The Foreign Service Journal, November 2018

14 NOVEMBER 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Saudi Journalist Disappears in Istanbul T he disappearance and possible mur- der of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, is bringing renewed attention to U.S.-Saudi relations. Mr. Khashoggi, a legal U.S. resident, went to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain paperwork he needed for his upcoming nuptials to a Turk- ish citizen, Hatice Cengiz. But he never came out. The Washington Post reported on Oct. 11 that the Turks claim to have audio recordings of Khashoggi being interro- gated, tortured and murdered inside the consulate while his fiancée waited for him outside. Turkey agreed on Oct. 11 to a request by Saudi Arabia to form a joint com- mittee to probe what happened to Khashoggi. It is unclear whether the United States will join that committee. In an Oct. 11 op-ed in The Washington Post , Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) called on the United States to use the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Account- ‘Thank you very much. We’ll buy it from China.’ That doesn’t help us—not when it comes to jobs and not when it comes to our companies losing out on that work.” Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance also raises questions about just how tough the administration is willing to be on Saudi Arabia, a close ally. The president’s first overseas trip was to the Kingdom and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is known to be close to the presi- dent’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The incident has also shined a light on the fact that the United States still does not have ambassadors in place in either Saudi Arabia or Turkey. An Oct. 10 press briefing grew contentious whe n State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino was asked by a reporter to name the ambassadors to Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Foreign Policy quoted the evasive answers given by Palladino, who seem ed unwilling to admit that not only do we not have ambassadors in either of these two important countries, but no names have even been put forward for confir- mation. Cars are parked outside of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 13 as the waiting continued after the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (inset). ARIFHUDAVERDIYAMAN/ANADOLUAGENCY/GETTY IMAGES ability Act to punish any Saudi citizens or political leaders found to have been involved in the alleged murder of Mr. Khashoggi. A bipartisan group of senators asked President Trump on Oct. 10 to trigger the act, which would give the president 120 days to decide whether to impose sanctions on any specific individuals involved with the journalist’s disappear- ance. However, in her Oct. 11 press briefing, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert pushed back, saying: “I under- stand that Congress may be interested in that, in a Global Magnitsky investigation, but we don’t know the facts of this case just yet. So I think they’re getting ahead of themselves at this point.” The Magnitsky Act allows for targeted sanctions against specific individu- als, rather than countrywide sanctions, such as halting arms sales, which the president has said he would not con- sider. The Washington Post on Oct. 11 quoted Trump as saying: “If we don’t sell it to them, they’ll say, ‘Well, thank you very much. We’ll buy it from Russia.’ Or BYALFAGIHATARABICWIKIPEDIA