\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThe Trump Administration is drawing closer to admitting it:\u00a0 Muhammad bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, ordered the brutal butchering and murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Turkish Consulate in Istanbul.\u00a0 The evidence has been mounting; from the Turkish audio of the murder (too \u201churtful\u201d for the President to listen to,) to the advice of the \u201cforensic expert\u201d (wear headphones to drown out the screams,) to the CIA\u2019s report with highest confidence that bin Salman ordered the deed.<\/p>\n
The execution puts the United States in a difficult position.\u00a0 The Administration has placed its prized foreign policy goals, protecting Israel and isolating Iran, squarely with the Saudis.\u00a0 From President Trump\u2019s first foreign visit to the Kingdom, replete with sword dances and mystic ball ceremonies; the Trumps\u2019 have placed their individual trust as well as that of the nation, on our friend, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
In addition, the Trump Administration played a small hand in choosing the next king of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman.\u00a0 The young prince, thirty-one years old, out maneuvered thirty-four relatives with a claim to the throne.\u00a0 Quietly supporting him:\u00a0 a \u201cprince\u201d of the American Presidential family, thirty-seven year old Presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.\u00a0 Kushner spent the week with bin Salman just before the Prince consolidated his power by imprisoning his rivals for the throne.\u00a0 It\u2019s reasonable to assume bin Salman acted with the tacit consent of the White House.<\/p>\n
So the Trumps have invested, staking their plan for Middle East order on Muhammad bin Salman.\u00a0 They have even been willing to accept bin Salman\u2019s ugly war in Yemen, fighting elements of al Qaeda while starving and killing civilians.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just about saving face, or even loyalty.\u00a0 It\u2019s about the plain thinking of the President of the United States.\u00a0 The \u201crap\u201d on Trump is that he is transactional; every decision is based on a \u201cbalance sheet\u201d with the benefits determined in \u201creal\u201d terms:\u00a0 in this case, dollars.\u00a0 Long term US moral standing in the world doesn\u2019t have a line item on the balance sheet, therefore, it isn\u2019t taken into consideration.<\/p>\n
I take the President at his word when he says that he won\u2019t denounce the Crown Prince.\u00a0 Trump claims hundred of thousands of jobs and $450 billion worth of contracts are at stake.\u00a0 Those tangible items completely outweigh his concern for the morality of Saudi actions.\u00a0 The President has accepted the word of the Saudis:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an unacceptable and horrible crime. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nHe did have the Treasury Department sanction seventeen Saudi citizens, including several with direct connection to the Prince, for the murder of Khashoggi.\u00a0 But those sanctioned, and those that are being held for murder by the Saudi government, look to be the \u201cunderlings\u201d who followed orders; orders that could only have come from the Prince.\u00a0 The CIA has reached the same conclusion, but the President denies that outcome.<\/p>\n
So what lesson are we teaching the world about current US behavior?\u00a0 What are the Russians, and the North Koreans, and the Turks and Filipinos and the other nations governed by authoritarian regimes learning?\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not about morality, right or wrong; it\u2019s about the cash value of the offending nation in pure dollar and cents terms.<\/p>\n
So what if President Trump is overvaluing the future Saudi contracts by $300 billion (the actual number is closer to $110 billion.)\u00a0 So what if he exaggerates the number of US jobs to be created by multiple thousands.\u00a0He knows there\u2019s money in Saudi, and he can read a balance sheet.\u00a0 He wants it to stay that way, regardless of the moral cost.<\/p>\n
The President is treating Muhammad bin Salman the same way he treated Scott Pruitt at the EPA and Mike Flynn as National Security Advisor.\u00a0 Yes they may be violating some “policies”, but they are doing a \u201cgreat job.\u201d\u00a0Bin Salman, well he may have gotten carried away with Khashoggi, but he\u2019s really doing fine in dealing with the US.<\/p>\n
Maybe money can\u2019t buy love for Paul McCartney and the Beatles, but it sure can buy the President.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe don\u2019t care too much \u2018bout murder, \u2018cause money will buy his love.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Money Can Buy My Love Yep, I altered a Beatles title!\u00a0 – To make it up \u2013 here\u2019s the boys:\u00a0 Money Can\u2019t Buy Me Love\u00a0 The Trump Administration is drawing closer to admitting it:\u00a0 Muhammad bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, ordered the brutal butchering and murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Turkish Consulate … Continue reading “Money Can Buy My Love”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMoney Can Buy My Love : Our America - 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