Saudis plan to make us forget about Khashoggi before 2020 election

[Tanuki]

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jamal-khashoggi-trump-saudi-crown-prince-us-election-a9104306.html

"The hideous cruelty of the murder and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi death squad almost a year ago still jumps from the pages of the latest apparent transcript of the conversation between his killers as they wait for him to arrive at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

“Is it possible to put the body in a bag?” enquires Lieutenant-Colonel Maher Mutreb, a leader of the operation and a senior member of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s team of bodyguards. He later asks if “the animal to be sacrificed” has arrived at the consulate.
....

As the first anniversary of the Khashoggi murder approaches in a few weeks’ time, Saudi Arabia is desperate for the impact of the crime to fade and for the kingdom to escape the pariah status it has earned in the eyes of many across the world.

The crown prince is, above all else, eager to make sure that the murder of Khashoggi is not an issue when the US presidential campaign gets under way. President Trump’s close relationship with the Saudi leader will make Trump highly vulnerable to attacks by the Democratic candidate during the election. Again and again, Trump has gone out of his way to protect his Saudi ally over bi-partisan criticism from Congress over Khashoggi, US arms supplies and the war in Yemen."...(more)

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt