Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Esenboğa International Airport in Ankara, Turkey November 17, 2018.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Wednesday, again offered U.S. assistance in Turkey's investigation into the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S. State Department said.
"The Secretary also expressed the United States' concern over Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance," the department said in a statement following their meeting.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday met the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the capital Ankara.
President Erdoğan, US’ Pompeo meet in Ankara
Whitewashing the disappearance and possible killing of a Saudi journalist “won’t be easy,” even for the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, wrote a Washington Post columnist Wednesday.“Putting a lid on a murder investigation won’t be easy, even for the brashly confident crown prince,” wrote Post columnist David Ignatius in "MBS’s rampaging anger will not silence questions about Jamal Khashoggi," a piece harshly critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, called MBS in the piece.Khashoggi, also a columnist for the Washington Post, is feared killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after he entered on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.Chinese daily slams approach of US over Khashoggi caseAs the “brave journalist” Khashoggi entered the consulate, he also started a “catastrophic process” which put Salman’s “own future in question,” wrote Ignatius.“Surrounded by yes-men who saw suppressing dissent as part of a media war, and rattled by the reversal of his dreams for economic reform, MBS moved toward the fateful moment when Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul,” he wrote.“The darkening mood inside MBS’s palace in recent months shows a crown prince facing economic pressure and tightening his circle of advisers,” Ignatius added.Turkey hopes to enter Saudi consul’s residence on Wednesday: FMSaud al-Qahtani, Salman’s media advisor, is also increasingly his “consigliere in the kingdom’s battles with foreign adversaries such as Qatar and Iran as well as domestic critics.”“U.S. officials believe that, in addition to seeking dominance in social media, Qahtani and other advisers have helped MBS use the latest and most aggressive hacking techniques against adversaries,” he said, adding that Qahtani urged Saudi to report “enemies of the kingdom” on his Twitter account, which has 1.3 million followers.“MBS’s tight inner circle has helped him push modernization efforts, such as reducing the power of the religious police, allowing women to drive and opening movie theaters and other public entertainment. But his team of palace advisers has often amplified, rather than challenged, the crown prince’s worst impulses,” he said.US senator blasts Trump over Khashoggi caseThe crown prince “went into a funk for several days after learning of Khashoggi’s death before re-emerging on a rampage of anger around what happened and trying to figure out a response," Ignatius said, citing an anonymous “knowledgeable source.”On Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials searched the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe into the disappearance.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.Israel using Saudi statements on Khashoggi: OfficialFive Khashoggi suspects linked to crown prince: NY TimesRecordings reveal Khashoggi tortured then dismembered while still alive
Prince Salman can't quash murder probe: Wasington Post column
Some of America’s most highly trained soldiers hired by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed have worked on mercenary missions to kill prominent leaders as well as politicians in the Middle East, according to a BuzzFeed News report.According to reports, United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, also known as MBZ, hired the Delaware-based U.S. mercenary company Spear Operations Group to kill particularly Yemeni leaders, including clerics, politicians, and religious figures.Investigative U.S. journalist Aram Roston, who focuses on reporting about military contracting, published a long list of United Arab Emirates-led assassinations and revealed the photos of the murder squad.Some of the hitmen are said to be a former U.S. Green Berets, former Navy SEALs, a former worker for the CIA’s “ground branch,” and a Special Forces sergeant in the Maryland Army National Guard.Mohammed Dahlan is the mediator Mohammed Dahlan, the former security chief for the Palestinian Authority who is also known as the “hitman” of the Middle East, was the main mediator between the UAE government and the assassination squad. He first called former U.S. Navy SEAL Isaac Gilmore and Abraham Golan to gather at a lunch meeting at a military base in the UAE’s second most populous city of Abu Dhabi, in 2015.Golan and Gilmore received $1.5 million per month in salary and bonuses, the amount of which they refused to reveal, for successfully assassinating their targets.They also said that the deal included training UAE soldiers in commando tactics.UAE’s targeted assassination program“There was a targeted assassination program in Yemen,” said Abraham Golan, the head of Spear Operations Group, who confessed the crime, but did not specify all the names on the murder list, adding: “I was running it. We did it. It was sanctioned by the UAE within the coalition.”Abraham Golan is a Hungarian Israeli who lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Zayed’s target cardsThe target list of the UAE crown prince was handed to the hit squad with business cards, featuring names, photos, phone numbers, company names and titles.Gilmore stressed MBZ’s own interest and said, “There is the possibility that the target would be someone who MBZ doesn’t like” and the article further stated that “some of the targets may have been people who merely fell out of favor with the ruling family.”The U.S. Department of Defense has approved to the UAE at least $27 billion in arms sales and defense services since 2009.
UAE Crown Prince Zayed’s army of assassins
A Chinese daily criticized the U.S for its “double standards” toward the case of a Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who went missing after entering Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier this month.In an editorial with a headline “Khashoggi case tests Washington’s attitude to human rights,” Global Times said U.S. President Donald Trump promised punishment if the Riyadh’s involvement in Khashoggi's death is confirmed but he doesn't support stopping weapon sales to Saudi Arabia."The crisis has shown how human rights issues are positioned in the diplomatic arena. Killing a journalist for political reasons touches the bottom line of individual rights and causes wide resonance beyond national borders,” the daily wrote."The price it (Saudi Arabia) will pay depends on whether the Trump administration will let it off the hook for the sake of US commercial interests and geopolitical calculations," it is said.Turkey hopes to enter Saudi consul’s residence on Wednesday: FMKhashoggi has long been feared killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after he entered on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.On the same day, 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while Khashoggi was still inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of Khashoggi’s fate, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S. and the U.K. -- have expressed their desire that the matter should be elucidated as soon as possible.The daily compared the approach of the West toward missing Saudi journalist and former Russian agent Sergei Skripal's poisoning in the U.K. in March.It said the Western countries -- led by the Britain -- took an immediate action against Russia by expelling Russian diplomats after former Russian agent Sergei Skripal got poisoned in the city of Salisbury in early 2018, but there were very few denunciations from the West against Saudi Arabia upon Khashoggi's disappearance."Now Western public opinion is much angrier toward Saudi Arabia. Spontaneous boycotts quickly took place. But in contrast, fewer denunciations come from the Western governments and no country is taking the lead in punishing Saudi Arabia," the newspaper added.Saudi consul general leaves Turkey for RiyadhSergei Skripal and his daughter were admitted to a hospital after being found unconscious on March 4 in the English city of Salisbury. They have both since been discharged.Police officer Bailey, who was among the first to respond to the incident, also received treatment after being poisoned.Sergei Skripal was granted refuge in the U.K. following a 2010 spy exchange between the U.S. and Russia. Before the exchange, he had been serving a 13-year prison term for leaking information to British intelligence.The British government has claimed that in the most debated incident in Salisbury last March, two Russian military intelligence agents who were identified as Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov used a banned nerve agent called novichok targeting former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.Leading US senator accuses Saudi prince of ordering Khashoggi killingEvidence found in Saudi consulate proving Khashoggi was killed there
Chinese daily slams approach of US over Khashoggi case
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said he hopes that the residence of Saudi Arabia's consul general will be searched on Wednesday."The search of the Saudi consul general residence did not happen on Tuesday due to claims of the family's presence, but the team hopes to enter today," Çavuşoğlu said.Following permission for a search of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkish and Saudi officials are to search the residence of the Saudi consul concerning the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Spain 'concerned' on case of missing Saudi journalistAmid the ongoing investigation of Khashoggi however, Saudi Arabia's Consul General in Istanbul Mohammad al-Otaibi left Turkey for Riyadh on Tuesday.Khashoggi has long been feared killed at the consulate after he entered the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.On the same day, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Five Khashoggi suspects linked to crown prince: NY TimesRecordings reveal Khashoggi tortured then dismembered while still aliveTurkey, U.S. are “on the same page on lifting sanctions”Speaking from the airport in Ankara, Çavuşoğlu said talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were "beneficial and fruitful." Pompeo was on a brief visit to Turkey after having met with the Saudi king, crown prince and foreign minister in Riyadh on Tuesday.Çavuşoğlu said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Pompeo Turkey could easily clear northern Syria's Manbij of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) if Washington failed to do so.The YPG is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.MoU between Turkey, Russia on Idlib ‘being implemented’The foreign minister added that the U.S. “accepts there is a delay in implementing the Manbij roadmap.”The Manbij deal between Turkey and the U.S. focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilize the region, which is in the northeast of Aleppo province in northern Syria.Çavuşoğlu said Turkey and the U.S. “are on same page regarding the lifting of sanctions and other related matters.”US continues to arm PKK terrorists in Syria under the pretext of fighting Daesh
Turkey hopes to enter Saudi consul’s residence on Wednesday: FM
A prominent U.S. senator has blasted U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to the disappearance of a Saudi journalist, suggesting he may be thinking more about his wallet than solving the case."The Saudis bailed out Donald Trump’s failed businesses for years. How much money did he take?” Senator Elizabeth Warren, a likely Democratic Party challenger to Trump seeking a second term, said on Twitter late Tuesday.“What's the going rate to get the President to act as a mouthpiece for a Saudi king? Trump should release his tax returns so we can find out," she added.Spain 'concerned' on case of missing Saudi journalistTrump has suggested that “rogue killers” may be responsible for the presumed death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist who went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. On the same day Khashoggi disappeared, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while was also inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.A joint Turkish-Saudi team has been investigating the disappearance, including through a search of the consulate with Saudi permission.Five Khashoggi suspects linked to crown prince: NY TimesTrump gives Saudi Arabia benefit of doubt in journalist's disappearance'Khashoggi case not only global matter, also a test for Turkish judiciary'Recordings reveal Khashoggi tortured then dismembered while still alive
US senator blasts Trump over Khashoggi case