Donald Trump puts Saudi alliance first over Khashoggi killing

Donald Trump has bluntly dismissed calls to punish Saudi Arabia for its killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

‘Very simply it is called America First!’: Donald Trump with wife Melania and son Barron at the White House yesterday. Picture: AP

Donald Trump has bluntly dismissed calls to punish Saudi Arabia for its killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying a strong alliance with the kingdom is more important.

In one of the clearest examples of his “America First” approach to foreign policy, the US President cited jobs, the fight against Iran and oil prices as ­reasons to keep backing the alliance.

In a strongly worded statement punctuated by exclamation marks, Mr Trump said he came to no conclusion about whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman knew about the plot to murder the dissident journalist.

The was despite the CIA’s ­reported findings that there was a “high probability” that the prince ordered his killing.

Yesterday the President said the CIA did not have any “definitive” conclusion about who ­ordered Khashoggi’s death.

“King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vigorously deny any knowledge of the planning or execution of the murder of Mr Khashoggi,” Mr Trump said.

“Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!

“That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr Jamal Khash­oggi. In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran. The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region. It is our paramount goal to fully eliminate the threat of terrorism throughout the world!”

Mr Trump’s statement came after he was briefed by the CIA on the death of Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents after he ­entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

In the statement which began with the words “America First”, the President highlighted the role Saudi Arabia played in combating Iran’s influence in the Middle East, including terrorism.

“The world is a very dangerous place,” Mr Trump said. “The country of Iran, as an example, is ­responsible for a bloody proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, trying to destabilise Iraq’s fragile attempt at democracy, supporting the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon, propping up dictator Bashar Assad in Syria (who has killed millions of his own citizens), and much more.”

He said Saudi Arabia was active in Yemen only because Iran was active there and that Riyadh had agreed to spend billions of dollars fighting radical Islamic ­extremism.

Mr Trump said any sanctions against Saudi Arabia would punish only Americans and would gift large defence contracts to China and Russia.

“After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the kingdom agreed to spend and ­invest $US450 billion in the United States. If we foolishly cancel these contracts, Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries — and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!”

The President acknowledged his decision would attract criticism in congress where many have called for Saudi Arabia to be punished for Khashoggi’s murder.

“I understand there are members of congress who, for political or other reasons, would like to go in a different direction — and they are free to do so,” he said. “I will consider whatever ideas are presented to me, but only if they are consistent with the absolute security and safety of America.”

Mr Trump described the crime against Khashoggi as “a terrible one” that the US did not condone, and said the US had already imposed sanctions on 17 people involved in the killing. But in the end, he said, America’s broader interests required that the alliance with Saudi Arabia not be damaged. “As President of the United States I ­intend to ensure that, in a very dangerous world, America is pursuing its national interests and vigorously contesting countries that wish to do us harm. Very simply it is called America First!”

His comments were backed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said: “It’s a mean, nasty world out there, the Middle East in particular. It is the President’s obligation and indeed the State Department’s duty as well to ­ensure that we adopt policy that furthers America’s national security. So as the President said today, the United States will continue to have a relationship with Saudi Arabia.”