Washington Post Publisher Shreds Biden’s Handling of Khashoggi: Gave Saudi Arabia ‘One Free Murder’
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Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan unloaded on the Biden administration for failing to take tough action against Saudi Arabia for the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for his paper, saying in a Monday op-ed President Joe Biden gave Saudi Arabia a pass for “one free murder.”
The intelligence community released its assessment last week that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, had ordered Khashoggi’s killing. The assessment was made shortly after Khashoggi’s death but was just released by Biden’s new director of national intelligence, Avril Haines. Ryan noted in his column that Biden, as a candidate for president, promised Saudi Arabia would “pay the price” and that he would make them “the pariah that they are.” He said the promise was a “welcome relief” to Americans who expected Biden to reverse what Ryan called a “pass” for Saudi Arabia from the Trump administration.
However, Ryan said he was now skeptical that Biden would take action, writing, “The Biden administration now seems ready to move on while proposing some sanctions falling far short of honoring Biden’s campaign promise to hold Mohammed accountable. It appears as though under the Biden administration, despots who offer momentarily strategic value to the United States might be given a ‘one free murder’ pass.”
Saudi Arabia, eager to leave the incident in the past, convicted eight people in September of participating in Khashoggi’s murder, giving them prison terms ranging between seven to 20 years. Critics including Khashoggi’s fiancé, Hatice Cengiz, said those convictions were inadequate. “The Saudi authorities are closing the case without the world knowing the truth of who is responsible for Jamal’s murder,” Cengiz said in a statement. “Who planned it, who ordered it, where is his body?”
On Monday, Cengiz said in another powerful statement that failing to “punish” MBS would “endanger us all.” The United States Treasury Department did sanction 18 Saudi nationals for the killing in 2018, and since Biden took office, the White House has promised to “recalibrate” the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia. But Ryan argued those measures were inadequate and said they would not be effective in deterring similar incidents in the future unless Biden took action against MBS.
“The man whom Biden described as a ‘pariah’ is about to escape personal liability for a murder he ordered as we offer diplomatic-speak about ‘recalibration’ rather than insist on accountability,” Ryan wrote. “As other tyrants in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world watch Mohammed escape without personal consequence for his brutal behavior, not only is his hand strengthened but the others become emboldened to do the same.
“At this crucial moment, Biden and his team have the opportunity to send a strong message to our allies and to our enemies that they will stand up for American values,” he added. “This is not a time to show weakness and surrender on human rights to gain the support of a leader who is an increasing threat to regional stability. To the contrary, it is an essential time to show the world that enduring American values matter more than commercial and diplomatic short-term opportunities — and bring justice for Jamal.”
