The military draft is making a comeback in Europe

key reason for the revival of the draft is a changing security situation in Europe, especially after the Russian annexation of Crimea four years ago,” said Elisabeth Braw, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London. “But there’s also an economic argument: It has been very hard to recruit for the armed forces, especially in northern European countries, where the economy is doing well." In some nations, including Germany and France, bringing back mandatory national service for both men and women is also being discussed as a possible way to integrate migrants into increasingly polarized societies. Estonia officially considers its draft as a way to integrate the country’s Russian minority. But in Sweden, the draft is still fundamentally about security. “Our military is not an integration school,” said Ewa Skoog Haslum, the deputy vice chancellor of the Swedish Defense University, The country’s new draft system is highly selective. Out of the nearly 100,000 Swedes who turned 18 this year, recruiters picked only 4,000 men and women to serve. “The conscripts who have just been selected are a lot more skilled than those who joined the previous conscription model that was in place until eight years ago,” said Lars Fresker, a spokesman for the Swedish officers' union. The number of drafted recruits will eventually reach 8,000 a year. Sweden hopes that a high ratio of conscripts will opt for a job in the military later on, but officials emphasized that the training should also benefit those who end up choosing civilian careers. Norway and Finland are pursuing a similar approach, with options specifically tailored for computer programmers or telecommunications specialists. “The Finns don’t waste the time of their conscripts because they try to make the training as useful as possible,” Braw said. The Swedish military says that few recruits object to being drafted. And at Kungsangen, the base where the Swedish military trains most of its draftees, several soldiers agreed that being drafted felt like a positive step. “It’s fun to have a purpose. School was just too relaxed for me. Now, I have a tight schedule, which is a welcome challenge,” said 19-year-old Sally Granditsky, formerly a student at a Stockholm design school. She conceded that she probably would never have joined the military without the draft — “I think I would have been too lazy to apply,” she said — but


Don’t expect companies to strike their tents in Saudi Arabia

to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Early this week, JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon said he would not be attending the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh. Several days later came this report from the New York Times: “Saudi agents were waiting when Jamal Khashoggi walked into their country’s consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago. Mr. Khashoggi was dead within minutes, beheaded, dismembered, his fingers severed, and within two hours the killers were gone, according to details from audio recordings described by a senior Turkish official.” Will that be enough to convince JPMorgan Chase to strike its tent and move out of the desert kingdom? Don’t hold your breath. JPMorgan Saudi Arabia Co. , 100 percent owned by JPMorgan International Finance Limited, does business with banks, Saudi government institutions, large corporate clients and large Saudi family groups. Its board chairman is a member of the Saudi royal family — Prince Mohammed K.A. Al-Faisal . Corporate social responsibility is, for some, only lip service. JPMorgan Chase does not stand alone. McDonalds, which declares as part of its corporate responsibility “Human rights are universal rights that are intrinsic to every human being; they include the right to equality and freedom from discrimination,” bows to Saudi customs and maintains sections in its restaurants for men only and separate sections exclusively reserved for families (women and children); single, unrelated men and women can’t sit together and eat a Big Mac. Mickey D’s devotion to the crown prince prompted the Saudi Arabian franchise of the fast-food giant to take out a full page ad in June 2017 that read: “We renew our allegiance and obedience for his royal highness, the servant of the two holy mosques, King Salman the son of Abdul Aziz Al Saud. And we support Amir Mohammed bin Salman, his son, to become Minister of Defence and Prime Minister and to be nominated as successor. God give him wisdom and equip him to rule his kingdom. With peace and prosperity, McDonald’s.” Others companies have also bowed down to the kingdom’s dark side. If the Saudi regime is allowed to slip by with lies, and its villainous leader and his gang are able to prosper behind royal palace walls without paying a price, Jamal Khashoggi’s death will be an even greater travesty, and a naked affront to all we hold dear. kingc@washpost.com Read more from Colbert King’s archive.


This is what Saudi Arabia’s influence network in Washington looks like

looks like this. There’s a lot of data included in that diagram that requires some explanation. First is the size of the blue-shaded circles. Each of those circles represents a firm that has registered as doing work on behalf of a Saudi governmental entity. We used data from Department of Justice reports to Congress on spending from 2016 and 2017 and combed through more recent filings ourselves to roughly scale the circles by financial scope. Bigger blue circles, in other words, earned more money or have bigger contracts with the Saudi agencies. Gray circles are organizations or companies that filed FARA reports but for which we don’t have a sense of how much was earned. Outlined circles are entities that worked with the Saudi government in 2016 or 2017 but are no longer actively registered as working for the country. Several others, such as Glover Park Group, recently broke off relationships with the Saudi government after Khashoggi’s disappearance. The green-shaded circles are governmental entities or groups. “Kingdom” refers to the country itself. Each line indicates a different sort of work performed for the Saudi agency: direct lobbying, for example, or a public-relations campaign. One firm, Capitol Media Group, filed a report last year showing how that line can be blurry. It showed work it did for the Saudi Embassy: bringing veterans of the U.S. armed forces to Capitol Hill to talk about the Justice Against Supporters of Terrorism Act, legislation that allows, among other things, those affected by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for any possible involvement in the attacks. The influence of these organizations can be subtle. In addition to references to sitting elected officials targeted by the firms, the names of former elected officials also crop up in the reports. Former California representative Buck McKeon’s firm, McKeon Group, filed a report on work for the embassy. Former Minnesota senator Norm Coleman is the signatory to an agreement between Hogan Lovells and the Embassy of Saudi Arabia. It’s certainly the case that many other countries have broader, more expensive networks of influence. (The Center for Responsive Politics, for example, estimates that the South Korean government has spent $55 million over the past two years.) But the breadth of outreach by entities affiliated with the Saudi government is nonetheless sweeping in scope. And that doesn’t include any relationships that might not yet have been reported.


Conservatives mount a whisper campaign smearing Khashoggi in defense of Trump

circulating information critical of Khashoggi because they said doing so would risk exposing them as sources. Fred Hiatt, The Post’s editorial page editor who published Khashoggi’s work, sharply criticized the false and distorted claims about Khashoggi, who is feared to have been killed and dismembered by Saudi operatives. “As anyone knows who knew Jamal — or read his columns — he was dedicated to the values of free speech and open debate. He went into exile to promote those values, and now he may even have lost his life for his dogged determination in their defense,” Hiatt said in a statement. “It may not be surprising that some Saudi-inspired trolls are now trying to distract us from the crime by smearing Jamal. It may not even be surprising to see a few Americans joining in. But in both cases it is reprehensible.” Trump said Thursday it appears Khashoggi is dead and warned that his administration could consider “very severe” measures against Saudi Arabia, which is conducting its own self-investigation. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also announced that he would not attend the Future Investment Initiative summit in Saudi Arabia next week, delivering the Trump administration’s first formal rebuke of Saudi Arabia’s royal family. “The president is concerned. He believes the relationship is important, so do I, but he also understands he’s a leader on the world stage and everybody is watching and he is very concerned,” said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who met with Trump on Thursday. Trump, whose grip on his party remains strong less than three weeks before the midterm elections, has seen his cautious approach to Saudi Arabia bolstered not only by the maligning of Khashoggi, but also by a conservative media infrastructure that is generally wary of traditional news organizations and establishment Republicans. As criticism of Trump grows, powerful players in that orbit have stood by the president. “Donald Trump is keeping his eye on the ball, keeping his eye on the geopolitical ball, the national security ball. He’s not going to get sidetracked by what happened to a journalist, maybe, in the consulate there. He’s not giving cover to anybody,” syndicated talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday. “For those who are screaming blood for the Saudis — look, these people are key allies,” evangelical leader Pat Robertson said this week. “We’ve got an arms deal that everybody wanted a piece of. . . . It’ll


D.C.-area forecast: October splendor today, showers tonight. Warm Saturday and blustery Sunday!

TODAY’S DAILY DIGIT 9/10: EXPRESS FORECAST Today: Tonight: Saturday: Sunday: View the FORECAST IN DETAIL Get outside! Today may be the best day of this forecast. Pleasant October conditions and lots of sun! It’s still comfortable tomorrow but also a bit cloudier if tonight’s showers don’t fully exit as we wish they would. Sunday could feel like early December! Brrr. Get our daily forecasts on your Amazon Alexa device. Today (Friday): Tonight Follow us on Tomorrow Tomorrow night: A LOOK AHEAD Sunday: Sunday night: Sunshine and southerly breezes may start a slight warming trend Monday into Tuesday. Just periodic clouds both days, as it appears now, with generally sunny skies and moderate west-southwest breezes near 10 mph. Mid-50s to near 60 may feel tolerable for Monday, warmer mid-to-upper 60s are possible on Tuesday. Rain chances should remain low. We’ll tweak details, if necessary, as we get closer! Confidence: Medium


Here’s how this ghostly fogbow formed over the Arctic Ocean

Do rainbows have ghosts? If you have ever seen a fogbow, then odds are your answer is “yes.” Although it sounds crazy, fogbows are a real thing — and form in a similar fashion to rainbows. But unlike rainbows, these ghostly white fogbows are pale in comparison — quite literally! Ordinary rainbows occur when light enters a water droplet. Sunlight is a mix of all colors — but because they are all jumbled together, our eyes cannot pick out individual shades. But each color of light travels at slightly different speeds. When each beam shines through a raindrop, they slow down at different rates. This attenuation helps to bend, or refract, the light — splitting it up into the different colors we see and casting a brilliantly vivid arc of color across the sky. But with a fogbow, the water droplets are much more minuscule. After all, fog is a much finer, smaller mist. This results in less refraction. That means a narrower range of colors and a dimmer, softer light. I captured this remarkable fogbow on Aug. 17 aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean. The Healy is 420 feet long; commissioned in 1999, the ship is designed to break 4½ feet of ice continuously when operated at three knots. That means it is ideal for missions to the Arctic. I was privileged to travel among a team of 40 scientists from various institutions conducting a wide array of research in the fields of Arctic ecology, oceanography and atmospheric sciences. We were near 72 degrees north when a persistent but thin fog bank rolled in. As the sun shone brightly through the elegant dewy veil, the sheet of fog provided a perfect backdrop for a gorgeous fogbow to emerge. Ordinarily, fogbows are fleeting — as soon as the fog burns off, the ribbon of light vanishes. In this case, the fog never mixed out. A winter-chilled ocean juxtaposed against 24 hours of daylight meant the milky-white bow was not going anywhere in a hurry, sticking around from noontime through 11 p.m. The water droplets, meanwhile, were puny — only close to 100 microns across, a tenth of a millimeter in diameter. The photo, taken from the bridge six floors up, depicts the entire fogbow — all 360 degrees of it. When one is up high enough, they can see the full ring of a rainbow


Jamal Khashoggi’s legacy of courage

The Oct. 18 “final column” from Jamal Khashoggi, “What the Arab world needs most: Free expression ” [op-ed], was powerful as he compellingly underscored the need for greater freedom in his home country and the Arab world generally. Mr. Khashoggi’s brave and important voice was apparently silenced by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whose Royal Guard officials are among those accused of murdering the journalist inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. President Trump’s attempts to dehumanize Mr. Khashoggi by noting that he was not a U.S. citizen and, more generally, his labeling of the media as the “enemy of the American people” suggest the president will abandon the foundational principle of our country in an instant if he perceives it as inconvenient. What a juxtaposition between Mr. Khashoggi’s profile in courage as a standard-bearer and martyr for the principle of freedom in countries with repressive regimes and Mr. Trump’s profile in cowardice with his disingenuous dithering and refusal to defend that same principle even when it is a foundational bedrock for our country. Martin Walsh


Power Up: Trump praises attack on a reporter while some allies smear Khashoggi

Happy Friday. Tips, recipes, comments for the weekend? Drop us a line and sign up. Thanks for reading and try to sleep in tomorrow. ABOUT LAST NIGHT: President Trump appeared at a rally in Montana where he praised an assault on a reporter at the same time his administration has been muted in their criticism of potential Saudi government involvement in the death of Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. Campaigning for Rep. Greg Gianforte last night, he also told the crowd to “never forget about Benghazi,” painted a foreboding picture of immigrants on a “caravan” from Honduras and said “Democrats produce mobs and Republicans produce jobs.” The Guardian responded to Trump’s Gianforte praise: WELCOME TO WHITE HOUSE REPORTER JOSH DAWSEY'S INAUGURAL 'DAWSEY DEBRIEF': KHASHOGGI UPDATE: NEED TO KNOW: HAS THE WHITE HOUSE OVERSTATED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SAUDI RELATIONSHIP?: IF THE PRESIDENT FAILS TO HOLD THE KINGDOM ACCOUNTABLE . . .: COUNTERPROGRAMMING: MIDTERMS: WHAT THE WORLD IS READING: ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE Time to Power down now — thanks for making our debut week such a blast. See you on Monday.


Parents of children with AFM warn about rare polio-like condition

It started with a sinus infection. Then 4-year-old Camdyn Carr couldn’t move the right side of his face or lift his arm to scratch his nose. His parents decided to take him a couple of hours away to see doctors who might be able to figure out what had afflicted their young boy. But as they drove from their Roanoke home to the University of Virginia, Carr’s whole body seized up and he was suddenly paralyzed. Many tests later, Carr was diagnosed with the rare polio-like condition acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM. He is now a patient at Kennedy Krieger Institute, where his father, Christopher Carr, brought him for physical therapy and other treatment to try to get his son moving again. AFM affects the gray matter in the spinal cord and can lead to paralysis, but is so rare that fewer than 1 in 1 million people, mostly children, contract it. But a recent uptick in cases in the United States has put public health officials on alert and freaked out parents because of the severe symptoms that sometimes accompany it. Doctors don’t know exactly what is causing the mystery illness and there is no official treatment for it, raising the fear factor for some. “So much of this doesn’t make sense to me,” said Christopher Carr, who is staying with Camdyn at Kennedy Krieger while the rest of the family remains at home. “I am hoping the physical therapy can help improve my son’s condition.” The Centers for Disease Control held a teleconference Tuesday expressing concern about the disease, which has sickened 62 children this year and killed one. The CDC is investigating an additional 65 cases, including five children with the symptoms reported in Maryland. Public health officials have not identified a common link among cases, but there seems to be a surge every couple of years. The International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute has treated many cases from around the country, including six patients who are there now. “Until we figure out if this is an infection or if this is an autoimmune process, until we figure out how to prevent it, then the effort to bring awareness to it and develop timely interventions is appropriate even if it is 1 in a million,” said Cristina L. Sadowsky, the center’s clinical director. Local doctors said that while there is reason to be


raising the fear factor for some. “So much of this doesn’t make sense to me,” said Christopher Carr, who is staying with Camdyn at Kennedy Krieger while the rest of the family remains at home. “I am hoping the physical therapy can help improve my son’s condition.” The Centers for Disease Control held a teleconference Tuesday expressing concern about the disease, which has sickened 62 children this year and killed one. The CDC is investigating an additional 65 cases, including five children with the symptoms reported in Maryland. Public health officials have not identified a common link among cases, but there seems to be a surge every couple of years. The International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute has treated many cases from around the country, including six patients who are there now. “Until we figure out if this is an infection or if this is an autoimmune process, until we figure out how to prevent it, then the effort to bring awareness to it and develop timely interventions is appropriate even if it is 1 in a million,” said Cristina L. Sadowsky, the center’s clinical director. Local doctors said that while there is reason to be diligent and pay attention to troublesome symptoms, they urged parents not to panic. “We certainly don’t want to be sounding an alarm bell and having every single child with a runny nose running to the emergency room, but we want parents to be aware,” said Stephen Thompson, an associate professor in the department of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The CDC has not traced the illness to a specific virus, but the agency believes it can be triggered by poliovirus, nonpolio enteroviruses, adenoviruses and West Nile virus. Environmental toxins and genetic disorders also might play a role, the CDC said. In many cases, doctors believe AFM to be caused by an enterovirus which belongs to the same family as polio. AFM has some similarities to polio, including the potential for muscle weakness and even paralysis, which is why the two are often compared. Usually the virus enters an individual’s gastrointestinal tract or respiratory track and causes such symptoms as vomiting and diarrhea, or cough, congestion and a runny nose, said Ashanti Woods, attending pediatrician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. In some very rare cases, the virus gets through the gastrointestinal system and invades


The four months since Jordan McNair’s death have exposed what a mess Maryland is

things across Maryland’s university system, we’ve got the time — that kickoff is 144 days after offensive lineman Jordan McNair collapsed during a Maryland workout. That kickoff is 131 days after McNair died because he suffered heat stroke that Durkin’s staff didn’t feel urgency to treat. That kickoff is one day after the regents of the University of Maryland System met in Hagerstown and received, but did not act on, a report on the environment in which this all happened. I hope they had a lovely dinner. Two months ago, the regents took control of this process, appointing a commission to investigate Durkin’s program. At the time, it appeared logical. Wallace Loh , the president of the flagship university in College Park, was too close to the situation. Someone else needed to oversee the process. Fine. Great. Let’s go. Since seizing control, though, the regents have treated the situation with all the urgency of the Maryland athletic training staff that tended to McNair the day he collapsed. Which is to say, none. The regents received the report from the commission they appointed at their Friday meeting. Their response: Let’s chew on this over the weekend. How’s Tuesday sound? Great. Talk then. Enjoy the football game! I know they need to be thorough. I know they need to digest it. But didn’t their reading over the past, oh, 70 days — of the initial ESPN report, of the Post’s subsequent reporting, of the report from a medical expert on what went down at that May 29 workout — pique their curiosity, even a teensy bit? Did none of them come to that meeting and say, “Ladies and gentlemen, the people of this state should reasonably expect us to be pursuing action here — and vigorously. Let’s read this report and talk about it in real time. Let’s move.” Of course, if they were taking their cues from the administration in College Park, this fits right in. There, Damon Evans was hired as an administrator to oversee football in 2014, then named interim athletic director in the fall of 2017, then named permanent athletic director in the summer of 2018. At the August news conference the university took, in Loh’s words, “legal and moral responsibility” for McNair’s death, and Evans introduced himself as the “new” athletic director. He then said, “In July, when I was named athletic director, my highest priority was


Just when you think Trump and his apologists couldn’t get worse . . .

One can hardly fathom the twisted psyche of a president who, after acknowledging that Jamal Khashoggi, a contributing columnist for The Post’s Global Opinions, had likely been murdered, would go before a cheering mob to lavish praise on a U.S. congressman who physically attacked a journalist. “Any guy who can do a body-slam, he’s my kind of — he’s my guy,” Trump said in a Montana campaign appearance on Thursday, referring to Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) who pleaded guilty to assaulting the Guardian’s reporter Ben Jacobs, who had the temerity to ask Gianforte a health-care question. “I had heard that he body-slammed a reporter. And he was way up. … I said ‘Oh this is terrible, he’s gonna lose the election,’ ” Trump continued. “Then I said, ‘Well, wait a minute, I know Montana pretty well, I think it might help him.’ And it did.” And his ghoulish fans ate that up. The Guardian’s U.S. editor responded with a statement: “To celebrate an attack on a journalist who was simply doing his job is an attack on the First Amendment by someone who has taken an oath to defend it,” said John Mulholland. “In the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats. We hope decent people will denounce these comments and that the president will see fit to apologize for them.” Trump won’t apologize, of course, nor will his devoted base hold his remarks against him. To the contrary, this is what they love about him — the contempt for a free press, the celebration of male thuggishness, the mindless emotional outbursts. Somehow it empowers them, to side with brutes and bullies, to revel in the silencing of a free press. And in case you thought such moral depravity was limited to a few thousand fans, a concerted smear campaign against Khashoggi is underway. The Post reports: Some claimed that Khashoggi, who had worked for multiple news organizations over the years and was allegedly slaughtered for his writings critical of the Saudi regime, was not a real journalist. The willful dissembling takes one’s breath away. The Post’s editorial board recently recounted, “[Khashoggi] was twice fired as the editor of the most progressive Saudi newspaper, Al Watan, in one case for publishing sharp critiques of Islamist extremists. A


There can be no coverup of this act of pure evil

LET’S BE clear: The Saudi “investigation” of the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which the Trump administration contends needs to be given more time to reach conclusions, does not exist. The Saudi leadership under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, like the Turkish government, knows very well what happened inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on the afternoon of Oct. 2. Though they pretend otherwise, so do President Trump and his top aides, who have access to U.S. intelligence reports that are being withheld from Congress. The basics have been widely reported. The Turks have told U.S. officials and journalists that they possess audio and video recordings documenting the brutal murder and dismemberment of Mr. Khashoggi, whose fingers and head were reportedly cut off by a Saudi autopsy specialist who coolly listened to music on headphones as he butchered. The Turks have released photos and passport and flight records of the 15-member team that allegedly carried out the operation. The documents show that at least four men closely associated with Mohammed bin Salman, including three members of his personal security team, flew to Istanbul the day of the killing, according to the New York Times. One man who has traveled extensively with the crown prince was photographed entering the consulate before Mr. Khashoggi’s arrival. The Post has reported that U.S. intelligence intercepts detected Mohammed bin Salman discussing plans to lure Mr. Khashoggi back to the kingdom so he could be detained. Experts on Saudi Arabia say it is unthinkable that the Istanbul operation would have been carried out without the crown prince’s knowledge and approval. So, as we said, there is no investigation; the crown prince cannot investigate himself. Rather, Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are conspiring with the Saudi leadership, buying time for them to construct a cover story that will deflect a wave of international outrage and discourage Congress from sanctioning the regime. Mr. Trump said Thursday that he believed Mr. Khashoggi was dead and that there would be “very severe” consequences — just as reports surfaced that Riyadh was preparing to pin blame on a senior intelligence official, while excusing the king and his son. That dodge would allow Mr. Trump to perpetuate what has been an ill-advised policy of close collaboration with the crown prince, despite what is now a long history of reckless actions that have undermined U.S. interests, including


Anand Giridharadas: The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi highlights Silicon Valley’s Saudi hypocrisy

Saudi Arabia, despite what Giridharadas describes as the kingdom’s barbaric politics and suspected involvement in the alleged assassination of the journalist, Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The alleged murder of Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi agents has ignited global outrage and entangled the Trump administration in a diplomatic quandary. Turkish and U.S. intelligence officials suspect that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where he was last seen in public. Saudi leaders deny knowledge of Khashoggi’s disappearance but have pledged to investigate. Last year, the state-backed investment vehicle, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, announced plans to invest up to $45 billion in a giant technology fund run by Japan’s SoftBank Group. Bolstered by Saudi money, SoftBank has poured significant resources into prominent U.S. start-ups, Giridharadas noted, including Uber, Slack, DoorDash and WeWork. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, which manages about $230 billion, was considered the main source of funding under Elon Musk’s doomed buyout plan for Tesla, offering Musk and the company huge resources akin to the public markets without the scrutiny that comes with public-disclosure requirements. For Giridharadas, author of the new book “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World,” the financial ties between the Saudi government and Silicon Valley underscore the delusion of an enlightened tech sector — that tech companies should be perceived as altruistic moral agents rather than as corporations. “These idealistic-seeming companies at the new power centers of the world are bankrolled by the government of Saudi,” he said. “It’s the final bullet in the 'doing well by doing good’ idealistic fantasy that Silicon Valley has tried to sell us.” Giridharadas said that the Khashoggi crisis is waking people up to the toxic relationship between powerful American institutions and the Saudi government. The Public Investment Fund is at the center of a national overhaul designed to diversify the country’s economy away from oil. But Giridharadas said the multitude of Saudi technology investments and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visits with American tech luminaries also serve as a kind of “reputation laundering” by casting the crown prince as an open-minded reformer with a knack for technology and an innovative spirit. “The Saudis have already gotten what they want from these deals: a makeover,” Giridharadas said. “This is an opportunity in America to decide if we care more about money or our values.”


Mr. Hogan needs to get on board with public transit

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) should prioritize expanding public transit rather than widening the Interstate 495-Interstate 270 corridor by adding four toll lanes. According to the Oct. 14 Metro article “Voters narrowly oppose Md. toll plan,” Maryland voters are divided, narrowly opposing highway expansion. Many cite the exorbitant toll fees paid in Virginia. Mr. Hogan’s plan would be only a temporary fix. More people would drive than use public transportation. Traffic congestion would ensue, along with a significant increase in air pollution. High tolls would not ensure equity but favor high-income commuters. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, endorsed by Mr. Hogan, commits the state to a 40 percent reduction in carbon dioxide by 2030. We cannot meet this goal by expanding interstate highways and reducing funding for public transportation. Metro, MARC trains and electric express buses can serve large numbers of people affordably while drastically reducing pollution. MARC service can be expanded beyond rush hour and made accessible for weekend activities. MARC has already been successful at transporting sports fans to Baltimore Orioles games. Mr. Hogan’s plan, unpopular with many of his constituents, would exacerbate climate change. He would not fulfill his campaign promise to change Maryland for the better. Gail B. Landy The writer is a member of the Sierra Club Energy Committee’s Clean Transportation Group.


Step right up for this cannabis cure

As a new-product junkie, it was foregone that I’d swap a C-note for something called CBD, a cannabis extract promising relief from pain and anxiety, the twin banes of baby boomers recently awakened to the realization that, though their spirits be forever young, their joints definitively are not. Lately limping, thanks to an old injury, and a few days shy of my next cortisone injection, I nearly leaped (or would have if I could have) toward the small spa table featuring CBD roll-ons and other attractively packaged potions. Call me a sucker, but I immediately embraced the sales pitch that this relatively new and wildly popular product could ease not only the ache in my ankle but make me feel a little breezier about life among headlines and deadlines. Perhaps you’ve fallen under the CBD spell as well. CBD, or cannabidiol (pronounced canna-bid-EYE-ol), is a nonintoxicating derivative of both marijuana and hemp. Marijuana has a much higher level of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana that gets you high. Hemp has much greater levels of CBD, which doesn’t have the mind-altering effects of pot. In the past couple of years, CBD has become all the rage for non-stoners who want to feel better, too, sprouting a sudden industry of faddish-sounding supplements and CBD-infused products. Although CBD is technically a federally “scheduled” substance, several states allow access to CBD oil and/or high-CBD strains of marijuana. To date, marijuana is legal in nine states and the District of Columbia for recreational use; CBD is legal with varying restrictions in 46 states. In other words, CBD may be the new gold rush. Stock forecasters such as the Motley Fool suggest that there could be a $75 billion U.S. hemp market by 2030. Canada is already well on its way. Meanwhile, a gold mine of CBD products is available online, in grocery stores and even perhaps from your local latte vendor. In a market where you can buy vodka-infused ice cream, why not a cuppa java to warm your bones and chill your mind? Other products include CBD-infused gummies, mints, mascara, vape pens, bath bombs and even a tincture for pets. But CBD isn’t just a fad. It’s also medicine with the potential for multiple therapeutic uses. In June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first CBD-derived pharmaceutical drug — Epidiolex — to treat seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or


U.S. commander in Afghanistan survives deadly attack at governor’s compound that kills top Afghan police general

His forces received Western training and funds, and U.S. military officials often consulted him. Last year, a United Nations report said the worst torture in Afghanistan took place in police jails in Kandahar, and the U.N. Committee Against Torture called for the investigation and prosecution of Abdul Raziq. A decade earlier, a 2006 U.S. State Department study alleged that he had been removed from his post with the border police for arresting and tormenting a group of men from a rival clan. He categorically denied any wrongdoing. Miller, 57, took over last month as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, replacing Gen. John W. Nicholson Jr. A veteran of some of the U.S. military’s most secretive combat units, Miller formerly led the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command and participated in numerous combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and, in 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia. Thursday’s brazen attack followed a spate of insurgent and political violence during the run-up to Saturday’s parliamentary elections. The Taliban has threatened to “severely disrupt” the elections and warned Afghans against participating in what the radical Islamist group regards as a pretext for perpetuating U.S. intervention in the country. The Taliban warned students and teachers in particular to stay away from voting places, many of which are in schools. But the group said it would seek to avoid harm to civilians. The attack in Kandahar narrowly targeted senior U.S. and Afghan security officials, as well as the provincial governor and intelligence chief. The lone attacker reportedly opened fire at close range as those officials were finishing their meeting. But the lethal shooting seemed likely to have a chilling effect on voter participation Saturday, especially in the south, where several candidates have been assassinated. On Wednesday, a prominent candidate, former army general Abdul Jabar Qahraman, was killed in neighboring Helmand province by a hidden bomb that exploded while he was holding a meeting at his campaign headquarters in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Qahraman, an ardent opponent of the Taliban, was the 10th candidate killed in the past two months. In a suicide attack Wednesday near the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, a bomber killed two Afghan civilians and wounded at least five Czech soldiers belonging to the U.S.-led NATO coalition in the country, officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing near Bagram air base, about 30 miles north of the capital, Kabul. pamela.constable@washpost.com foreign@washpost.com


The Daily 202: Response to Khashoggi crisis typifies the Trump foreign policy doctrine

With Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve THE BIG IDEA: President Trump’s escalating effort to contain the political and diplomatic fallout from Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance, rather than confront Saudi Arabia, is emblematic of both his broader worldview and approach to foreign policy. “The Trump administration and the Saudi royal family are searching for a mutually agreeable explanation for the death of [Khashoggi] that will avoid implicating Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is among the president’s closest foreign allies, according to analysts and officials in multiple countries,” Shane Harris reports. “But it will be difficult for the young ruler to escape scrutiny, as mounting evidence points not only to the Saudi government’s knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate, but also to a connection by Mohammed to his disappearance.” The effort to make it happen, however, speaks to eight elements of the Trump doctrine: 1. Trump is transactional and focused on the bottom line. “In days of private phone calls and Oval Office huddles, Trump has repeatedly reached for reasons to protect the U.S.-Saudi relationship,” administration officials and presidential advisers tell Bob Costa, Josh Dawsey and Phil Rucker. “Trump has stressed Saudi Arabia’s huge investment in U.S. weaponry and worries it could instead purchase arms from China or Russia. He has fretted about the oil-rich desert kingdom cutting off its supply of petroleum to the United States. He has warned against losing a key partner countering Iran’s influence in the Middle East. He has argued that even if the United States tried to isolate the Saudis, the kingdom is too wealthy to ever be truly isolated.” Trump defender Pat Robertson captured this mind-set on his Christian Broadcasting Network: “You’ve got one journalist … You’ve got $100 billion worth of arms sales. … We cannot alienate our biggest player in the Middle East.” 2. Trump believes in spheres of influence. My colleagues on the White House beat report that Trump has repeatedly emphasized that, even though Khashoggi has been living in Virginia and writing for The Washington Post, he is a Saudi citizen — “the implication being that the disappearance is not necessarily the United States’ problem.” Respect for the “sovereignty” of other countries has become a Trump buzzword in foreign policy speeches, including at the United Nations last month. He’s said the U.S. shouldn’t meddle in another nation’s domestic affairs. Other times, he’s suggested that he adheres to an old-fashioned diplomatic view that great


How the current crown prince changed Saudi Arabia — for the worse

activists who had long sought the right to drive, and to change the guardianship system, which gives men the authority to make critical decisions on behalf of their female relatives. For years, the women had carefully pushed for change while staying largely within bounds the government could accept. But the new crown prince could not tolerate their voices. He granted women the right to drive — and then punished those who had worked for that reform. In May, 11 of them were arrested. Several remain in jail, accused of serious crimes that could bring long prison sentences, including “suspicious contact with foreign parties” and undermining the “security and stability” of the state. They have been vilified in the media; a pro-government Twitter account posted images of those arrested with the word “traitor” splattered in red across their faces, Human Rights Watch reported. In March, one of the women, Loujain al-Hathloul, was forcibly wrested from her car in the nearby United Arab Emirates, where she was studying, and brought back to Saudi Arabia. Her husband, Fahad al-Butairi, a well-known Saudi actor and comedian, was working in Jordan when security officers arrested him there; he was handcuffed, blindfolded and put on a plane to Saudi Arabia. She was freed, but then arrested again, and remains in prison. The jails of Saudi Arabia in fact are now brimming with people ensnared in the crackdown launched by the crown prince. Among them are 11 founders of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, sentenced to a total of nearly 200 years in prison and travel bans, according to the London-based human rights group ALQST. Altogether, that group estimates, more than 400 people were detained in 2017, the first year the crown prince was in office. They include journalists, activists, clerics and businessmen. This is the backdrop to the Oct. 2 disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a contributor to The Post’s Global Opinions section, who entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul and has not been seen since. Mr. Khashoggi was a keen observer and critic of this tightening. He described in his Post columns how the crown prince retained an information blacklist intended to chastise and intimidate writers who offered any criticism of the regime. And he understood that setting people free to think and to express themselves would be a far greater source of strength for Saudi Arabia than gagging, imprisoning, kidnapping and killing them.


Khashoggi’s disappearance is a betrayal of Trump

If, as appears increasingly likely, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, then he has joined Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un among the ranks of rogue leaders who assassinate their critics on foreign soil. The only difference is that the Russian president and North Korean leader weren’t reckless and stupid enough to kill their opponents inside their own consulates. The disappearance of Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist, is a horrific crime. His loss will be felt deeply for those who cherish freedom of expression and believe that all people, including those in the Arab world, deserve to be free. Khashoggi’s disappearance is also a betrayal of President Trump. Upon taking office, Trump made Saudi Arabia his first foreign trip and put his new administration’s reputation and prestige behind the crown prince and his reforms. The crown prince, or MBS, as he is widely known, has possibly repaid those efforts by brutally killing a permanent U.S. resident. His betrayal has now put Trump in an impossible bind. The president must now find a way to reconcile three sets of irreconcilable facts: Fact No. 1: The United States can’t simply ignore or sweep Khashoggi’s death under the table. Even if Trump wants to do so, Congress won’t let him — nor should it. There must be consequences. Fact No. 2: MBS is not going anywhere. Saudi Arabia is a monarchy. He is the son of the king. He has spent the past few years systematically eliminating his rivals and consolidating power. The idea that a new leader is going to emerge to replace him is not realistic. And if, by chance, such a leader did emerge, it would likely be someone who wants to roll back the crown prince’s efforts to rein in the religious establishment, clean up corruption and open up Saudi society. Be careful what you wish for. Fact No. 3: We need Saudi Arabia, less as a source of oil — the fracking revolution has dramatically expanded our energy independence — than as a counterweight to Iran, which is the main strategic menace to U.S. interests in the region. Saudi Arabia is our most important ally in countering that threat. No other country in the Middle East can play that role. A permanent breach with Saudi Arabia is not an acceptable outcome. How does Trump reconcile these three irreconcilable realities? The answer


The one problem that keeps me from cooking: I hate grocery shopping

a week’s worth of food there, partly because the prices are so exorbitant and partly because my abysmal cooking skills are not worthy of such beautiful produce. I’ve tried same-day grocery delivery services, and while it’s relaxing to shop from home, I’ve had mixed results. Once a store was out of mini gold potatoes, so my proxy purchased two five-pound bags of russet potatoes. (In case you’ve ever wondered, mashed potatoes topped with hash browns eaten with a french fry instead of a fork make for a very filling meal.) Also, because I’m not physically in the store to cruise the aisles, I tend to overlook crucial items, like that time I forgot to request hummus and spent a week dipping vegetables in ketchup (from a packet, naturally). The closest I’ve ever come to actually enjoying food shopping was at the secret (and very illegal) co-op in my neighborhood. In the basement of someone’s townhouse, it’s much smaller than the typical store, which helps quell a lot of my typical issues. The last time I visited the space — in operation for more than 40 years — one of the workers was sharing photos of her recent trip to Mexico with a customer. The vibe is beyond welcoming; I feel as if I’m among friends. What’s more, prices are jaw-droppingly low. Because there’s less overhead and the owners work with local growers, organic avocados go for 79 cents and a jar of tahini is $2.13. Who cares that the olive oil is sold in an old peanut butter jar? The Department of Health, I suppose, but we’ll keep this one our little secret. Grocery stores know that such alternatives are bad for business. In response, operators are coming up with novel ways to make the experience more enjoyable. Last year, a Whole Foods in New York City began offering shoppers a “produce butcher” who chops your fruits and vegetables for you. To cultivate a stress-free environment, another supermarket in Richmond introduced free meditation classes. And an increasing number of shops are building bars into their design to encourage lingering. “Grocery operators are asking themselves, ‘How can we make it easier for you?’ ” says Rich Majors, chief operating officer at BRR Architecture, which specializes in grocery store retail design. “They’re looking for intriguing ways to turn what was previously a chore into an enjoyable experience.” Well, I’m not buying it.


a french fry instead of a fork make for a very filling meal.) Also, because I’m not physically in the store to cruise the aisles, I tend to overlook crucial items, like that time I forgot to request hummus and spent a week dipping vegetables in ketchup (from a packet, naturally). The closest I’ve ever come to actually enjoying food shopping was at the secret (and very illegal) co-op in my neighborhood. In the basement of someone’s townhouse, it’s much smaller than the typical store, which helps quell a lot of my typical issues. The last time I visited the space — in operation for more than 40 years — one of the workers was sharing photos of her recent trip to Mexico with a customer. The vibe is beyond welcoming; I feel as if I’m among friends. What’s more, prices are jaw-droppingly low. Because there’s less overhead and the owners work with local growers, organic avocados go for 79 cents and a jar of tahini is $2.13. Who cares that the olive oil is sold in an old peanut butter jar? The Department of Health, I suppose, but we’ll keep this one our little secret. Grocery stores know that such alternatives are bad for business. In response, operators are coming up with novel ways to make the experience more enjoyable. Last year, a Whole Foods in New York City began offering shoppers a “produce butcher” who chops your fruits and vegetables for you. To cultivate a stress-free environment, another supermarket in Richmond introduced free meditation classes. And an increasing number of shops are building bars into their design to encourage lingering. “Grocery operators are asking themselves, ‘How can we make it easier for you?’ ” says Rich Majors, chief operating officer at BRR Architecture, which specializes in grocery store retail design. “They’re looking for intriguing ways to turn what was previously a chore into an enjoyable experience.” Well, I’m not buying it. For me, nothing could be more enjoyable than letting someone else do the shopping — and, while they’re at it, the cooking, too. More from Voraciously: Here are some photos of gigantic pumpkins for no other reason than to distract you from reality This new food museum expects to upset your stomach — and then make you think about why Everclear wants you to start thinking of it as a craft cocktail ingredient. Good luck with that.


Pompeo’s mission impossible in dealing with Saudi Arabia

his standing with the audience of one.” Pompeo is still building his legacy as secretary of state, and some analysts consider his trip to Riyadh an unfair assessment of his reputation. Nick Burns, a former undersecretary of state for political affairs who now teaches diplomacy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, said Pompeo has developed a reputation for toughness and effectiveness in helping the State Department rebound from a year of retrenchment under his predecessor, Rex Tillerson. It was unlikely he could have gotten a mea culpa from the Saudis, who have been a U.S. ally for seven decades and are a linchpin of the administration’s Middle East strategy. “However,” Burns added, “I do think the optics of smiles in public were wrong. Because the Saudi government very likely ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. And that’s a serious crime. He’s a permanent resident of the United States. We owe him and his family protection. We owe him that we will argue for justice. This was a time to be tough with the Saudis, tough publicly.” Aaron David Miller, a former diplomat who advised six secretaries of state, said James Baker, the secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, slammed down notebooks and threatened to walk out and not come back in his dealings with Israelis, Palestinians and Syrians. Those were in private meetings. “You’re not going to see Mike Pompeo, or any secretary of state who works for Donald Trump on this particular issue, respond any differently than Mike Pompeo did,” Miller said. “This is not on Mike Pompeo. It’s on a president who, for any number of reasons, has determined that the value of maintaining ties with the Saudis is something of immense importance to the national security interests of the United States. And who will go to great lengths, by acquiescent support or silence, to give the Saudis the benefit of the doubt.” The Trump administration appears to be sending signals that it will grant Saudi Arabia more time to deal with the Khashoggi case. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced After discussing his diplomatic mission with Trump on Thursday morning, Pompeo told reporters he had advised the president to give the Saudis “a few more days” to complete their investigation. “At which point we can make a decision about how the United States should respond to the issues surrounding Mr. Khashoggi,” Pompeo said. carol.morello@washpost.com anne.gearan@washpost.com


Khashoggi’s alleged murder says as much about America as Saudi Arabia

The apparent barbaric killing of Jamal Khashoggi tells us something important about Saudi Arabia. But it also tells us something important about the United States. First, Saudi Arabia. As has been often noted, Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist, used to be part of the Saudi establishment. Although not a member of the House of Saud, he was well born and well connected. He edited an important Saudi newspaper and worked for senior royals. I first met him 14 years ago; he assisted me when I spent a week in Riyadh and Jiddah. Khashoggi was working for Prince Turki al-Faisal, the longtime head of Saudi intelligence who was at that time ambassador to Britain and later ambassador to the United States. Turki is one of the sons of King Faisal — in other words, as senior a royal as you can get, other than the monarch. Khashoggi was, even in those days, a liberal and a reformer but always moderate and incremental in his approach. He worried that too much reform would be disruptive. “I would like to see my government taking harsher measures against [extremist elements],” he told me in 2005 on my PBS show, “Foreign Exchange.” But at the same time, he warned about going too fast. “We do not want to break the society,” he said. Watching Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s approach, a mix of authoritarianism and real reforms, Khashoggi became more critical but was never a radical. So why was he apparently seen as so threatening? Perhaps because he was respected within the Saudi establishment. Harvard’s Tarek Masoud suggests that the Khashoggi affair might signal that there is greater dissent within the Saudi establishment than we had believed. If so, this is significant. When the scholar Samuel Huntington studied the breakdown of authoritarian regimes in the 1970s and 1980s, he noted that a schism within the ruling elite was almost always the precursor to a broader breakdown of the regime. Historically, Saudi Arabia has maintained stability because it was really a patronage state, not a police state. The kingdom has typically dealt with its critics and dissenters by buying them off — most importantly in the case of hardline clerics. It employed this strategy again most recently after the Arab Spring, when it massively increased subsidies to citizens and gave bonuses to government employees. It worked. In fact, a lesson of the Arab Spring seems to


Trump says it appears that missing journalist Khashoggi is dead

ISTANBUL — President Trump said Thursday it appears that Jamal Khashoggi is dead and warned that his administration could consider “very severe” measures against Saudi Arabia, sharply raising pressures on the kingdom as it prepares its own accounting of the journalist’s disappearance. Trump’s remarks reflect the vacillating strategies and views in the White House over its response and possible punishments toward one of its key Middle East allies. Trump has said any U.S. actions over Khashoggi’s disappearance must take into account the security and defense ties the United States has with the kingdom. But Trump also must contend with the international furor and calls within Republican ranks to take a harder line on Saudi Arabia. As he boarded a flight to Montana for a political rally, Trump was asked by a journalist whether he believed Khashoggi was dead. “It certainly looks that way to me,” he said. “It’s very sad.” He added that Saudi Arabia could face a “very severe” U.S. response depending on the results of probes that include a self-run investigation by the kingdom into the disappearance of Khashoggi. Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen and Washington Post contributing columnist, was last seen in public entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. “I mean, it’s bad, bad stuff. But we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. The United States is caught squarely between two long-standing partners. Turkish officials say evidence indicated that Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents. Saudi leaders deny having any knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate but promised to conduct their own inquiry into the case. It is uncertain, however, whether a self-run inquest or conclusions by the Saudis could quell international anger over Khashoggi’s disappearance. And any finding by Saudi Arabia could meet immediate skepticism about a country where the rulers typically are involved in every major decision. A person close to the White House said Saudi officials are considering blaming Khashoggi’s death on Maj. Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri, the deputy head of Saudi intelligence and a close adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Assiri would be accused of mounting a rogue operation to kill Khashoggi, which would deflect blame from the crown prince, who is the de facto ruler of the kingdom. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on behalf of the administration or the Saudi government. Assiri did not immediately respond to calls and messages seeking


What did U.S. spy agencies know about threats on Khashoggi — and when?

Saudi Arabia must conduct a serious, no-holds-barred investigation of the apparent gruesome murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The kingdom’s relationship with the United States, and its access to global financial markets, hangs in the balance. But in the meantime, the Senate and House intelligence committees should begin an urgent oversight investigation of what U.S. spy agencies knew about threats against Khashoggi — and also into their broader reporting and analysis on Saudi Arabia and its headstrong crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. This congressional inquiry should focus first on the intelligence agencies’ “duty to warn” Khashoggi about any lethal threat, because his U.S. residency qualified him as a “U.S. person” for whom such a warning was required. It should look, too, for any hint that U.S. intelligence about MBS, as the crown prince is known, has been skewed by the Trump White House for political reasons. And the investigation should examine the larger problem of U.S. visibility into the kingdom, which has too often been a black hole for our spy agencies. A congressional inquiry would blunt an apparent White House effort to put a lid on Saudi-related information. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) complained Wednesday: “I suppose they don’t want us to see the intel.” The bottom line: Saudi Arabia is at an existential tipping point. The United States urgently needs to understand how the kingdom got into this grisly mess, and where it’s going. A Saudi friend tells me that we are at an unanticipated fulcrum of history, a bit like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, or the failed plot by German officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Khashoggi’s apparent death may seem unimportant by comparison, but it has begun a chain of events that could alter the Middle East. This congressional inquiry should be secret, because it would involve highly sensitive information. The committees should review every Saudi-related item included in the President’s Daily Brief since President Trump took office. If the daily briefing missed important developments, why? Did the CIA prepare a psychological profile of MBS? What did it say? Did the intelligence community augment its collection as reports emerged about Khashoggi’s death? Did the White House or the National Security Council make any special tasking requests? Did Trump or his aides ignore or dismiss any vital intelligence? Here are some specific questions I hope would guide the committees’ inquiry: ●


Of course Saudi Arabia’s leader doesn’t fear U.S. fury. We give him everything he wants.

Intelligence reports suggest that Saudi Arabia had Washington Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi killed in its Istanbul consulate this month on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. MBS, as he is known, insisted to President Trump this past week that he did not know anything about the incident, but he has orchestrated a crackdown on critics in recent years as he consolidates power in anticipation of his eventual ascent to the throne. If the crown prince or anybody else in his government is responsible, they clearly believed that Saudi Arabia could get away with Khashoggi’s abduction and killing without U.S. censure. (Or, worse, they thought they had Washington’s implied approval in advance.) There is a reason for that: MBS has developed such a close relationship with the Trump administration that he has gotten almost everything from it that he wants. He may reasonably have concluded that, as far as U.S. policy goes, he can act with impunity. His tightest relationship is with Jared Kushner, the president’s senior adviser and son-in-law, and their bond has been well documented (Kushner successfully lobbied Trump to make Saudi Arabia his first foreign visit as president). But in 2017, after he was named crown prince, many in Washington, the U.S. business community and the media fell in love with MBS and what he appeared to represent. His youth and refreshing personal style were a radical departure from a history of geriatric Saudi leaders. He wanted social liberalization for his nation, including cinemas (which had been banned), live entertainment such as concerts and, most appealing of all, a policy that finally permitted women to drive cars, which he implemented in June. His ambitious plans for economic transformation involve diversifying away from the kingdom’s dependence on oil; the Vision 2030 project is potentially lucrative for American businesses. U.S. policymakers tolerated his clampdown on dissent — he has purged and imprisoned royals who represent rival power centers, such as the investor Alwaleed bin Talal, and expelled Canadian diplomats because officials lamented the lack of human rights in Saudi Arabia. The crown prince’s greatest gift to Western allies was his promise of “moderate Islam,” which would reject Saudi Arabia’s backing for dubious religious schools and charitable donations. An added element of the seduction was an inclusive attitude toward Israel as part of the Middle East; the Palestinian issue needed to be sorted out, but it would not


Now we can create blue roses. But our real talent is destruction.

a steward of his creation. But despite our scientific advancements — and in many ways, because of it — the genetic makeup of life on Earth has suffered tremendously under our reign. Today, thousands of species of wildlife sit on the verge of extinction because of our actions. We have destroyed their habitats, fundamentally altered the climate by pumping carbon into the atmosphere and hunted down once-massive populations to groups so small that we can count the surviving animals on our fingers. So great is this anthropomorphic threat that scientists argue that we’re currently in one of the worst mass extinction events in the history of the world — up there with a cataclysmic volcanic eruptions and collisions with asteroids. We watch this collapse of Earth’s biodiversity in slow motion, captured most presciently by the last remaining northern white rhinos — of which there are two females left — and the South China tiger, which hasn’t been seen in the wild in decades. Conservationists are scrambling to come up with innovative solutions to save other species from a similar fate — preserving their DNA to perhaps be resurrected one day, or mixing other related species into their gene pool to stave off the effects of inbreeding. But let’s be honest with ourselves: This is a fool’s errand. As more and more species march toward extinction, the work of conservation will increase exponentially. Barring some sort of miracle, our genetic Noah’s Ark will flood; our stewardship responsibility as human beings will shatter. If you’re not convinced, take a look at the recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that the “hyperalarming” loss of insects — one of the most important parts of any ecosystem — is more widespread across the globe than previously thought. This is hubris. We go about our lives stretching our intellectual capacity to bend the possibilities of nature to meet our desires. And we ignore the human-made crises we inflict upon our planet because they are inconvenient to our lifestyles. Sooner or later, society will recognize all the damage we are inflicting upon our planetary paradise. Until then, while we continue to tinker with our new powers of creation, the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and all the creatures that crawl on the Earth will disappear. But at least we’ll have blue roses to lay on their graves.


‘Letters From War’: 1943-1944 – Battles (full transcript)

my way will be if I’m at sea for more than 20 days. A fellow has to be cool all the time. I used to be pretty cool on the pitching mound and still manage to take it easy. Knowing I won’t be in States much longer and probably won’t have a chance to tell you by letter in the near future, but we’re one of these outfits who make beach landings in the middle of the night on the roughest coastlines possible and seize airports, railroads, cities, and enemy coast defenses. The allies are going to move soon and the Lucky 7 will be leading the way and it may be to Japan itself. Have Ma hang three stars in the window now that there’s three of us in. A If you hear of a big new offense in the Pacific or Europe you can be sure the Pulp will be in there outpitching the Axis. But then again, I most likely will never even see a slant-eye. Enclosed is a code I made up and if I do leave I’ll let you all know where I’m going there by means of this code. Always thinking of all of you and there’s no better father, mother or brothers in the world than at 2310. And maybe at times we don’t express much sentiment, but deep down in my heart all the money couldn’t buy anyone better than little Musha, Dad, Sanny, Johnny and Frank. No siree. So long again, and until again real soon, and don’t worry about me. See you pronto via letters. Pitcher Here’s a list of possible places and the name behind them. So if any mail is censored (like Frank’s) be sure to look for any of the following. Bantams means I’m in Britain Chickens means in China Turkins in India Kittens in Burma Hens in North Africa Roosters in Russia Violin in France New Radio in Norway Camera in Alaska Dog in Solomons Garden in East Indies Typewriting in Spain Ducks in Australia Geese in Hawaii Cow in any other point I haven’t mentioned. — DAN LAMOTHE: The Battle of Attu began May 11, 1943. Ralph arrived with the 7th Infantry Division on the muddy, freezing shores of the Aleutian Islands. They were fighting to take back American territory. Japanese soldiers had landed there six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, taking control


التفسير السعودي لوفاة جمال خاشقجي محض خرافة لكن ترامب لا يزال يجاملها

لقد اعترفت المملكة العربية السعودية الآن بكذبها على العالم لمدة سبعة عشر يومًا بشأن ما حدث للصحفي جمال خاشقجي عندما دخل قنصليتها في إسطنبول يوم الثاني من أكتوبر. لكن الرواية الجديدة التي قدمتها حكومة الملك سلمان وولي العهد محمد بن سلمان تفتقر إلى المصداقية. كما تطلب منا الآن الرواية الجديدة بالاعتقاد أن السيد خاشقجي قد مات بعد انخراطه في “شجار” مع المسؤولين الذين أُرسِلوا لمقابلته. وقال المسؤولون السعوديون لعدة صحفيين إن رفاته قد سُلِّمَت إلى “متآمر محلي” كي يتخلص منها. يؤكد إعلان الرئيس ترامب عن تصديقه لهذه الخزعبلات على نواياه المخزية بشأن المساعدة في دعم محاولة النظام السعودي، ولاسيما ولي العهد، للتهرب من المساءلة الجادة. وكما يعلم السيد ترامب بكل تأكيد، فإن الرواية السعودية الجديدة التي تهدف للتستر على نفسها تتناقض ليس فقط مع الأدلة التي جمعتها السلطات التركية والصحفيين، بل تتناقض أيضًا مع المعلومات التي ذكرتها الأجهزة الاستخبارية الأمريكية. تشير كافة هذه المصادر إلى ضلوع محمد بن سلمان باعتباره المحرض على جريمة قتل سابقة الإصرار تمت بوحشية ودم بارد أعقبها تقطيع جسد السيد خاشقجي. وكما ذكر مراسل صحيفة “واشنطن بوست” شَين هارِس، فقد استمع مسؤولو وكالة المخابرات المركزية (سي آي أيه) إلى تسجيل صوتي في حوزة مسؤولين أتراك يقولون إنه يؤيد روايتهم التي تقول إن فريقًا من ١٥ رجلًا قد قتل السيد خاشقجي بعد دقائق من دخوله القنصلية. وقد كشفت صحيفة الـ”بوست” عن هوية خمسة من هؤلاء الرجال الذي يُشتبَه في كونهم أعضاء في جهاز الأمن الشخصي لولي العهد. كما كُشِف عن عضو آخر في هذا الفريق يدعى صلاح الطبيقي، وهو رئيس قسم الطب الشرعي في إدارة الأمن العام السعودي وأخصائي في عمليات التشريح الميدانية. وفقًا للرواية التركية، فقد قطع الطبيقي أصابع السيد خاشقجي ورأسه بعد أن ارتدى سماعات رأس وحثّ زملائه أن يفعلوا المثل. إن كان الفريق الأمني قد أُرسِل لمقابلة السيد خاشقجي بسبب “وجود مؤشرات على إمكانية عودته” إلى السعودية وفقًا للمسؤولين السعوديين، فلماذا كان هذا الرجل وحرس محمد بن سلمان الشخصيين جزء من هذه المهمة؟ في الواقع، لم يكن لدى السيد خاشقجي الذي كان كاتب أعمدة مساهم للـ”بوست” أي نية للعودة إلى المملكة. كان قد زار القنصلية من أجل الحصول على ورقة تسمح له بالزواج من امرأة تركية واشترى منزل جديد لهما في إسطنبول. في محاولة شفافة للوفاء بمطالب المساءلة إضافةً إلى حماية ولي العهد، يقول النظام السعودي إنه اعتقل أعضاء الفريق الذي أُرسِل إلى إسطنبول والعديد من الموظفين القنصليين وعزل أربعة من كبار ضباط المخابرات بالإضافة إلى سعود القحطاني أحد كبار مساعدي ولي العهد. ومن الواضح أن السيد القحطاني الذي وضع قائمة سوداء تحوي أسماء


Saudi claims that Khashoggi died in a ‘brawl’ draw immediate skepticism

and was not supported by any evidence. “This is the worst coverup I’ve ever seen,” said Bruce Riedel, a Saudi Arabia expert who served more than 30 years in the CIA. “Where is the body? Why did it take seventeen days to come up with this account?” Khashoggi had recently told friends that Saudi officials close to the crown prince had tried to lure him back to the kingdom, but he said he believed that they would never guarantee his safety. U.S. intelligence had also intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing plans to lure Khashoggi back, an effort that was personally directed by Mohammed, a frequent subject of Khashoggi’s journalistic criticism, according to people who have seen the intelligence reports. One of the two top officials whom the Saudis said had been removed from their posts, Saud al-Qahtani, a media adviser to the crown prince, had personally tried to persuade Khashoggi to return, assuring him that he would be safe and even holding out the prospect of a job working for Mohammed, according to the journalist’s friends. “He said: ‘Are you kidding? I don’t trust them one bit,’ ” said Khaled Saffuri, an Arab American political activist, recounting a conversation he had with Khashoggi the day Khashoggi received a phone call from Qahtani in May. It was not clear whether any of the Saudis that Turkish officials claim participated in the operation in Istanbul were among those whom Saudi authorities have detained. The Washington Post has reviewed the passport information and photos of 15 men who Turkish officials say were part of the team. Some of them have links to Mohammed, the day-to-day ruler of the Saudi kingdom. Five members of the team have traveled to the United States in recent years on trips that overlapped with visits by Mohammed, three more than were previously known, travel records and photographs show. The proximity of their flights to movements by Mohammed suggests that the men are members of his security entourage, experts said, potentially complicating the ability of the government to claim that the killing was carried out without Mohammed’s consent. “They’re security officials, almost certainly,” Riedel said. “From what I have seen in the photos of them with the prince, they are security and bodyguards.” The Post obtained pictures of the passports of seven of the 15 Saudis on Tuesday and used that information to verify that one, Khalid Aedh


The Saudi explanation for Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a fable. Still Trump plays along.

his returning” to Saudi Arabia, why was such a man, along with Mohammed bin Salman’s personal muscle, on the mission? In fact Mr. Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist, had no intention of returning to the kingdom. He visited the consulate in order to obtain a paper that would allow him to marry a Turkish woman, with whom he had obtained a new home in Istanbul. In a transparent attempt to satisfy demands for accountability while protecting the crown prince, the regime arrested the members of the team sent to Istanbul and several consular employees, and fired four senior intelligence officials, as well as a top aide to the crown prince, Saud al-Qahtani. Mr. Qahtani, who drew up a blacklist of critics of the crown prince, is evidently being scapegoated for targeting Mr. Khashoggi. Here is what he tweeted last year: “Do you think I can act by myself without taking orders/guidance? I am an employee and a trustworthy executive to the orders of the king and the crown prince.” Mr. Trump, who called the Saudi actions “a good first step,” added that he had more questions, and a White House statement promised to “closely follow the international investigations into this tragic incident.” But there are no international investigations — only the blatant coverup exercise of the Saudis and a Turkish probe that could quickly be shut down if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finds doing so politically convenient. The only way to determine the truth of what happened to Mr. Khashoggi is a genuine international investigation, led by a U.N.-appointed panel. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should take the initiative. Congress should launch its own investigation, including of whether the Trump administration is conspiring with Saudi officials to cover up the murder of a distinguished journalist. In the meantime, Saudi Arabia and its regime should be treated as outlaws by all who value human rights and free expression. Businesses that withdrew this week from an investment conference in Riyadh should continue to shun contact with the crown prince; Washington lobbyists should refuse to accept more of his cash. Congress should block all arms sales and deliveries. U.S. relations and cooperation with Saudi Arabia must continue but only after they have been put on a new footing. The first step in that process is determining the full truth about the Khashoggi murder and holding its likely author — Mohammed bin Salman — fully accountable.


Washington Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan statement on Jamal Khashoggi

The Washington Post’s Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan: “The Government of Saudi Arabia has shamefully and repeatedly offered one lie after another in the nearly three weeks since Jamal Khashoggi disappeared in their Istanbul consulate. Offering no proof, and contrary to all available evidence, they now expect the world to believe that Jamal died in a fight following a discussion. This is not an explanation; it is a coverup. President Trump, Congress and leaders of the civilized world should demand to see verifiable evidence. The Saudis cannot be allowed to fabricate a face-saving solution to an atrocity that appears to have been directed by the highest levels of their government.”


Saudi electronic army floods Twitter with insults and mistruths after Khashoggi’s disappearance

BEIRUT — The electronic army’s insults are relentless, their pace dizzying. They brand people “cockroaches” and “traitors.” They engulf news with mistruths. To Saudi opposition activists, they are known as the “flies.” The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi more than two weeks ago has dragged the kingdom’s cyber-battles to center stage, with a vast network of Twitter accounts in the spotlight for amplifying Saudi government denials of involvement and hounding dissidents who contradict the official line. Researchers and activists say they have tracked a sprawling web of loyalist social media accounts — real people and bots — that have repeatedly joined forces in times of crisis for the Saudi government. “You can draw a correlation between the amount of negative press coverage and the pace of their [online] activities,” said Marc Owen Jones, a researcher and lecturer at Exeter University who has tracked the phenomenon since 2016. “They have to work harder when they’re doing damage control.” And no crisis has been more sensitive than this latest one. As the international outcry over Khashoggi’s disappearance grew, the Saudi government steadfastly denied any knowledge of his fate or whereabouts. But Saturday, officials reversed course, saying he was killed in a brawl as he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was killed by a Saudi hit squad. They also say they have audio and video recordings of the journalist’s slaying and dismemberment. In the weeks since Turkish officials first accused Riyadh of responsibility for his disappearance, and as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has come under mounting scrutiny for his ties to the alleged killers, the online army has worked tirelessly to smear Khashoggi’s reputation. It has also intensified attacks on dissidents, many of them in exile. This week, the Arabic hashtag “We all trust in Mohammed bin Salman” was among the most popular in the world. By Friday, it had appeared more than 1.1 million times, according to an analysis by Ben Nimmo, an information defense fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. “It’s a numbers game,” he said. “Once you get something trending, it’s reaching an audience that not everyone can get.” Social media is wildly popular in Saudi Arabia, with more than 11 million registered Twitter users, according to Crowd Analyzer, a Dubai-based analysis firm. The engagement pattern behind other trending hashtags, including “a word to our


How Turkey’s president pressured the Saudis to account for Khashoggi’s death

ISTANBUL — Saudi Arabia’s decision to acknowledge the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi followed calls for justice from around the world. But no individual had put more pressure on the oil-rich monarchy than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In the weeks after Khashoggi disappeared at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Erdogan and his aides did more than just quietly investigate: They narrated the crisis, focusing the world’s attention on what they said was a brazen, state-sponsored assassination on its soil. Grisly details of the alleged killing were released to the Turkish and international news media. Erdogan publicly upbraided Saudi Arabia’s leaders, accusing them of obstructing the probe. Turkey’s revelations may have helped push the Saudi government to reverse its repeated denials of wrongdoing and announce early Saturday that it had arrested 18 people and fired several top officials in the case. Saudi officials said Khashoggi was killed in a fight inside the consulate. In a final act of Turkish pressure, prosecutors said Friday that they were interviewing Turks who worked at the consulate — employees who might have insight into the movements and actions of Saudi officials around the time Khashoggi disappeared. Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, also warned that when Turkey completed its investigation, it would share the results “with the world.” For Erdogan, the benefits of turning up the heat on Saudi Arabia and its young crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, were apparent, analysts said. The two countries have competed for influence in the Middle East and clashed over Turkey’s support for Qatar in a feud that divided the region. Erdogan has little personal affection for Mohammed, who referred to Turkey this year as part of a regional “triangle of evil,” along with Iran and regional Islamist groups. The Khashoggi investigation, with its allegations of high-level collusion by Saudi officials, provided Turkey an opportunity to damage the crown prince’s reputation, analysts said, and to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Turkish president has also said he regarded Khashoggi as “a friend.” Erdogan may be seeking other leverage for Turkey as well, including preventing Saudi meddling in Syria along Turkey’s border, and financial aid or relief from either the United States or the Saudis, analysts said. The crisis provided a measure of respite for Turkey, at a time when Erdogan was facing criticism at home because of the ailing Turkish economy and criticism


Leaping from specialists to ERs fails to solve this young boy’s odd ailments

Ever since he was a toddler, Michael had been beset by an array of medical problems that doctors couldn’t explain. Severe leg pain came first. That was followed a few years later by recurrent, sometimes severe, stomachaches. Later, the little boy developed a wracking cough, followed by trouble breathing. In fifth grade, after he fell and smacked his tailbone, he was in so much pain he wound up in a wheelchair. His worried parents took him to four emergency rooms and an array of Washington-area specialists, among them orthopedists, neurologists, pediatricians and a gastroenterologist. Yet virtually every test failed to uncover a problem. It would take a seasoned pediatrician to pull together the disparate elements of the 10-year-old’s medical history and make an unexpected diagnosis that would prove to be a turning point for the boy and his family. Three years later, Michael, now 14 and a freshman in high school, seems to have moved beyond the disorder that dominated his first decade. His father said he believes his son’s illness resulted from “a perfect storm” of factors. He would have preferred that the doctors who saw Michael had spoken “a little more freely about their guesses” and had provided more guidance. To protect Michael’s privacy, his parents requested that he and they be identified by their middle names. A child in pain When he was nearly 2, Michael, who had been previously healthy, began limping and then stopped walking. His pediatrician found no obvious explanation and sent him to a pediatric neurologist, who ordered an extensive work-up, including scans and blood tests. After ruling out possible causes including juvenile arthritis and cancer, the toddler was diagnosed with idiopathic joint swelling — joints that were swollen for an unknown reason. Michael’s father, Ralph, said the boy received no treatment, and after a week, the problem went away on its own. The following year, Michael woke up one morning, screaming that his knee and stomach hurt. His parents took him to a nearby ER. Doctors could find nothing: Michael was able to walk, had no fever and did not seem to be in pain when he was touched. After several hours, doctors sent him home. A day later, he was running around and seemed fine. Several months afterward, the stomachaches returned, sometimes accompanied by diarrhea. Ralph’s sister, a primary-care physician in New England, wondered whether he might have contracted a parasitic


Bolton pushes Trump administration to withdraw from landmark arms treaty

The Trump administration has told U.S. allies that it wants to withdraw from the landmark Reagan-era Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF, and plans to inform Russian leaders of its position in the coming days, said foreign diplomats and other people familiar with the deliberations. The planning is the brainchild of Trump’s hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, who has told U.S. allies he believes the INF puts Washington in an “excessively weak position” against Russia “and more importantly China,” said a diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. For years, the United States has expressed concern that Russia is violating the INF with a ground-launch cruise missile known as the SSC-8. Russia, in turn, has accused the United States of violating the treaty with missile-defense installations in Europe — an accusation that U.S. officials deny. Officials say that Washington has made no final decision to withdraw from the treaty, which would require a formal six-month notification, but that U.S. officials plan to signal the administration’s intent as Bolton heads to Moscow for talks with Russian officials. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking at NATO headquarters earlier this month, signaled that the United States would not put up with the status quo for long. “Russia must return to compliance with the INF Treaty or the U.S. will need to respond to its cavalier disregard for the treaty’s specific limits,” Mattis said. “The current situation with Russia in blatant violation of this treaty is untenable.” The INF Treaty was seen as a high point in Cold War arms-control negotiations. Over the strong objections of many Europeans, the United States installed Pershing II intermediate-range missiles in Europe in the 1980s. The deployment put pressure on the Soviets that ultimately led Moscow to agree to eliminate all missiles with ranges from 500 to 5,500 kilometers, including the Pershings. At the end of the Obama administration, officials sought to use the dispute-resolution mechanism within the treaty to resolve the disagreement, but to no avail. The Trump administration has taken a more muscular approach. In an effort to step up pressure on Moscow, the Pentagon has begun research and development into a missile banned under the INF that the United States could test, produce and deploy upon the collapse of the treaty. Research and development is not prohibited by the pact. Bolton’s plans signal that his National Security Council intends


Khashoggi outcry galvanizes critics against Saudi arms sales

‘Made in America’ label on it.” Mohammed bin Salman — the once-vaunted Saudi crown prince whose government released a statement Friday night reversing its original account and admitting that Khashoggi was killed at the consulate — has become a favored business partner of U.S. defense contractors seeking to expand their international sales. Nearly every major American weapons manufacturer has done business with the kingdom, in coordination with the U.S. government under foreign military sales programs. “It’s hard for a president to turn down what looks like easy money,” said A. Trevor Thrall, an associate professor of international security at George Mason University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. “Everyone loves the Saudis in the defense industry. They are an excellent customer.” Executives from the top defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, often tout their close relationship with the kingdom as they seek to broaden their reach deeper into international markets. In the wake of Khashoggi’s disappearance, many top American executives as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have said they will not attend an upcoming Saudi investors conference. (Mnuchin said Friday, however, that he will attend a separate anti-terror finance meeting in Riyadh.) But defense executives have been quiet, fearing, analysts said, insulting the oil-rich kingdom, which has the third-biggest defense budget in the world behind the United States and China. Spokesmen at virtually every major defense contractor declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. “I’m kind of surprised that you haven’t seen more deep moral leadership in the U.S. aerospace industry on this,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group. “But then again they have the imperative of not wanting to annoy their primary customer. The defense industry relies upon Trump for his patronage.” Byron Callan, a defense analyst with Capital Alpha Partners investment bank, said that despite the uproar over the apparent killing of a journalist, business will proceed uninterrupted. “We continue to believe that the death of Jamal Khashoggi will not lead to a major break in U.S. or European defense sales to Saudi Arabia, but the issue could linger in 2019-2020 and the war in Yemen,” he wrote Thursday in a note to investors. “We believe it is implausible that Trump would cut off sales to [Saudi Arabia].” A disruption in the sale of arms would cause short-term pain for


Mohammed bin Salman could bring his kingdom crumbling down

Among advisers to family-owned businesses there’s a widely known adage : “Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” Difficult as it is to build a successful enterprise, it is more difficult to raise children with the ability and desire to keep it going. Producing one grandchild among a potentially rivalrous set of cousins with the right talent and interests and force and tact — is more challenging still. Observers of Saudi Arabia have been mulling this problem for many years, as the strongest among founding king Abdul Aziz ibn Saud’s 45 sons passed the crown from one to another. Now, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist lured to the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, chillingly tells us that generational succession is no longer a future problem. It is a present crisis. Admittedly, thanks to the ocean of oil discovered beneath the sands of Saud’s realm, there’s no risk of his grandchildren reverting to the nomadic life from which the kingdom was built nearly a century ago. Instead, the risk is that the third generation — lacking its grandfather’s cunning and the caution of its fathers — will drag the kingdom into a spiral of treachery, backstabbing and recklessness. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has shown himself to be steeped in all three. MBS, as the crown prince is widely known, is the first of his very numerous generation (Saud had at least 22 wives) to wield the power of the crown; his father, King Salman, is 82 and partially disabled by Alzheimer’s disease. A young tyrant in a big hurry, MBS elbowed aside an older cousin last year, confining him to house arrest, and also set about jailing his rivals, torturing his critics, silencing dissenters, and creating a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions in neighboring Yemen. Khashoggi’s murder, for all its alleged grisly sadism, seems right in character. True, the House of Saud has never been known for liberalism. Oppressive at home and subversive abroad, it long ago made a devil’s bargain with radical Wahhabism that lies near the root of al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Taliban. Even so, dispatching a team of killers — allegedly packing a bone saw — to dispose of a prominent U.S. resident on Turkish soil is an act of alarming brashness. I asked one knowledgeable business executive whether this tells us MBS is crazy or stupid. “Hmm,” came the answer. “Maybe


Mnuchin still plans to attend Saudi anti-terror financing meeting after Khashoggi disappearance

Numerous other Western officials and corporations have pulled out of the “Davos in the Desert” financial summit because of the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a contributing columnist for The Washington Post. The event Mnuchin still plans to attend — a gathering of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center in Riyadh — would include participation by Saudi security services that are under scrutiny in Khashoggi’s death. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — the presumptive king and one of Trump’s closest allies in the region — is under growing pressure to explain the disappearance of Khashoggi, who U.S. intelligence officials believe was killed and dismembered by a Saudi “murder team” inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey on Oct. 2. He has not been seen since. The White House has been hesitant to criticize Saudi Arabia, although President Trump acknowledged for the first time Thursday that Khashoggi was probably dead. In announcing his withdrawal Thursday from the financial summit, called the Future Investment Initiative, Mnuchin said he reached the decision with the help of Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Mnuchin did not give a reason for pulling out of the conference, but he was under growing pressure from congressional Republicans not to attend as it could have been seen as a sign the Trump administration was not concerned about the alleged killing. He joins an exodus of government officials and corporate titans who have announced their withdrawal from the summit, including Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Bill Ford of Ford Motor Co. and AOL founder Steve Case. Fox Business also announced its departure after Mnuchin’s announcement Thursday. Financier Tom Barrack, a friend of the president with deep ties in the Middle East, has also dropped out of the conference, a person familiar with the matter confirmed Friday. The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center is a new entity co-founded by the United States and Saudi Arabia that Mnuchin helped establish last year. It includes the governments of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Trump administration officials have not revealed who Mnuchin plans to meet with from the Saudi government during his visit. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) criticized Mnuchin’s planned Saudi visit Friday. “It is unconscionable for @stevenmnuchin1 to stand beside the Saudi government after the likely murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This administration is emboldening lawless dictators around the world,” he wrote on Twitter. damian.paletta@washpost.com


Why the U.S. has to hold Saudi Arabia to account for the disappearance and alleged slaying of Khashoggi

by Ben Barka’s family and supporters, France has declassified some documents but not the intelligence files that might fully reveal Ben Barka’s fate and the role of French government agencies in it. In Morocco, a truth commission established in 2004 after Hassan II’s death said it had reached a dead end in unraveling the Ben Barka case as a result of the noncooperation of relevant agencies and officials. Western powers may have shed no tears over the liquidation of a socialist firebrand during the Cold War. However, their failure to demand accountability for the crime on French soil may have emboldened the king. He went on for the next quarter-century to crush his domestic opponents of every political persuasion, his security agencies disappearing them by the hundreds or imprisoning them after systematic torture and mass, unfair trials, sometimes in secret prisons — as the truth commission set forth in some detail. Moroccans refer to that era as “the years of lead.” Khashoggi, a former adviser to the Saudi royal family, clearly made enemies through his criticism of the regime. His disappearance, like that of Mehdi Ben Barka, may be breathtakingly brazen, but it comports with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s government’s ongoing practice of persecution of even the mildest of critics, down to the women who publicly demanded an end to the ban on women driving (which was lifted in June). Western governments, lulled by Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth and massive arms purchases and investments abroad, as well as its strategic significance, have rarely challenged its atrocious rights record. The blunt calls that some are now making for answers about the fate of Khashoggi — supported by some Western corporate executives who have never before spoken up about Saudi abuses — has put the crown prince on the defensive internationally for the first time. This inflection point creates an opportunity that should not be wasted.The international community needs to challenge the crown prince’s idea of “top-down reform” that crushes underfoot all reformists other than himself. On the 40th anniversary of Ben Barka’s disappearance, the mayor of Paris presided over the dedication of the spot across from the Brasserie Lipp as la “Place Mehdi Ben Barka.” Perhaps someday a plaque will be placed outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul commemorating Khashoggi’s disappearance. Let it not also commemorate governments’ failure to stand with him and all other victims of a brutal government.


Amid Khashoggi uproar, many Saudis see a foreign plot and rally around their prince

declined to give his last name or talk about the Khashoggi case, saying he was not familiar enough with the details. He was clear, though, that whatever emerges, Saudis have a duty to rally behind their leaders, especially at a time when the country is being condemned from abroad. “Whatever they are doing, we know it is best for us,” he said, standing near a kiddie roller coaster and a bank of “Deal-No Deal” video games. “We should be united with our government,” he said. “We know our country needs us more than ever. Our government gives us so much. This is the least we can do for them.” In part, Mohammed’s continuing support here has been fueled by aggressive pro-government Twitter campaigns and Saudi media. Recent stories in the local press have blamed Khashoggi’s disappearance on plots by the kingdom’s enemies and rivals — Turkey, Iran and Qatar. One myth repeated endlessly on Twitter is that Qatar owns 50 percent of The Washington Post, explaining the newspaper’s coverage of the case. Another column in the Okaz newspaper and Saudi Gazette, published late last week, called the Khashoggi incident “a comedy act . . . orchestrated by haters and ill-wishers in Qatar” to “damage the reputation of Saudi Arabia.” It called them “small parasites with a very short life cycle.” The column ran under the headline: “The drama will be over soon and Saudis will have the last laugh.” After the official announcement acknowledging that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, many of the tweets and media reports here have sought to rally people behind the government. The official announcement seemed intended to distance Mohammed and his father, King Salman, from the actions of the 18 suspects detained in the case. “If 18 people betray the King, the other 30 million will not,” said one tweet, parroting the official line that the 18 were not acting on behalf of the crown prince or the king. At the mall, the crowd was largely young and urban — the kind of people who represent the core of support for Mohammed’s Vision 2030 program of social and economic restructuring, which has included allowing women to drive for the first time, introducing cinemas and other entertainment, and creating more jobs. Their voices are significant in a nation where 60 percent of the population is under 30. The Saudis who are more likely to oppose