling out another on a murder, is a big deal for the relationship of those two countries. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/5 "2021-02-26T19:49:47Z")
Biden already said nothing will happen. He will keep licking their boots and bowing and scraping Just like all previous presidents. I guess Syria is sorry they don’t have oil ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/6 "2021-02-26T20:12:02Z")
Iraq and Libya had oil. That didn’t do Saddam Hussein or Mu’ammar al-Qadhdhafi much good in the end. Iran has oil, which helped the Shah, but doesn’t seem to have done much for the Islamic Republic’s relationship with the U.S. And Syria actually [does have oil.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry_in_Syria#:~:text=Syria's%20known%20oil%20reserves%20are,per%20day%20of%20crude%20oil.) Oil is definitely a key factor in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, but it really, truly, isn’t the be-all, end-all. And just “having oil” _definitely_ does not automatically make U.S. presidents “bow and scrape” and “lick the boots” of rulers in the region. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/7 "2021-02-26T20:33:16Z")
Reminds me that a while back a Saudi was at Duke Hospital for surgery and they rented 10 rooms for 1 guy. And they parked their big Mercedes with diplomatic plates right by the front door in the no parking zone. I saw the cars . Bowing and scraping was probably going on. Iraq and Libya were no longer friendly to the US so the US went in and installed new people. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/8 "2021-02-26T20:42:26Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Iraq and Libya were no longer friendly to the US so the US went in and installed new people. Iraq, yes. Although that has not worked out particularly well for the U.S. (pro-Iranian factions remain powerful). Libya, not so much. The U.S. didn’t install _anyone_ after Qadhdhafi was killed. Libya might be better off if it had. Instead, Libya’s been mired in a seemingly endless multi-sided civil war for the last decade, with the U.S. mostly washing its hands of the whole mess and _not_ intervening, much less getting that sweet, sweet oil. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/9 "2021-02-26T20:44:14Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Biden already said nothing will happen. He will keep licking their boots and bowing and scraping Just like all previous presidents. I guess Syria is sorry they don’t have oil Not really. More like as long as the Saudi’s keep buying our weapons we’ll look the other way on their less savory moves." ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/10 "2021-02-26T20:46:16Z")
MBS is a SOB but he’s our SOB ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/11 "2021-02-26T21:27:19Z")
For now. Until he’s not, and funds a terrorist attack against us. That’s often how these things work out. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/12 "2021-02-26T22:35:01Z")
15 of 19 9/11 hijackers were from SA. and OBL was Saudi. I wonder where they got their money? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/13 "2021-02-26T23:31:30Z")
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were from the Great Plains. Does that mean that they were funded by Warren Buffett? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/14 "2021-02-26T23:38:19Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were from the Great Plains. Does that mean that they were funded by Warren Buffett?.. I mean, I didn’t think that before, but now you’ve put it out there… is there a Rule 34 for conspiracy theories? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/15 "2021-02-26T23:41:40Z")
Wasn’t this murder a terrorist act? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/16 "2021-02-26T23:45:20Z")
McVeigh was from NY and Nichols from Michigan. Don’t think they are great plains states ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/17 "2021-02-27T00:08:28Z")
Well, you’ve got me there. Clearly McVeigh was receiving funding from the Rockefellers and Nichols from the Ford family. Given the sheer size of the Saudi royal family, it’s pretty much a statistical certainty that al-Qaeda received some funding from some Saudi royal. What’s the evidence that Muhammad bin Salman funded the 9/11 attacks? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/18 "2021-02-27T00:18:16Z")
> **[Alleged Saudi government role in the September 11 attacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleged_Saudi_role_in_September_11_attacks)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > > Since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, allegations of Saudi government involvement in the attacks have been made, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) regularly denying such claims. The 2004 Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States "found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded Al Qaeda" to conspire in the attacks, o... ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/19 "2021-02-27T00:29:39Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were from the Great Plains. Does that mean that they were funded by Warren Buffett? Naah. Just by ordinary Texans. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837/20 "2021-02-27T00:31:58Z")
Yes, there is evidence that mid-level Saudi officials had ties to al-Qaeda, and may have been involved in preparations for the 9/11 attacks. The Saudi government probably had higher level involvement in the 80s and 90s with al-Qaeda or at least Usama bin Ladin and elements of the Afghan mujahideen that would later become al-Qaeda. But so did the U.S. government. What’s the evidence for direct involvement of _Muhammad bin Salman_, or official involvement by the Saudi government, in the 9/11 attacks? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saudi-arabia-killed-journalist/933837.md?page=2)