Daily Times

For anyone who has not been under a rock for the past few days – they probably must have heard of the news that has been making the rounds: The Saudis have done something only the Saudis could do. Yet despite their prolific history of blatant human rights abuses, it seems this time the Saudis have out done their own selves and taken it a step too far – or have they? Perhaps in this world where money rules – no step is too far for the Saudis.

For those who follow things closely the Saudi government’s dismal record on human rights issues is a well-documented fact. But this time it seems surreal, if the reports are true – which it seems they probably are because there is only smoke where there is fire – the Saudis in their operation to assassinate Jamal Khashoggi with the bone saws, assassins and jets have replicated in real life a script that can perhaps serve as a screen play for the next Quentin Tarantino movie.

When Journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey he didn’t know that what awaited him was his own death. That his fate was to be killed, cut up into pieces and transported into the oblivion of history. Or so at least it is what the Saudis thought – you see the Saudi government has such a dismal record of showing blatant disrespect to human rights that perhaps it hardly crossed their mind that there could be an international backlash. This brazen disregard for international norms is not new to Saudi Arabia, what has changed however is that it now has a new face. A face that likes to be in the limelight, a face on which one can see the zenith of humanly possible arrogance and the expression of invincibility– that face is of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as his friends in the West like to call him.

The good chances are that the Saudis will get away with this once more – but in his death Jamal Khashoggi has achieved what perhaps he couldn’t in his life. Perhaps now Mohammed bin Salman and his agents would think twice before taking such a step.

There is no doubt that the US and Israel like Mohammed bin Salman. But if he was to be this reckless in his pursuit for power – the chances are that unless he gets his head straight the centers of power might lose their patience with this this flashy prince who likes to pose for Time Magazine. The Saudi royal family is huge – there are other players involved too, some of which behind their smiling faces are fuming at being locked up in Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh.

In his death Jamal Khashoggi has achieved what perhaps he couldn’t in his life. Perhaps now Mohammed bin Salman and his agents would think twice before taking such a step

But one thing is for sure, once the MBS gets some time off from bombing Yemen, expelling diplomats and detaining other countries’ Prime Ministers – he seriously needs to go ahead and fire the person who planned and executed the assassination operation of Jamal Khashoggi. For because one doesn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the assassins took the same jets, flew the same day and took in a bone saw hoping to get away without anyone noticing on hostile Turkish soil.

For now, what’s done is done. Jamal Khashoggi is no more. MBS still stands and once the clamor on TV and social media has had time to dissipate, things will go back to normal. But perhaps there are a few whispers being echoed here and there that in hindsight may prove to be critical.

The writer is Graduate Student at Cornell University in the US, he can be reached at rr698@cornell.edu

Published in Daily Times, October 24^th 2018.