Sunday, October 21, 2018

Hey, Mohammad, Habeas Corpus


Habeas Corpus
"Produce the Body"

The Saudi government's lies about how they murdered Jamal Khashoggi put Trump to shame.  One explanatory scenario has given way to another in blurring succession. They just cannot get their story straight.

Supposedly it was the unfortunate outcome when Khashoggi and some loyal son of Saud resorted to fisticuffs inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey. A spontaneous thing. Couldn't be helped. Most unfortunate.

Who you gonna trust? My money is on David Hirst who cut his teeth on all things Middle Eastern when he was sent to Egypt and Cyprus as a conscript (national service) in the 50s.  In the 60s he became the Guardian correspondent for the Middle East until 1997, staying on as a contributor until 2013. The Arabs don't like him. The Israelis don't like him. He's been banned from various Arab states six times and kidnapped twice. If you want the real skinny on the underpinnings of the endless Arab-Israeli conflict and you're ready to work for it, his book, "The Gun and the Olive Branch," is a must-read. When it comes to Western journalists and the Middle East, Hirst is the "pro from Dover."

Hirst maintains Turkish tape recordings suggest that Khashoggi died of repeated stab wounds as he was thrown across a large table inside the consulate. He says one of the team of 15-Saudis flown in for the murder was a doctor known for his dissection skills. This doctor, apparently, sliced and diced Khashoggi into manageable chunks that were then hauled away and buried.

Another interesting point raised by Hirst is that the consulate's Turkish staff were sent home for the day 45 minutes before Khashoggi was to arrive. That one doesn't square very well with the 'spontaneous fist fight' narrative.

The Saudi government's blundering excuses are incredible, unbelievable. Any cop knows that, when a murder suspect begins shifting his story, you can assume he dunnit, especially when none of the stories comports with the facts.

If Mohammad bin Salman wants off the hook, he has to produce Khashoggi's body. Whether intact or in pieces, the corpse has to be autopsied. Until then, the crown prince cannot claim the presumption of innocence.




5 comments:

the salamander said...

.. any coherent, rational homa sapiens aside from Donald Trump or his family.. would presume Khashoggi's fiancee would have also accidently died in the 'fistfight' that accidently choked or dismembered him or encouraged him exit the consulate.. knives, wire cutters, tin snips and bone saws that have beheaded you are prone to cause suffocation.. with all respect, suffocation is ensured via beheading.

Again.. I would like to stress.. there is not an attempt here at humor or sarcasm. We don't know the extent of anger against Khashoggi or what murderous 'retribution' and violent treatment was dictated by the higher ups.. but the path of lies is ludicrous.. though 'credible' to Donald Trump.. who now is changing his buffoonery to mabe not so credible.. I dunno.. now he's 'suspicious' there may be some deception at play..

That's the state of American 'politics' that was so intent on ensuring Mohhamed bin Salam took over as Crown Prince.. 'our boy' as Trump crowed to his insider crowd back then during the palace revolt.. Regardless.. no body ? Then the Saudis and anyone who stand by them, don't have a shred of credibility, no leg to stand on whatsoverer. They proved how primitive, ignorant & arrogant they are, no matter if Harvard or Oxford educated.. and kazillionares.. a perfect fit for wannabe billionaire but minor league bottom feeder Trump.

Hate to suggest it possible, but a stray high explosive Harpoon missile or two that went astray in Riyadh & Washington & land in a deserted courtyard or rose garden might startle a few dirtbag thugs to mend their ways.. and/or find new digs elsewhere

Northern PoV said...

As in the long awaited pursuit of tRump....

Politics is likely to take precedence over the rule of law when it comes to MBS.

If the world really cared, the war crimes against Yemen and Gaza would be a much bigger problem (than a single murder) for the Israeli-Saudi-American axis of evil.

That said, this seem to have provided a damper on the plan to screw Iran.

Jay Farquharson said...

The "Quiet Genius's" "Middle East Peace Plan" was to let Israel take over the West Bank and Gaza and expell the Palestinians and Beduins. Sawdi Arabia's role was to prevent Arab Governments from responding militarially, and to pay for the refugee camps.

When the Sawdi Prince Mohammed Bone Saw pushed his senile Dad aside and all but took the bloody Crown, US Intelligence Communities prepared analysis and lists of other Royals, Officials and Dissidents who would be opposed to having Mohammed Bone Saw in charge and his agenda. That information was included in the Presidential Daily Briefs, which Prince Jared was intensely interested in.

Having used his position as Prince Jared to try to get bail out money from the Petty Kingdoms for his bankrupt properties, Prince Jared owed Prince Mohammed Bone Saw big time, so he leaked those lists to the Prince, in the hopes of closing the deal on a sudden trip to the Kingdom of Sawdi Arabia.

Prince Mohammed Bone Saw boasted about it to his BFF's.

In his late night Bromance chats with Prince Mohammed Bone Saw, Prince Mohammed Bone Saw was whining about the mean Journalist Kashoggi who was out of his reach in America, and Prince Jared said, " why don't you just lure him to a Consulate, kidnap him, torture him, and murder him, like you guys have to so many times before?"

Prince Mohammed Bone Saw said, "But we can't, he's almost American, the fall out will be "yoouge"!. ( a shout out to Prince Jared's real Daddy, not the fake one in jail.)

Prince Jared replied that between the over $20 billion dollars the House of Sawed spends in the US buying Politicians and Media every year, The Insane Clown POSus belief that the $120 billion dollar arms deal is real, and that Republicans are now fine with radical Islamic Muslims chopping the heads off kidnapped prisoners, everything will be okay, and nobody will know.

Once the shit hit the fan, Prince Jared and Prince Mohammed Bone Saw continued their late night chats,

How do we spin this?

Can we blame Turkey?

Can we say he was fine when he left the Embassy?

Can we say it was rogue elements?

Can we say it was accidental or suicide by bone saw?

Can we say it was self defence? Does the Kingdom of Sawdi Arabia have a "stand your ground law" or "castle doctrine"?

Can we spin it that he was a dangerous Sawdi terrorist, worse than his BFF Bin Laden and the real super double secret Evil Mastermind behind 9/11.

And at the end of each call, Prince Jared and Prince Mohammed Bone Saw made kissy kissy noises to mimic the tradition of cheek kissing, rubbed their glowing orbs for a few minutes, and said goodnight, one to go to sleep, the other to start their busy busy day of ordering head choppings, whippings, stonings and crucifixions. ( time zone differences, doncha know!)

And about 28 different Nations Intelligence Communities have the tapes, not just Turkey, Israel and the USA

Purple library guy said...

You know what they say: One lie is always more convincing than fifteen lies, or whatever number MBS has reached by now.
Somehow it doesn't seem to apply to Trump, I think because none of his partisans care whether anything he says has any kind of factual connection to external reality, the point is to sort of convey an attitude.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps they think it will confuse Trump...and I think it is...Anyong