ASSESSMENTS

Why Saudi Arabia Can't Escape Jamal Khashoggi

Oct 2, 2019 | 17:48 GMT

People hold posters depicting murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a candlelit vigil outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 25, 2018.

People hold posters depicting murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a candlelit vigil outside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 25, 2018. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman won't find it easy to avoid calls for justice over Khashoggi's death.

(YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Saudi Arabia has lost its warm relationship with Congress in part because of Khashoggi's killing, meaning new anti-Saudi legislation, sanctions or resolutions will eventually emerge in the legislature.
  • U.S. President Donald Trump will block any anti-Saudi action by Congress for now, but a new human rights outrage or a Democratic victory in 2020 presidential elections could change the White House's willingness or ability to push back against Congress.
  • This means Saudi Arabia remains at risk of U.S. sanctions and anti-Saudi legislation, while activists will boycott and protest some businesses that choose to do business in Saudi Arabia

U.S.-Saudi relations always were a marriage of convenience, but the murder of one man has come to lay bare the gulf in values between Washington and Riyadh. Indeed, one year after Jamal Khashoggi met his end in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the outspoken journalist has become a lasting symbol of the very different ways that the United States and Saudi Arabia view human rights, dissent and political values. And try as he might to limit the damage, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has failed to assuage outrage in the United States, leading to ever-greater calls in Washington, especially in Congress, for the country to reconsider its alliance with the desert kingdom. And given the present White House's support is one of the few factors papering over the cracks in the relationship, Saudi Arabia could be staring at deeper sanctions, fewer arms deals and more boycotts in the future...

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