Arab states fear Khashoggi case could trigger regional instability

Some brutal humor is circulating in the Arab world. One popular meme on Twitter, emanating from North Africa’s Maghreb region and captioned “Saudi diplomatic pouch,” shows a wooden box stuffed with saws, drills and chisels. Another, a video of lumberjacks using chain saws and axes, is labeled “Competition for best Saudi ambassador.” In the upper echelons of regional governments, however, few are laughing as Saudi Arabia and its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, face what may be the most serious threat to the kingdom’s power and stability in a generation. Many have long worried about the prince’s ambition and perceived arrogance. Others resent Saudi dominance and wealth. Nearly all are shocked at what few doubt was the officially sanctioned killing and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey. But what worries the Arabs most, regional officials and experts say, is what they see as the danger to their own stability and security should Saudi Arabia’s status — and its close ties with the United States — be seriously undermined. “The situation is a dilemma for the region because of the uncertainty of how it will affect the relationship with the U.S. long-term,” said a senior official from a Persian Gulf country, one of several who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the sensitive issue. As the Trump administration compiles what Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday called its own “data set” on what, exactly, happened to Khashoggi, and weighs how to fully respond, regional concern is mounting. If the administration decides — or is pressured by Congress and public opinion — to seriously step back from its alliance with Riyadh, “our security is at risk,” the gulf official said. “Iran might see another opportunity to destabilize.” Not every Arab country is happy with every aspect of Trump’s policies toward the Arab world. Most, but not all, share the administration’s antipathy toward the Muslim Brotherhood, the region’s leading purveyor of political Islam. Some are more unhappy than others at the administration’s pro-Israel tilt, and its up-and-down relationship with non-Arab Turkey is closely watched. But with few exceptions, Trump’s determination to crack down on Iran, after what was seen as the Obama administration’s soft stance toward their regional rival, has been greeted with relief. And for better or worse, Trump has chosen Saudi Arabia as the United States’ main interlocutor and leading Arab ally in


Japan’s prime minister, a Trump buddy, now tries to cozy up to China’s president

raft of rich countries to try to reduce its exposure to the United States, where President Trump has slapped tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports and is threatening more. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang just came back from a trip touting Chinese market access to European companies, while Beijing is redoubling its efforts to forge a trade deal called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. There are even murmurs that China might try to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 11-country trade deal that Trump pulled out of in his first week in office. Japan, a neighbor and China’s second-biggest export market after the United States, is an important part of this diversification effort. China has been pressing Japanese companies to announce investment plans and deals in China during Abe’s visit, and has generally been pushing for an improvement in the relationship to offset the sharp deterioration with the United States, according to people familiar with the preparations. This appears to be a tactical move, analysts in Tokyo say. “Is it fundamental and long-lasting? It could just be a tactical move to deflect tensions coming from the U.S., and drive a wedge between the U.S. and Japan,” said Narushige Michishita of Japan’s National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. But Abe’s government is happy to go along with it for its own economic reasons. “Prime Minister Abe wishes to elevate Japan-China relations to a new level,” a Japanese government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to preview the sensitive visit. China is already Japan’s largest trading partner, and more than 30,000 Japanese companies operate here, pumping more than $3.3 billion in direct investment into the country each year — and the market is only becoming more attractive. China’s middle class totals about 250 million people, double the entire population of Japan. That represents a tantalizing opportunity for consumer goods companies in particular, like Shiseido, the skin care company. But Japan has a tricky balancing act. Abe has poured an enormous amount of energy into developing a personal connection with Trump, and the military alliance with the United States is the cornerstone of Japan’s security. Japan is also concerned about becoming collateral damage in the trade war. “We don’t want to see this U.S.-China trade issue damage the international supply chain,” the Japanese official said. “Japanese companies also have stakes and could be negatively affected. We hope that dialogue between the


Trump says Saudis engaged in ‘worst coverup ever’ as U.S. imposes penalties

on this matter from the United States,” Pompeo said during a briefing at the State Department. “We will continue to explore additional measures to hold those responsible accountable.” The killing of Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, has provoked international outrage over Saudi Arabia’s conduct and raised urgent questions about whether the kingdom’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, was involved in the plot. Mohammed on Tuesday received a standing ovation when he appeared at a major investment conference in Riyadh — which some Western executives and leaders have withdrawn from because of the controversy — but the crown prince did not address the crowd. Separately on Tuesday, the official Saudi Press Agency published photos of the Saudi monarch, King Salman, and the crown prince meeting two members of Khashoggi’s family, including his son. One photo showed the son, Salah, looking ashen-faced and shaking hands with Mohammed as a video cameraman stood in the background. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter that the leaders shared “their deepest condolences and sympathy to the family of Jamal Khashoggi, may God rest his soul.” For more than two weeks after Khashoggi disappeared while visiting the consulate, Saudi officials repeatedly said that he had left the mission alive and that they had no information about his whereabouts. Early Saturday, the Saudi officials did an abrupt reversal, acknowledging he had been killed inside the consulate but blaming the matter on a “rogue” operation that ended in a deadly brawl. “Saudi Arabia took an important step by accepting the murder,” Erdogan said in his speech. “After this, we expect them to reveal those responsible for this matter. We have information that the murder is not instant, but planned,” he said. Erdogan directly addressed King Salman, noticeably making no mention of the 33-year-old crown prince. Erdogan requested that the 18 Saudi suspects arrested so far be put on trial in Istanbul and said it was important that any Saudi investigation be carried out “by an impartial and fair delegation” with no connections to the killing. The Turkish president did not address some of the most explosive allegations that have surfaced during the investigation — notably that Khashoggi was dismembered after he was killed. And he did not present any of the evidence that Turkey had gathered so far, including audio recordings that investigators are


Saudis are said to have lain in wait for Jamal Khashoggi

ISTANBUL — As Jamal Khashoggi prepared to enter the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, a squad of men from Saudi Arabia who investigators suspect played a role in his disappearance was ready and in place. They had arrived from Riyadh, the Saudi capital, early that morning and checked in at two international hotels in Istanbul before driving to the consulate in the leafy Levent neighborhood, said two people with knowledge of the investigation. One of them, the Mövenpick Hotel Istanbul, is a few minutes from the consulate by car. By the end of the day, a 15-member Saudi team had conducted its business and left the country, departing on planes bound for Cairo and Dubai, according to flight records and the people familiar with the investigation. Turkish officials have previously said they believe that Khashoggi, a prominent journalist and critic of the Saudi government, was killed inside the consulate. Turkish officials, who are examining the squad’s movements, have now expanded their investigation to explore what happened at the residence of the Saudi consul general, Mohammed al-Otaibi, located 500 yards from the consulate. A photograph taken from a Turkish police closed-circuit television camera outside the residence and obtained by The Washington Post shows a Mercedes Vito van with tinted windows that security officials say transported some of those men from the consulate to the residence about two hours after Khashoggi entered the consulate. In the week since the disappearance of Khashoggi, a contributor to The Post’s Global Opinions section, the Saudi government has maintained that he left the consulate soon after he arrived. Not only do they not know what happened to him, they say, but they are also worried for his safety. “It goes without saying that his family in the Kingdom remain gravely concerned about him, and so are we,” the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Khalid bin Salman, wrote in a message that was shared with the news media on Monday. Before Khashoggi’s disappearance, U.S. intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture him, according to a person familiar with the information. The Saudis wanted to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and lay hands on him there, this person said. It was not clear whether the Saudis intended to arrest and interrogate Khashoggi or to kill him, or if the United States warned Khashoggi that he was a target, this person said. Saudi


Photos: The magnificent hunter’s moon rises over Washington

On Wednesday evening, about 30 minutes after sunset, the hunter’s moon rose in the clear autumn sky over Washington in spectacular fashion. The weather for the moonrise Wednesday evening was chilly and clear, and perfect for photography. There were a few scattered clouds on the eastern horizon that briefly covered the rising moon, but only for a moment. I chose the Marine Corps War Memorial as the setting for my photo shoot because the Marine Corps Marathon is Sunday. The grounds around the Marine Corps War Memorial and Netherlands Carillon are already covered by tents and tables as organizers prepare for the event. The hunter’s moon is the first full moon after the fall equinox following the harvest moon. It usually occurs in October but occasionally slips into November. In the Southern Hemisphere, the hunter’s moon occurs six months later. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, Algonquin tribes called this the hunter’s moon because it signaled the time to start hunting to stock up on meat for winter. In addition to the images I photographed above, find additional scenes of the moon shared by Capital Weather Gang readers below:


Saudi Arabia says Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, reversing earlier statement that the journalist had died in fistfight

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said that Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a planned operation, based on information it received from Turkish investigators in Istanbul, according to a statement from the kingdom’s Foreign Ministry. It is the latest reversal from Saudi authorities, who last week said Khashoggi was killed accidentally in a fistfight at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul by “rogue” agents.This is a developing story. It will be updated.


The Daily 202: Democrats call for investigation into Trump’s iPhone use after a report that China is listening

on both sides find common rhetorical ground cannot erase the reality of the times in which we now live,” -- Some on the far right were quick to suggest the attacks might have been a “false flag” by Antifa or another leftist group. -- The attempted violence against George Soros comes amid escalating political attacks on the billionaire philanthropist. -- The package sent to CNN appeared to feature a parody of an ISIS flag that has circulated among right-wing circles on the Internet. KHASHOGGI FALLOUT: -- Saudi Arabia acknowledged journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death was premeditated, contradicting its earlier statements. -- CIA Director Gina Haspel listened to the audio that purportedly captured Khashoggi's interrogation and killing during her trip to Turkey this week — giving a top U.S. intelligence official access to the same evidence Turkey used to accuse Saudi Arabia of premeditated murder -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with MBS for the first time since Khashoggi’s death. Their discussion came as Turkish investigators returned to the grounds of the Saudi Consulate, in an “apparent hunt” for the journalist's remains, -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Saudi Arabia “would not have murdered” Khashoggi “without” U.S. protection. -- Washington operative Ali Shihabi has been defending the Saudis since the Khashoggi news broke. THERE'S A BEAR IN THE WOODS: -- Special counsel Bob Mueller has obtained evidence suggesting that right-wing conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi, an associate of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone, may have known WikiLeaks would release emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman. -- “Mueller appears to be locked in a dispute with a mystery grand jury witness resisting giving up information sought in [his] ongoing probe,” -- Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos will give closed-door testimony today on Capitol Hill. THE MIDTERMS: -- “A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Georgia election officials to stop summarily tossing absentee ballots because of mismatched signatures, delivering a crucial win to voting-rights advocates — and to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams,” -- A new NBC News-Marist poll found Abrams and Kemp virtually tied in Georgia’s gubernatorial race. -- “The final debate in the Florida governor race devolved into an extraordinary, highly personal brawl,” -- DeSantis has sought to keep attention on reports that Gillum received a “Hamilton” ticket from an undercover FBI agent. -- Democratic congressional candidates are using the fear of a late Republican surge to motivate their


Local Digest

children clutched her whenever a shot rang out. A protective order intended to keep Howie from his estranged wife expired a few days earlier, police said. U-Va. Hospital to Correct Problems The University of Virginia Medical Center has submitted a plan to a federal oversight agency showing how it will correct problems that threaten its $230 million in annual Medicare funding. The plan, sent to the Health Care Financing Administration late last week, indicates that “the jeopardy to patient health and safety . . . has been removed,” said William E. Carter, senior associate vice president for hospital operations. The Health Care Financing Administration had threatened to terminate the facility’s Medicare funding next month if certain practices in the psychiatric ward continued. The practices included failure to protect patients -- there have been at least three allegations of sexual assault on the ward recently -- and failure to follow federal regulations on the use of restraints. Corrective actions detailed in the plan include intensive staff training on how to deal with events that include possible abuse, neglect or harassment of patients; better screening of job applicants; more staffing; and increased use of security cameras. Astrobiology in Works at Hampton U. Students at Hampton University will soon be able to take a class that’s out of this world. A course in astrobiology is being developed by biology professor Arthur Bowman and researchers from the school’s Center for Atmospheric Sciences. It’s the first of its kind at the university and one of only a few such programs in the country. The NASA-supported course will focus on understanding what life beyond Earth might look like and how to identify it, Bowman said. The university began developing the course last year with a $100,000 grant from NASA’s Astrobiology Institute, which studies the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life on Earth and in the universe. If life does exist elsewhere, Bowman said, it would most likely be primitive and microscopic. “When people think of life in outer space, they think of things like all those poor movies they’ve seen all their lives,” he said. “It will probably be microbial.” “I worry about many people in clinical trials or other human research hearing about this and panicking. Biomedical research, to succeed, really does depend on the confidence of the public.” Compiled from reports by staff writers Martin Weil and Darragh Johnson and the Associated Press.


The U.S.-Saudi relationship is worth preserving — but not under the current terms

supported through acquiescence or silence. Worse still, the president and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s approach to Saudi Arabia has been based on magical thinking. Far from being a catalyst in containing Iran or taking a lead role in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, MBS’s policies in Qatar and Yemen have enlarged Tehran’s room to maneuver. King Salman had to walk back his son’s enthusiastic support for the president’s peace plan. The administration might very well get some Saudi help to dampen upward pressure on oil prices when new U.S. sanctions on Iran remove oil from the market, but this will surely benefit Saudi Arabia and is anchored in Saudi Arabia’s own national interest. The challenge isn’t just punishing Saudi Arabia for killing a journalist. The Saudis have been undermining U.S. interests, too. We need to take steps to rebalance what has become a one-sided, dysfunctional relationship. The administration should start by freezing senior-level contacts with the kingdom, beginning with MBS, for a period of time to send an unmistakable signal that it is losing confidence in the crown prince. Washington should also suspend support for the Saudi air campaign in Yemen — a misadventure that is seen as MBS’s war — and press Riyadh to show greater flexibility toward a U.N.-brokered political solution. There is also no reason that the United States should not speak out against MBS’s repressive policies at home, which over time could accelerate instability in Saudi Arabia. And if it’s proved that MBS was involved in Khashoggi’s murder, additional steps such as freezing assets, travel bans and suspension of arms sales should be considered. This is a critical inflection point in U.S.-Saudi relations. MBS could conceivably rule Saudi Arabia for 50 years. The United States has a strong stake in supporting a wise, prudent and reform-minded leader; it most certainly doesn’t have an interest in being used and abused by a reckless authoritarian who seems bent on repressing his own citizens, killing his opponents, destabilizing the region and undermining American interests and values in the process. Read more: Ben Freeman: It’s time to silence the Saudi lobbying machine in Washington David Ignatius: The Saudi royal family circles its wagons in the Khashoggi crisis Charles Lane: Saudi Arabia and the ineptitude of monarchy The Post’s View: How the current crown prince changed Saudi Arabia — for the worse Abdullah Alaoudh: We Saudis will never be silent about Jamal Khashoggi’s death


It’s time to end America’s double standard on Iran and Saudi Arabia

practice, encourages popular participation. Any rational thinker would conclude that Iran is a much better long-term partner than Saudi Arabia — as long as Iran is compelled to abandon its most destructive behavior. The nuclear deal presupposed that Iran would become, if not a partner, at least a more constructive rival. And there was reason to believe this would happen. The United States and Iran cooperated to fight both the Taliban and, later, the Islamic State — both, it should be noted, Saudi-funded terrorist enterprises that undermine global security. None of the world leaders involved in the Iran nuclear negotiations considered the agreement to be a miraculous panacea to our disputes with Iran. They saw it as an opening, a test worth taking in part because the relationship with Saudi Arabia was becoming untenable. A rebalancing has long been in order, and that happens only if we can craft a working relationship with Iran. On Nov. 4 — which quite conspicuously happens to be the anniversary of American diplomats being taken hostage in Tehran in 1979 — the prospects of finding a new modus operandi with Iran will diminish dramatically, as we tacitly grant MBS approval to keep up his reign of terror. Imagine if Trump were to make that a day of reckoning for both Tehran and Riyadh. He could do so by choosing to reduce the power wielded by all oil-rich, terror-sponsoring, murderous, human-rights-ignoring, Islamist powerhouses. How? By punishing their atrocious behavior and rewarding real progress. He should delay the start of sanctions on Iran until the Saudis give an honest accounting of what happened to Jamal Khashoggi. And he could boldly offer Iran fresh negotiations conditioned on the release of Americans and other prisoners of conscience long held captive there. We desperately need to put an end to the era of unchecked extremism in the Middle East, which has its roots in Tehran and Riyadh. We should adopt a realistic and rational approach, free of double standards, that holds both capitals accountable for the chaos they sow, while incentivizing them to act like responsible global powers. Read more: In a previously unheard interview, Jamal Khashoggi talks Saudi Arabia and freedom The Saudi royal family circles its wagons in the Khashoggi crisis A young Saudi woman is facing execution — for taking part in nonviolent protests It’s time to put the brakes on Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen


Canada’s response to Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a test for Trudeau

Canada is grappling with how to respond to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, apparently torn between a desire to stand up to Saudi Arabia and breaking an arms deal at a steep cost. Since Saudi Arabia admitted Saturday, after weeks of denial, that Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has faced calls to cancel a 2014 contract for the sale of light armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The export of arms was negotiated by the previous government but given a final green light by Trudeau’s administration. Trudeau said Thursday that the terms of the deal, which are largely secret, include a punitive cancellation policy “in the billions of dollars.” On Thursday, he told reporters that his government is undertaking a review of export permits to the kingdom. “We will continue to work with our allies around the world in order to get better answers on this incident and talk about the consequences,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. Since Khashoggi disappeared Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, the United States, Canada and major economies in Europe have scrambled to act together, offering statements of condemnation but little else. President Trump has both defended Saudi Arabia and criticized its explanation of Khashoggi’s death as the “worst coverup ever” but has insisted that the killing not jeopardize U.S.-Saudi arms deals. The European Parliament on Thursday passed a nonbinding resolution condemning the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, and urging a European Union-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia in response. The move came several days after Germany became the first Western nation to suspend future arms sales to Saudi Arabia. But it remains unclear whether the resolution will pressure the governments of individual E.U. member states, particularly Britain and France, to follow suit in giving up their own lucrative contracts with the Saudis. Any further European action will up the pressure on Trudeau, who is fresh off politically bruising trade negotiations with the United States and Mexico and looking ahead to an election in 2019. “This is treacherous political territory in an election year, for anybody,” said Janice Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. “Canada has been struggling to find exactly the right level of response.” The exact terms of the arms deal have never been disclosed.


Drop in adult flu vaccinations may be factor in last season’s record-breaking deaths, illnesses

Fewer than 4 out of 10 adults in the United States got flu shots last winter, the lowest rate in seven seasons and one likely reason that the 2017-2018 season was the deadliest in decades. Reports released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide new details outlining the severity of the past flu season, during which more people were killed by seasonal influenza than in any other since the 1970s. Flu vaccination is the main way to prevent sickness and death caused by flu. But last season, vaccination coverage among adults was 37.1 percent, a decrease of 6.2 percentage points from the previous season. That’s the lowest rate for adults 18 and older since 2010-2011. For many years, overall vaccination coverage has remained flat, with less than half of the U.S. population getting vaccinated. But the most recent drop has caused concern among experts. “That’s huge. It’s a striking inflection down from the previous year,” said William Schaffner, an infectious-diseases expert at Vanderbilt University and medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Data released Thursday also provide a comprehensive picture of the impact of last season’s deadly respiratory virus. Some data about deaths and hospitalizations were released last month, but new details show the scope of last season’s harshness. The CDC estimates that: Last winter’s flu season was so devastating for several reasons. It was dominated by an especially fierce virus strain. Seasons where H3N2 is dominant typically result in the most complications, especially for the very young and the old, experts say. Vaccines are also less effective against H3N2. The virus changes rapidly, requiring more updates to the seasonal vaccine, and making it that much harder for the body’s immune system to generate a good response. The drop in vaccine coverage also could have contributed to last season’s severity, said Alicia Fry, chief of epidemiology and prevention in CDC’s influenza division. Flu vaccine, while far from perfect, reduces illness and serious complications, such as hospitalizations and admission to intensive-care units. Schaffner and CDC officials said the drop in vaccine coverage could be related to preliminary reports about low vaccine effectiveness in Australia. Flu activity in the southern hemisphere can often predict what Americans might expect. “I think that really discouraged a lot of people from getting vaccinated,” said Schaffner, who noted that the early data about the vaccine’s effectiveness in Australia was incorrect. It’s


Ethiopia appoints first female president in its modern history in latest reform

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s Parliament on Thursday approved the East African country’s first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde, a veteran of the United Nations and the diplomatic corps. The position of president is ceremonial in Ethiopia, with executive power vested in the office of the prime minister. But the appointment is deeply symbolic and follows up on last week’s cabinet reshuffle. Half the ministers in the government are women in Africa’s second-most populous country. “In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life,” tweeted Fitsum Arega, the prime minister’s chief of staff and de facto government spokesman. Parliament accepted the resignation of Mulatu Teshome — who had served as president since 2013 — and named Sahle-Work to replace him. In remarks in Parliament after she took her oath of office, Sahle-Work emphasized the importance of respecting women and the need to build a “society that rejects the oppression of women.” She also promised to work for peace and unity in the country. She added that those who think she has already talked too much about women should expect even more. Ethiopia’s young new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in April, has initiated a whirlwind of changes, releasing political prisoners, inviting back exiles and making peace with the country’s chief opponent, Eritrea, after two decades of hostilities. Abiy has also publicly declared the need to promote women in what has been a largely patriarchal, conservative society. A woman now heads one of the most powerful ministries in the country, the Ministry of Peace, which controls the intelligence agency and security forces. Muferiat Kamil, the former speaker of the house, heads the ministry, which aims to tackle the widespread ethnic unrest that has erupted in the country since the easing of the authoritarian control. Amid these moves, however, the government has been criticized for failing to contain the ethnic unrest in the countryside and for the arrest of thousands of people in Addis Ababa, some of whom then spent time in reeducation camps. Sahle-Work, 68, becomes modern Ethiopia’s first female head of state, though in the country’s history, there have been empresses who wielded great power. Sehin Teferra, co-founder of the feminist Setaweet movement, said the appointment is important because gender equality in Ethiopia is generally


This is no way to fight a war

Mark Stoneman is a retired U.S. Army major who served in the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan in 2012, and in Iraq in 2005 and 2010. After 17 years of U.S. military support, the Afghan government cannot survive on its own. Even more troubling: American soldiers cannot serve alongside their Afghan allies without the constant threat of being killed by them. This is no way to run a war. For as long as soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition have been training the Afghan National Security Forces, Afghan soldiers and policemen have been murdering them. Such incidents, sometimes perpetrated in support of the Taliban insurgency, are called insider attacks. According to a 2017 study by the Modern War Institute at the U.S. Military Academy, at least 157 NATO personnel had been killed since 2007 in insider attacks. An insider attack last week targeted a group of officials that included the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Austin "Scott" Miller. The attack occurred during a meeting of top civilian and military officials at the compound of the Kandahar province's governor in southern Afghanistan. A gunman in an Afghan security uniform opened fire, killing Gen. Abdul Raziq, Kandahar's police chief, who had survived previous assassination attempts, and his top intelligence officer, Abdul Momin. The Kandahar governor, Zalmai Wessa, was wounded. Miller escaped harm, but three U.S. soldiers with him were wounded, including Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Smiley. Taliban insurgents claimed credit for the attack, which came amid stepped-up violence before parliamentary elections. According to Afghan officials, 78 people died at polling places Saturday. The damage and destruction of insider attacks go well beyond the casualties: They undermine the trust that is vital for an advising mission to succeed. Developing a credible Afghan army and police force has long been the cornerstone of the U.S. exit strategy. In 2012, when I was serving in Afghanistan as a member of the NATO unit tasked with training Afghan forces, insider attacks surged, with 45 attacks killing 61 coalition troops, up from 21 attacks killing 35 troops in 2011. Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan at the time, told CBS News's "60 Minutes" that "we're willing to sacrifice a lot for this campaign, but we're not willing to be murdered for it." The Obama administration was so alarmed by the insider attacks that we received word from the White House to stop


This big factor is at the heart of political protests all over Middle East

In the spring, major protests swept through Jordan over economic grievances and subsidy reforms. In July, protesters took to the streets in the south of Iraq, demanding that the government address persistent unemployment, underdevelopment and corruption. In January, Tunisians launched a wave of protests to oppose tax hikes on basic goods and on the increased cost of living. Iranians protested in large numbers that month over unemployment and economic hardship. In September, Yemenis in the south protested against economic hardship and alleged corruption. Such highly politicized responses to social policy concerns are the norm rather than the exception across the Middle East and North Africa. Social policy is where most citizens actually encounter the state, and where policy most impacts people’s lives. Social issues were arguably at the heart of the political grievances underlying the Arab uprisings of 2011. Young populations frustrated over a lack of access to jobs took to the streets, joined by citizens protesting political repression and poor social service provision. While the 2011 protest wave has long since faded, the underlying economic and social problems have only become more intense. On April 20, the Project on Middle East Political Science and the Harvard Middle East Initiative led by Tarek Masoud convened a workshop to discuss these issues. The papers are now available as a free open-access collection that can be downloaded here. What is social policy? Social policy refers to policies shaping life concerns such as education, health, housing and employment. It concerns the ways that polities and societies meet the basic needs of their citizens and residents for human security and well-being, broadly defined, and face the challenges of poverty, unemployment, demographic and socioeconomic change. National and local governments are the main actors in crafting and enforcing social policy, but nonstate actors such as international and domestic organizations, civil society groups, for-profit entities and families, among others, are also key. One of the central issues driving the workshop was simply that social policy must be understood in terms of politics, not just as technocratic challenges. Much technical discussion of social policy reforms focuses exclusively on their potential economic impacts, with political effects or drivers largely an afterthought or an exogenous constraint. Analyses of subsidy reforms, for instance, typically consider the potential of price hikes to evoke disruptive protests, but treats social mobilization as a problem to be managed rather than as a legitimate expression of


Saudi Arabia and the ineptitude of monarchy

Given the choice between admitting that he is a murdering thug and admitting that he presides over a government staffed by murdering thugs, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has apparently opted for the latter. That’s the logical implication of Saudi Arabia’s emerging cover story for what the crown prince himself now publicly admits was a “heinous crime”: the killing of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. According to Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Khashoggi died in “an operation that was a rogue operation. This was an operation where individuals ended up exceeding the authorities and responsibilities they had. They made a mistake when they killed Jamal Khashoggi.” An unnamed Saudi official described the killing to Reuters as a botched kidnapping that ended up with Khashoggi in a deadly “chokehold.” Or maybe it devolved (according to other Saudi pronouncements) into a fatal “fistfight.” Whatever the details, the crown prince was totally ignorant that such a thing was even contemplated, the Saudis insist. And, per Jubeir, “even the senior leadership of our intelligence service was not aware of this.” That certainly doesn’t say much for the intelligence capabilities of Mohammed’s handpicked spy chiefs. Why, they even seem not to have noticed when a couple of jets owned by the government took off for Istanbul on the day of the crime, loaded with members of Mohammed’s security detail and other ranking officials. Perhaps that, and not their failure to get the Khashoggi job done right, accounts for the firing of two of Mohammed’s top intelligence deputies last week. To be sure, even if this tale exonerates the crown prince of deliberate homicide, it indicts him for total mismanagement of his father’s kingdom’s affairs. Such are the trade-offs of leadership, apparently. And such are the pitfalls of a governing system that not only does not discourage nepotism but also celebrates it. It’s an obvious point but strangely does not get made very often: This is the sort of thing that can happen when a government chooses its leaders based on kinship, not ability, or even popularity, and has no mechanism of accountability more substantial than the monarch’s favor. No doubt the U.S. presidential election system is not the world’s best advertisement for democracy at the moment, but at least it offers two off ramps for disastrous leadership — impeachment and a two-term limit — that Saudi Arabia


Jamal Khashoggi and the Trump administration’s shifting stance toward the Saudis

President Trump and his administration have been moving between a hard and a soft approach in the case of Khashoggi’s disappearance.


A Pulitzer Prize-winning professor and her students challenge U-Md. over news and disinformation

able to remove anyone from the mailing list, but that they “offer instructions for an interim workaround measure for those requesting it.” Lorente said he now refuses to read the website although he is forced to receive it along with 50,000 other university faculty, staff and students. OSC officials said they were not available to answer other questions about the site in a timely manner. In our class “Censorship and Disinformation,” we have concentrated on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s information warfare beginning in 2000 through today as well as on other hidden online actors who seek to manipulate readers’ beliefs. Ben Nimmo, an expert in disinformation, argues that “the essence of disinformation is the intent to deceive. While such an intent is difficult to prove, it can be inferred by reference to three key criteria,” which he terms the “ABC approach.” These criteria are: “the accuracy of factual statements, balance in reporting and the credibility of the sources chosen.” While most of the facts contained in Maryland Today’s posts may be accurate, some articles omit negative facts necessary to understand what actually happened. For example, in an article title “Hate-Bias Response Log Launched,” the first paragraph states: “The Office of Diversity and Inclusion has created an online hate-bias response log to inform the campus community about reported incidents.” The article fails to mention the recent cases of hate-speech and actions that forced the university to convene an inquiry into the university environment and which prompted the new approach. One such incident was the murder of an African-American student last year allegedly by a white student who had written racist comments online. The article frames the story only in a way that commends the university for taking action to protect students. “This (reporting) log is a step toward increased transparency, and it also allows students, staff, and faculty to see the outreach provided to impacted parties,” said Cynthia Edmunds, interim chief diversity officer. Another example are the headlines. A Diamondback headline about an outbreak of mold in several student dormitories included: “UMD Resident Life offered students $750 to cancel their housing. It didn’t go well.” A Maryland Today headline reads, “Reslife Gets Creative on Housing Crunch.” In “University Commits to Follow McNair Report Recommendations,” the author discusses the report’s findings and the conditions leading to Jordan McNair’s death, but the only quotes are from university officials. Students, athletes, and McNair’s family


He had a carbon halo bolted to his skull. Now he’s competing as an Ironman again.

massage. He still has considerably less range of motion on one side of his neck and a tight left hip. A little over two months after the halo was removed (and five months after the accident), Don achieved his first big goal by running the Boston Marathon, despite a cold, pouring rain, in a remarkable 2:49:12 — almost a minute faster than his target. Athletes who compete in elite Ironman competitions — they must swim 2.4 miles, complete a 112-mile bike ride and run the equivalent of a marathon (26.2 miles) — are among the fittest in the world. Up until the accident, 80 percent of Don’s income came from wins and bonuses. Not racing meant he would have to rely on the 20 percent supplied by sponsors. Notably, none of Don’s sponsors dropped him after the accident. In fact, many stepped up their offers. The Swiss running and apparel company On went beyond re-signing Don’s contract; it made the documentary detailing Don’s recovery. “One of the key ingredients we look for when recruiting athletes is that they are eternal optimists,” On co-founder David Allemann said. On enlisted Emmy-winning director Andrew Hinton to write and film “The Man With the Halo.” With the documentary screened all over the world, Don is now known just as much for his halo as for his athletic accomplishments. On June 24, Don took another big step forward when he won the Costa Rica 70.3 (a half-Ironman). On July 29, he faced a bigger test: Ironman Hamburg, his first Ironman since his accident. His ninth-place finish was enough to earn him a spot on the starting line at Kona. Despite the adversity, Don said he still believes, “The harder you train, the luckier you get.” Yet, Don said, if he had the choice to do it over again, he would choose the spinal fusion over the halo. “When someone tells you it’s going to be painful, you have no idea how painful because pain is relative,” he said. But it is less his personal physical pain and more the painful emotional impact of the halo on so many friends and relatives that makes him now question his choice. “Don’t be afraid to lean on people because someday they’ll need to lean on you,” Don said. “And you can always draw energy from different places.” On Saturday, Don will find himself in a very different place


China is reportedly hacking computer motherboards. The economic fallout could be huge.

explores how countries are increasingly starting to weaponize interdependence — using these vulnerabilities and choke points for strategic advantage. China’s reported hacking of motherboards is a perfect example of this. As the Bloomberg article recounts, Chinese manufacturers dominate key aspects of computer hardware manufacturing. While some people had been confident that China would never hack exported components en masse — for fear of the damage that it would do to the Chinese economy — the Bloomberg article suggests that they have succumbed to temptation. It should be noted that the United States, too, has used its economic weight against Chinese hardware manufacturers. At one point the United States threatened the Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE with economic sanctions that would have made it impossible to buy chips from manufacturers with exposure to U.S. markets, a move that would effectively have driven ZTE out of business. The economic consequences are enormous If the Bloomberg report is confirmed — and especially if it is one particular example of a broader problem — there will be very big economic repercussions. The U.S. economy and China’s economy are deeply interdependent. If the U.S. believes that Chinese firms are using this interdependence strategically to compromise U.S. technology systems with hardware components that undermine security, there will be pressure on the United States to systematically disengage from China and, perhaps, from global supply chains more generally. This could have substantial knock-on repercussions for international trade, leading eventually to a world in which countries are much less willing to outsource components of sensitive systems to foreign manufacturers. Because we live in a world where technology is becoming ever more connected and ever more exploitable, this might mean that large swaths of the global economy are pulled back again behind national borders. The United States is already highly suspicious of Chinese telecommunications manufacturers, while organizations closely linked to U.S. intelligence are calling for a far more systematic reappraisal of the security implications of supply chains. In an extreme scenario, it may be that the globalized economy of the 1990s and 2000s was a brief aberration, which will be replaced by more constrained and limited international exchange between economies that keep the important parts of their manufacturing economy at home. Henry Farrell is professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University. Abraham Newman is a professor at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.


As the Instant Pot goes mainstream, a crush of cookbooks follows — and hits every niche

The cookbooks come on strong this time of year. Boldface names in the food world — Nigella, Ina, Ottolenghi, Redzepi, Solomonov and Teigen among them — will prompt legions to hit the checkout button. But the dozens of titles swamping food editors’ inboxes and the ones that may generate the biggest, longest-lasting buzz are all about a particular appliance: the programmable electric multicooker trademarked as Instant Pot and its growing ilk. Politicians up for midterm elections only wish they could harness the passion inherent in Instant Pot communities online, where folks share the ins and outs of ownership. Although the countertop cookers have been around since late 2010, the Instant Pot company’s concerted marketing to influencers began to pay off by 2016, some analysts say. Amazon Prime Day spikes in sales for the past three years made publishers sit up and take notice. (Amazon founder Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) A multicooker can function in a variety of ways, such as steaming, boiling, sauteing, etc. But its ability to speed up preparation of long-simmered foods via push buttons has defanged pressure cooking for the masses. Early on, it seemed the clamoring public would not be satisfied with the gradual rollout of single-ingredient or cuisine-centric IP guides. We want it all, and we want it now, which is why Instant Pot cookbooks have morphed so quickly from general recipe collections to niches so specific that the books’ subtitles can take longer to parse than it does to produce an Instant Pot of oats. The books are geared to cuisines, dietary regimens, budget, number of ingredients, mealtimes and even those cooks turned on by the promise of “ultimate” and “essential.” “Instant” is somewhat misleading, however. Manali Singh, author of “Vegetarian Indian Cooking With Your Instant Pot” (Page Street Publishing, 2018), says that because of the brand name, “people often assume that everything will be cooked in seconds and minutes. . . . It’s an appliance that does take time to come to pressure and then also takes time to release the pressure, so one has to keep that in mind.” Those realities have not turned folks away. In short, this is no flash in the pan or bone-broth trend. “What’s surprising a few years out is that it’s really still gaining momentum,” says Jacqueline Musser, a senior editor at Adams Media. “People are revolutionized.” They are hungry for more multicooker


Here’s what the Russians think about the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from a nuclear arms treaty

Despite Russian urgings, national security adviser John Bolton is insisting that the United States will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The treaty prohibits all short-range and intermediate-range ground-launched missiles, both nuclear and conventional, as well as systems that can be used to launch such missiles. As a result of the treaty, neither Russia nor the United States can deploy missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, or 310 to 3,420 miles. Since this is a bilateral treaty, other countries are not bound by these constraints. Since the U.S. government announced its withdrawal plans, Russian officials and experts have weighed in on what this means for Russia and how to respond. Here are five things to know. 1. Russians see the INF as giving unfair advantages to the United States Russian experts and officials have long argued that the treaty that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev signed with President Ronald Reagan in 1987 was disadvantageous — first to the Soviet Union and then to Russia. Russia gave up its ground-launched intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles without extracting any restrictions on U.S. sea- and air-launched missiles. That’s significant, because the vast majority of Russia’s nuclear weapons are land-based, whereas the United States bases much of its nuclear force on submarines. The Kremlin believes this has allowed the United States to dominate the world’s oceans with its Tomahawk cruise missiles, and has left Russia vulnerable to a U.S. sea-launched attack. 2. Russians believe that it is the United States that has been violating the treaty The United States has claimed that Russia has been violating the INF since 2014, by testing and secretly deploying a ground-based variant of its sea-launched Kalibr missile. Russia has in turn claimed that the United States is in violation, doing so in two ways. [Russia used to see itself as part of Europe. Here’s why that changed.] First, the Kremlin claims that U.S. unmanned strike aircraft, such as Predators, are actually ground-launched cruise missiles — and should be subject to the treaty’s prohibitions. The United States argues that these are actually piloted aircraft — even if the pilot may not be sitting in the aircraft, but on the ground — and therefore excluded from the treaty. The second Kremlin claim has more substance. Russia argues that the U.S. Aegis Ashore missile defense system, which is being deployed in Romania and Poland to complement naval systems


‘Fix what’s broken, not break what’s working’: After athlete’s death, some Md. lawmakers stand behind Loh

A group of Maryland lawmakers expressed support Thursday evening for University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh following the release of a commission’s investigative report about the school’s football culture in the wake of a player’s death. An external report concluded the university’s football team did not have a “toxic culture” but that problems festered because too many players were afraid to speak out, according to a copy of the report obtained by The Washington Post. The Maryland Board of Regents received the report Oct. 19 and discussed the findings this week. The regents plan to meet again Friday. An investigation into the death of Maryland football player Jordan McNair found that more than an hour passed between the time the 19-year-old offensive lineman began experiencing symptoms of heatstroke and when school officials called to report a medical emergency. The death prompted an inquiry that has some calling for new leadership for the program, and for the state’s flagship university. On Thursday evening, two Democratic state senators representing Prince George’s County — James C. Rosapepe and Paul G. Pinsky — and a handful of state representatives sent a letter to the Board of Regents, the governor, the Senate president and the House speaker.


The Daily 202: To win the Midwest, labor-backed coalition pursues minorities who haven’t voted before in midterms

her vote against Kavanaugh’s confirmation. -- Michael Bloomberg donated $43 million to Democratic super PACs in the first half of October. AMERICA ON EDGE: -- Three more suspected pipe bombs — addressed to Robert De Niro and Joe Biden — were discovered, intensifying the search for a serial bomber. The timeline: -- Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) issued a defiant response to the bomb threats against her: “I ain’t scared.” -- Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) received a death threat on social media. -- A pair of false alarms caused panic in California and New York. -- Trump attacked CNN around 3 a.m. Friday in his harshest terms since the network's headquarters received a pipe bomb on Wednesday: -- Many of Trump’s Republican allies have started echoing his finger-pointing at the media in the wake of the mail bombs. -- “Why false narratives about the migrant caravan and mail bombs won’t go away on social media,” KHASHOGGI FALLOUT: -- CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed Trump on the audio recording she heard in Turkey that purportedly captured the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as the Saudi government acknowledged his killing was “premeditated.” -- The European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution urging a European-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia in response to Khashoggi's death. -- Harvard and MIT, which have each accepted millions of dollars from Saudi entities, said they are looking into their relationships with the kingdom. -- Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have examined a series of January 2017 meetings between Michael Flynn and Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri — the Saudi intelligence chief blamed for Khashoggi’s killing — to discuss regime change in Iran. “The communications show that participants in the meetings discussed a multipronged strategy for eroding, and eventually ending, the current Iranian regime ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN: -- Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a key Trump ally, called for FBI and Justice Department officials to be investigated after a closed-door interview with George Papadopoulos. -- National security adviser John Bolton is trying to force out Defense Secretary Jim Mattis by spreading rumors about his imminent departure. -- Pulling a Cheney: The administration has riled police groups with its selection of Uttam Dhillon as DEA chief after he was involved in vetting candidates for the job. -- Brett Kavanaugh appears to be close friends with Noel Francisco, Trump’s solicitor general who will be arguing cases on the administration’s behalf before the Supreme Court.


Trump’s personality-driven foreign policy must end

that the Saudis were going to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. All of this good cheer and mutual admiration came to a crashing halt with the brutal murder of Post Global Opinions columnist Jamal Khashoggi. As Eric Edelman, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, explained recently on PBS: “I think the administration is trying to get ahead of what will undoubtedly be an important push for sanctions. I’m not sure they’re going to be able to get ahead of that, because … this is [a] major crisis in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, certainly the biggest one since 9/11.” He continued, “If evidence is found that actually links Mohammed bin Salman directly to the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, this will become an existential crisis for this relationship.” Edelman recognizes that MBS might have to go or see his power curtailed. (“There certainly have been historical examples in the past of not just crown princes, but kings being replaced, so that’s not unprecedented,” Edelman said. “What is unprecedented has been the accumulation of power that Mohammed bin Salman has had in his hands over the last year and a half.”) More important from the U.S. perspective is to stop treating the Saudi relationship as simply an outgrowth of Trump’s or Kushner’s relations with the House of Saud — relations that might be influenced by their financial dealings. Edelman cautions that “although the administration has elevated the relationship with Saudi Arabia since it came in, it has made it a relationship between families, between Jared Kushner and Mohammed bin Salman, between the Al Saud and Trump families.” That needs to change. “We need to have a relationship that is institutionalized and based on the state institutions.” This would be equally solid advice for the administration’s dealings with other countries. Three changes, at least, would be in order. First, no more Trump summits, certainly no more one-on-one summits. We have no idea what Trump is saying or promising in private conversations with our most dangerous foes, nor any idea what our opponents’ expectations going forward might be. Only the dictators gain from these situations; they get a PR bonanza and the stamp of legitimacy without giving up anything. Second, Congress needs to start exercising proper oversight. What is our Iran policy? Why are we still backing the Saudis’ war in Yemen? The administration might be incoherent, but Congress, especially the Senate, is


What we know (and don’t know) from the report on Maryland football culture

it continued. The invoice was eventually revised, and Evans said that Anderson told him to pay the attorney quickly, using money from the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. The use of foundation money, the report stated, was “questionable at best." Anderson has denied creating the “speaker's fee” arrangement, according to the report. "Mr. Durkin, a relatively new coach, was described by Dr. Loh as a 'babe in the woods' regarding the complexities of a Title IX investigation of this nature,” the report says. “Still, Mr. Durkin’s failure to question a plan that characterized [the attorney's] services as “speaker’s fees,” which was plainly pretextual, is troubling." Loh saw Anderson's failures with the botched Title IX case as “the last straw,” the report states. He ordered an investigation and suspended Anderson, but believed the situation was “irreparable." Maryland and Anderson later reached an agreement, under which Anderson would resign after six months. The period was publicly called a sabbatical, though both Loh and Anderson knew the AD would not come back to Maryland. There were two reasons for the six-month grace period, the report explained. Some within the university were worried that a resignation would be interpreted incorrectly, and instead look as if Maryland was involved in a corruption scandal that had engulfed college basketball. “Second, the grace period allowed Mr. Anderson to continue to hold the title while he searched for another athletics director position,” the report stated. After Anderson officially left Maryland, he served as interim athletic director at Cal State Northridge. How does this all relate to the death of Jordan McNair? The purpose of this investigation was to examine the culture of the football program. Another report, which has already been released, provided an in-depth look into the failings of the school’s medical staff in the treatment of McNair. This report, however, found that the program’s culture did not lead to McNair’s death. Additionally, the commission’s report stated frustration with the program had been building and the death of McNair “seemingly served as a catalyst for bringing their concerns to light.” Read more: Svrluga: The four months since Jordan McNair’s death have exposed what a mess Maryland is Maryland football booster banned from flight to Michigan still supports team, DJ Durkin Maryland releases report on Jordan McNair, laying out timeline that led to player’s death Motivation or abuse? Maryland confronts football’s fine line as new allegations emerge.


China and Japan pledge to take their relationship in ‘new historic direction’

Abe was treated to a full red-carpet welcome by Premier Li Keqiang, inspecting a guard of honor and being celebrated at a reception in the opulent Great Hall of the People. This was accompanied by the somewhat startling sight of Japanese and Chinese flags flying together along the wide central boulevard between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, fluttering in front of a huge portrait of Mao Zedong, the father of Communist China. Memories of Japan’s aggression against China in the first half of the 20th century remain strong here. Abe brought 500 business representatives with him, and Japanese and Chinese companies had signed deals worth $18 billion during the visit, Li said. He hailed the deals as a sign of the “bright prospects” for the countries’ economic relationship. Their two central banks also signed a three-year credit swap agreement that will allow them to exchange $30 billion worth of each others’ currencies, a measure that will make it easier for banks to facilitate trade between the two countries. “Vigorous trade will bring the bonds between our people ever closer,” Abe said Friday. They also signed agreements relating to elder care and the securities market, although details were vague. And they pledged to work together on joint developments in Southeast Asia and to promote a Chinese-led regional trade deal called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. There is still much mistrust between the longtime rivals. For one, China is highly suspicious of Abe’s efforts to revise Japan’s pacifist postwar constitution, and for another, Tokyo thinks Beijing is intent on regional domination. But their focus on common interests reveals both leaders’ concerns about their economies. China is trying to shore up other big markets — it is Japan’s largest trading partner — as President Trump’s tariffs begin to bite when China’s domestic economy is cooling. And Japan is concerned about becoming collateral damage in the trade war and about the shrinking of its market as its population ages. China’s middle class totals about 250 million people, double the entire population of Japan, representing a tantalizing opportunity for Japanese consumer goods companies. This comity is likely to cause some discomfiture in the Trump administration, which has been seeking to punish China over perceived unfair trading practices and encourage advanced economies such as Japan and the European Union to join the United States in loudly condemning practices including the theft of intellectual property. anna.fifield@washpost.com


The Finance 202: Amid Trump’s taunts, Jay Powell is mastering an inside game

Mancini: “Global stocks dropped Friday, dragged lower by lackluster technology earnings in the U.S. and signaling a return to the negative mood that has dominated markets for most of the week. After Thursday’s rally on Wall Street, U.S. futures pointed to opening declines of 1% and 1.4% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, respectively. Shares in Amazon were down 10% in U.S. premarket trading, while shares in Netflix and Alphabet were each trading at least 5% lower. ‘Last night’s earnings were disappointing,’ said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING in Germany. ‘Amazon particularly doesn’t bode well for the entire economy, casting doubts about the strength of U.S. consumption.’” — Jobless claims rise. — OPEC wavers. TRADE FLY-AROUND: — U.S. declines talks with China. “Negotiations have been on hold since mid-September, when the Chinese canceled a trip to Washington after the U.S. announced levies on the $200 billion of Chinese imports . . . ‘If China wants [the G-20 session] to be a meaningful meeting, we need to do the groundwork,’ a senior White House official said. ‘And if they don’t give us any information, it’s just hard to see how that becomes fruitful.’ ” China, Japan vow to cooperate on trade. China likely to intervene against yuan's slide. MELTDOWN WATCH: — Tom Barrack in the wilderness. Bloomberg's Caleb Melby: “Helping a fading reality-TV star with no political experience capture the White House might have led to a role in the administration or made Colony [Capital, Barrack’s investment firm] a magnet for money from around the world. But mixing business and politics hasn’t worked out for Colony’s 71-year-old executive chairman. Instead, he damaged relations with the Qatari royal family, his best business partner in the Middle East, by helping orchestrate a relationship between the White House and the Saudis. Meanwhile, Colony hemorrhaged talent, raised only half the debt fund’s target, and entered into an ill-fated merger. Its shares have fallen about 60 percent since Trump’s inauguration, even as U.S. market indexes have risen more than 20 percent.” SAUDI ARABIA FALLOUT: — Energy deals dominate Saudi conference. “Saudi Arabia signed 25 agreements on Tuesday worth more than $55 billion in the energy, petrochemicals, infrastructure and transportation sectors. Out of the total, state oil giant Saudi Aramco alone signed memoranda of understanding worth $34 billion with some of its key longtime partners such as France’s Total, and international service


Maryland regents meet with DJ Durkin; AD says, ‘We just have to wait to see what happens’

BALTIMORE — DJ Durkin met Friday afternoon with the University System of Maryland Board of Regents as it weighed whether the Maryland football coach should be allowed to return to the sideline. The board also met with Maryland President Wallace D. Loh and Athletic Director Damon Evans at the university system’s downtown headquarters. Evans said, “We just have to wait to see what happens,” when he was asked about his job status as he left the meeting at about 4:30 p.m. He declined to comment further. Durkin declined to comment when he was seen leaving about an hour later. Loh was not available to comment. The board convened the special session to discuss the Maryland football program for the fourth time in the past week at the conclusion of an independent investigation launched in August following media reports that alleged abuse and bullying in the program in the wake of offensive lineman Jordan McNair’s death. McNair, 19, suffered exertional heatstroke during a team workout on May 29 and died 15 days later. Regents have been internally debating what actions to take and have studied the findings of a 192-page report produced by an eight-member commission. The commission said Maryland was not plagued by a “toxic” culture under Durkin’s watch, but it did outline troubling incidents, finding fault with leadership and oversight at virtually every level. The board has made no personnel decisions, and it is unclear when it might do so. According to multiple people familiar with the board’s inner workings, there has been no clear consensus on what to do next, with some of the 17 regents in favor of parting ways with Durkin, Evans and Loh, some in favor of retaining just the president and still others who think all three should remain in place. The regents were not expected to make any formal announcements following the meeting, which continued into Friday evening. Durkin had met three times with investigators who were probing the culture of his football program but until Friday had not met with the body that will ultimately decide his fate. Durkin and two training staffers, Wes Robinson and Steve Nordwall, have been on administrative leave since August. As the board considers what actions to take, speculation and pressure have ramped up in recent days. Lawmakers, school donors, sports boosters and College Park colleagues have all reached out to the regents, voicing support for some


CIA director briefs president on audio purportedly capturing the killing of Jamal Khashoggi

the center of Trump’s Middle East policy. Trump has publicly resisted calls to end weapons sales to the Saudis, the world’s largest purchaser of U.S. defense equipment, saying that it would cost American jobs. But the succession of events this week has underscored the rapidly mounting pressures on Saudi Arabia to fully illuminate Khashoggi’s killing, amid increasing global skepticism. U.S. and foreign officials and experts with knowledge of the kingdom have said that such an operation was virtually unthinkable without the knowledge and approval of the highest levels of the Saudi government, particularly the powerful and ambitious crown prince. But Salman’s appointment of Mohammed to head the committee revamping the intelligence apparatus, and the prince’s appearance this week to host global government and industry leaders at a Riyadh investment conference, has all but ended speculation that his position was threatened. Appearing at the conference Wednesday, Mohammed called the journalist’s killing “a heinous crime.” In another sign that the kingdom is seeking to contain the widespread fallout, Salah Khashoggi, the eldest son of Jamal Khashoggi, has left Saudi Arabia, two people close to the family said Thursday. The son, a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen who was photographed receiving condolences from Salman and Mohammed on Tuesday, had previously been restricted from leaving. Salah Khashoggi was headed to the United States to join his three siblings, who are already here, according to one of the people. The photos and video footage of him meeting with the king and crown prince were released by the Saudi government in an apparent effort to showcase their sympathy. Instead, the images elicited scorn on social media, with critics accusing the leaders of exploiting a grieving son. State Department deputy spokesman Robert J. Palladino told reporters that “we made it clear that we wanted him to be able to return [to the United States], and are pleased that he’s been able to do what he so desires.” Asked if the son had faced obstacles in leaving Saudi Arabia, Palladino said he was “not aware” of any. Jamal Khashoggi, 59, was a contributing columnist for The Washington Post who was living in Virginia after leaving Saudi Arabia because of fear about his safety. He had been planning to settle in Istanbul and marry his Turkish fiancee when he was detained and killed in the Saudi Consulate. Also Thursday, the European Union issued a fresh condemnation of Khashoggi’s killing and reiterated


James Karen, character actor who appeared with giants and the ‘Living Dead,’ dies at 94

James Karen, who began a long career as a character actor at the suggestion of a congressman and who appeared in thousands of commercials and more than 200 film and television roles, including “All the President’s Men,” “Poltergeist,” “The China Syndrome” and the cult classic “The Return of the Living Dead,” died Oct. 23at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94. He had a respiratory ailment, said his wife, Alba Francesca. Mr. Karen did not became established in Hollywood until he was in his 50s, but he found his career path early, when he was walking home from school in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “A guy stuck his head out the window, with a big wax mustache, and he said, ‘Hey you!’ ” Mr. Karen said in a 2013 profile in the Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice. “I said, ‘Yes, sir?’ “He said, ‘Are you a Boy Scout?’ “I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ “He said, ‘You got a uniform?’ “I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ “He said, ‘This is the Wilkes-Barre Little Theatre. Go home and ask your father and mother if you can be in a play, that Dan Flood wants you in a play.’ ” Mr. Karen, then known by his original name of Jacob Karnofsky, got his first acting job, thanks to the talent-spotting eye of amateur actor Daniel Flood, who later served as a longtime Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives. “It was terrific for me,” Mr. Karen said of his early theatrical experience. “It gave me a real reason to exist, and to live. I was doing exactly what I wanted to do.” By the late 1940s, Mr. Karen was appearing on Broadway and on early television shows. He began acting in films in the 1960s and, after moving to the West Coast in 1975, was constantly in demand. He played a lawyer in “All the President’s Men” (1976) and “Kiss Me Goodbye” (1982); a TV news producer and Jane Fonda’s and Michael Douglas’s boss in “The China Syndrome” (1979); a judge in “Frances” (1982), with Jessica Lange; a business mogul opposite Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” (2006); a TV executive in Garry Shandling’s “The Larry Sanders Show” (1992-98); a stricken-faced real estate agent, Mr. Teague, in Steven Spielberg’s “Poltergeist” (1982); and a warehouse foreman who knows where the bodies are (supposedly) buried in “The Return of the Living Dead” (1985). “Let me ask you a question,


At Glenstone, dining options match the museum’s minimalist aesthetic

food and drink are permitted — and given that it takes several hours to see the pavilions, gallery and grounds, you are probably going to get hungry. When you do, you can head to the Patio, or to the Cafe, a full-service restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows that make you feel like you’re in a treehouse and a pared-down menu that matches the minimalist aesthetic — and minimalist art — of its environs. There are only a handful of choices at the Cafe, presented on butcher paper. On a recent visit, it was a velvety smooth pureed squash soup garnished with fresh thyme and corn; a Cobb salad with crispy bacon and buttermilk dressing; and a simple roast beef sandwich served on Lyon Bakery bread with housemade potato chips. All of the ingredients are locally sourced, says the chef, Brian Patterson, who had previously been director of the culinary arts program at L’Academie de Cuisine in Maryland. “There’s a strong sensibility of sustainability here at Glenstone, and we wanted to extend that to the sources of the food that we used, and also the level of quality in the ingredients,” he said. That means instead of fussy pastries, one of the standout snacks on the menu at both the Patio and the Cafe is a housemade granola bar with poached cranberries and almonds — chewy and crunchy and just enough to fuel you up for a walk through the Woodland Trail. Patterson says he’ll be changing the menu frequently according to the seasons and what his farmers give him. Splashy museum openings tend to bring in high-profile dining attractions. The MoMA has the Modern, a Danny Meyer restaurant that earned two Michelin stars. He followed it up with Untitled, the cafe at the new Whitney Museum. In the District, the Sweet Home Cafe in the National Museum of African American History and Culture was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award. Each of those museum dining experiences has grand ambitions — either as a stand-alone restaurant in the case of the first two, or as part of the curatorial experience for the latter. But Glenstone eschews all of that. Patterson’s directive, he says, was to create a cafe that was an amenity. The museum is the destination, not its restaurant. “We really didn’t want to razzle dazzle, we didn’t want to get too sophisticated or complicated on the plate, we didn’t


European Parliament passes resolution urging arms embargo on Saudi Arabia

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament passed a nonbinding resolution on Thursday condemning the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and urging a European Union-wide arms embargo on Saudi Arabia in response. The resolution came several days after Germany became the first Western government to suspend future arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest arms importer. On Sunday, Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that, in light of Khashoggi’s Oct. 2 killing in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate, “arms exports can’t take place in the current circumstances.” But it remains unclear whether Thursday’s resolution will pressure the governments of individual E.U. member states to follow suit in giving up their own lucrative Saudi contracts. After the United States, Britain and France are Saudi Arabia’s two largest sources of arms. So far, both have issued scathing condemnations of Khashoggi’s killing but have stopped short of heeding Merkel’s example. According to Britain’s Department for International Trade, Britain exported arms and equipment worth at least $1.4 billion to Saudi Arabia last year, but the real figure is probably higher. In 2017, potential French sales of more than $14.7 billion were approved. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Theresa May both spoke via telephone with King Salman, according to a statement issued by the Saudi Foreign Ministry late Thursday, hours after the European Parliament’s resolution passed. According to an Elysee Palace readout of the conversation, Macron pressed his Saudi counterpart for further clarity on what happened to Khashoggi and emphasized that France considers the freedom of expression and the freedom of the press an “essential priority.” “France will not hesitate to take, along with its partners, international sanctions against those responsible,” Macron said, according to the readout. The remarks echoed those of British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who told Parliament this week that “if the appalling stories we’re reading turn out to be true, they are incompatible with our values, and we will act accordingly.” But Britain and France have stopped short of suspending arms sales to the desert kingdom. With lofty rhetoric, the European Parliament, an assembly of 751 elected officials from the 28 E.U. member states, rejected “the explanations provided so far by the Saudi authorities on the matter as lacking credibility.” They also cast the torture and killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributing columnist, as an affront to European ideals. His killing, the resolution read, is “part of a pattern


Brexit is a divorce. And in most divorces, the spouse that wants out has to pay.

view issues of custody and finances independently — and that’s how Britain wants to proceed with Brexit. Emotions about immigration ran high before the 2016 referendum, and the subject remains of crucial importance to Brexit supporters. English divorce courts favor the clean break: a complete severing of financial ties between a couple (more easily achievable when they are dual earners, when it’s a short marriage or when there is enough capital for one to buy off the other). That’s not dissimilar to a “hard” Brexit, the scenario in which Britain leaves the E.U. customs union and assumes complete control over its borders. In some divorces, however, ongoing alimony is inescapable — analogous to a “soft Brexit” compromise, in which Britain would no longer technically be part of the European Union but could stay, one way or another, part of the common market (as Norway has). If either Britain or the European Union were my client in a divorce proceeding, I would advise that almost any middle ground would be better than going off the “no deal” cliff. Political standoffs, like marital showdowns, create their own destructive momentum. (Many former spouses look back and wonder why they quarreled so furiously and expensively.) The debate about population flows is not all or nothing, for instance: Britain could be granted some degree of control over which workers from the continent get to move to its shores, even as disruption to current migrant workers is minimized. Britain badly wants to avoid a hard customs border between the Republic of Ireland (part of the European Union) and Northern Ireland (part of Britain). Many divorce agreements fall apart on one sticking point, and this could be it. But perhaps Brussels can find room to move on that front. The Brexit process remains full of uncertainty, but what we do know is that Britain has to leave the European Union by March 29 . Without a compromise, legal and financial limbo loom large for the European Union and Britain. They could end up like those feuding couples who angrily separate but perpetually postpone legal divorce. Twitter: @andrew_newbury Read more from Outlook: A troubled European Union at a loss in grappling with 21st century challenges Why Britain’s national symbol — the cup of tea — is scarcely British Dunkirk, the reality and myth, and its place in a little boy’s memory Follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.


Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi’s murder was premeditated. Fine. Who premeditated it?

SAUDI ARABIA once again changed its story about Jamal Khashoggi, admitting on Thursday he was the victim of a premeditated murder and not, as it said less than a week earlier , the accidental casualty of a “brawl.” But that doesn’t mean the regime of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has finally chosen to come clean about the Oct. 2 death of the Post contributing columnist. Rather, it merely reflects Saudi acceptance of the reality that the previous official version, like the one before it and the one before that, wouldn’t fly with the Turkish president, the U.S. Congress, European governments and possibly even the Trump administration, which has been doing its best to assist the damage control operation in Riyadh. For 17 days, let’s not forget, the Saudi government insisted it knew for a fact that Mr. Khashoggi had walked out of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul shortly after arriving. While the new story is closer to the truth, it still leaves fundamental questions unanswered: Who ordered the hit on the journalist, and what role did Mohammed bin Salman play? The crown prince’s fingerprints are all over the available public evidence. Five probable members of his personal security detail have been identified among the 15-member team that reportedly traveled to Istanbul to assault Mr. Khashoggi inside the consulate. Two of the crown prince’s closest aides, including the keeper of his enemies list and the deputy chief of Saudi intelligence, are among the officials whose firings were announced last week. U.S. intelligence intercepts show that Mohammed bin Salman was intent on silencing Mr. Khashoggi, who frequently, if gently, criticized him, by bringing the journalist back to the kingdom. How that impulse evolved into a murder plot isn’t likely to be disclosed in the absence of an independent international investigation. The Saudi regime remains intent on protecting the crown prince, who cynically gave a speech on Wednesday calling the murder a “heinous crime,” after staging a cruel and creepy photo op in which he offered condolences to one of Mr. Khashoggi’s sons. In adopting the phrase premeditated murder, Riyadh merely conformed with the public demand of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the hope he will respond by suppressing some of the evidence he controls. That evidence reportedly includes an audiotape on which can be heard Mr. Khashoggi’s torture, murder and dismemberment. CIA Director Gina Haspel, who visited


Maryland regents are mulling DJ Durkin’s future. There’s only one choice.

Let’s say a fraternity boy died on the University of Maryland campus after being hazed. The University of Maryland System Board of Regents wouldn’t need four months, two reports and a seven-hour secret meeting to figure out the right response. The frat would be expelled from campus, and perpetrators of abuse would face criminal charges. But because Jordan McNair died at the hands of a football program backed by high-dollar donors, everyone seems confused about what needs to happen. It’s quite simple: Coach DJ Durkin must be dismissed, and those who failed to curb his excesses while presiding over an athletic department of “chaos and confusion” should be expelled from the College Park campus, too, namely President Wallace D. Loh and Athletic Director Damon Evans. The latest report from an eight-member investigative commission shows Durkin’s program operated like a pledge-initiating frat house with hazing rituals, complete with vomit in a trash can. As a result, McNair died from an easily preventable case of heatstroke at what is supposed to be a top research university. Any attempt to shield Durkin from that is pure blame-shifting to placate his wealthy supporters who crave a bowl game. Food thrown against walls. A player who says he was choked with a steel bar in the weight room by a strength coach with a taste for hazing. Slasher videos of serial killers and drills going into eyeballs. A player’s locker moved to the bathroom. Screams of “p---- b----.” Does this sound like a championship operation to you? Or like a Sigma Chi binge weekend? Hopefully Maryland’s regents are just crossing their T’s and have not let money cloud their judgment about this. The report provides plenty of reason to terminate Durkin’s $12.5 million contract for cause despite the howls from his backers that his tactics are what’s required to become a Michigan or an Ohio State. The commission was asked to assess whether Maryland’s football culture is “toxic,” but what the report reveals is in some ways worse: Durkin’s juvenile lack of judgment is a fundamental hazard for his players. The McNair tragedy is not about some fragile player who collapsed when he couldn’t meet Durkin’s championship demands. It’s about a coach who wasn’t ready for a head job, whose program was ill-run and hurtling out of control, an imitative cowboy parody of toughness yet bereft of real standards. Training large, overweight young men in


Marine Corps Marathon forecast: Close to perfect weather for a really long run

This forecast, first posted on Thursday, was updated on Friday. The annual Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is this Sunday. While festivities related to the event begin Friday and go through the weekend, runners and spectators will probably be quite happy the coastal storm in the forecast is moving through the day before the main event. Although it will be on the cool side for the date, that is generally what runners are looking for in marathons. It’s definitely worth considering layers as a spectator, especially if you plan to be outside for most of the race. 7:55 a.m. start: 11 a.m.: 2 p.m.: 5 p.m.: As folks gather before the MCM start at 7:55 a.m., temperatures are near morning lows in the mid-to-upper 40s. Partly or mostly cloudy, but trending somewhat clearer skies seem likely. There’s an outside shot of a quick shower close to sunrise. By the race start, temperatures are rising into the upper 40s to near 50. Skies are continuing to clear, and winds are light, around 5 mph to 10 mph from the west. Temperatures are slow to rise, with readings moving into the low 50s through late morning and toward highs in the mid-and-upper 50s or perhaps a little higher in the afternoon. While there will be a window for sunnier moments, a quick-moving system is arriving from the west with a chance of showers by evening, so increasing clouds become likely in the afternoon. All in all, a pretty good forecast for runners. Good luck to all involved! Note that the MCM kids run Saturday seems likely to be affected by rain, at least early on (rain is likely to taper off as the morning wears on). But it is scheduled to happen rain or shine, so keep an eye on the outside if you’re planning to head over to the event.


In Egypt, a #MeToo complaint can land a woman in jail

CAIRO — May El Shamy could have kept silent, but she didn’t. So when the 28-year-old fashion editor goes to work these days, she feels proud. She’s done what few Egyptian women have done: filed a sexual harassment complaint against one of her bosses. “At the same time, I am a little scared,” she said. Her boss, who denies the allegation, remains in his job and in charge of her fate. A growing number of Egyptian women, many influenced by the #MeToo movement, are coming forward to expose sexual harassment, women’s rights activists and lawyers say. Even as Egyptian women are starting to call it out, they are facing a perhaps unique obstacle, a repressive government that often considers such complaints to be a form of unacceptable criticism. In some recent cases, government authorities have taken legal action against women. In other instances, like Shamy’s, the women are subjected to a vicious backlash that brands them as terrorists or extremists. These campaigns against the women seem to be modeled on the tactics used by the government to target political opponents and critics. Shamy is believed to be the first Egyptian woman to file a police report against her superior, a man who works for an influential newspaper aligned with the government. After she filed the report, she was targeted by an online smear campaign, which included accusations that she is a member of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, considered by the government to be a terrorist organization. “May broke the barrier of fear and this will encourage more women to speak out against sexual harassment,” said Intsar El Saeed, her lawyer. “But the challenge we are facing now is to not allow them to politicize the case and drag it away from the sexual harassment issues.” Restrictions on speaking out In July, Egypt’s parliament passed a law granting the government sweeping powers to regulate social and traditional media, permitting President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi’s widening security clampdown on free speech and dissent to deepen. Then, last month, the government handed human rights activist Amal Fathy a two-year jail sentence for posting a 12-minute Facebook video detailing her allegations of sexual harassment at a bank and decrying the government’s failure to protect women. Authorities said Fathy “was spreading false news” to undermine the country’s image and suspended her sentence only after she paid a hefty fine. But she is now facing a separate


Starbucks opens first U.S. sign language store — with murals, tech pads and fingerspelling

The storefronts along Washington’s bustling H Street Northeast are lit up with familiar names and logos: Petco. Whole Foods. CVS. There is also a Starbucks. Or, more specifically, S-T-A-R-B-U-C-K-S spelled out in the hand symbols of American Sign Language. That fingerspelling is one way to spot the coffee giant’s first U.S. signing store, where 24 deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing employees run the shop using ASL. The store debuts on Tuesday after being converted from a standard Starbucks location to make the design and technology more accessible. It’s a step, employees and advocates say, toward boosting employment opportunities for the deaf community while also immersing hearing individuals in deaf spaces. And it’s a show of support from one of the world’s largest corporate brands. “My identity is accepted here,” said Crystal Harris, a barista at the signing store. “Deafness has many faces.” The store is just blocks from Gallaudet University, a 150-year-old institution and the world’s only university designed for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The shop mirrors Starbucks’s first signing store, which opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2016. Customers from the outside can spot “Starbucks” written out in fingerspelling beneath the main logo and on large table umbrellas. And on the inside, what may appear like any other Starbucks cafe has been specifically laid out and decorated to celebrate deaf culture. One entire wall, for example, is covered by a multicolored mural commissioned by Yiqiao Wang, a deaf artist and Gallaudet faculty member. In fingerspelling, the mural depicts a lowercase “d,” representing deafness, an uppercase “D,” representing deaf identity, an eye to represent visual connections, a hand holding a coffee cup, and other symbols showing merging of deaf and hearing cultures. Customers can communicate in ASL or write their orders on a tech pad. Rather than wait to hear their names called at the end of the bar, customers look up to a screen showing when their drinks are ready. The store was also remodeled to maximize light and open lines of sight — high top tables or tall stacks of cups, for example, limit visibility for people signing to each other. Non-signing customers are also encouraged to use visual cues. Rather than sign that the store didn’t carry chamomile tea, for example, one employee waved his hand across his neck — signaling “no” — and then pointed to a printed menu with other options. Camille Hymes, Starbucks’s regional vice


Japan must ponder the risks of closer ties with China

Yoichi Funabashi is chairman of Asia Pacific Initiative, a Tokyo-based think tank. “They looked like they were smelling each other’s socks.” That’s how Richard Armitage, a former U.S. deputy secretary of state, described the scene when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Xi Jinping of China met for the first time in 2014, on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Beijing. No smile was cracked. No love was lost. Sino-Japanese relations hit rock bottom in 2010 after a Chinese trawler rammed into Japanese Coast Guard boats in waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands (known as the Diaoyu in China), which both countries claim. Tense political relations without dialogue continued for years as economic ties were dangerously strengthened. The increasing interdependence of their economies over the ensuing years mismatched the strained political situation. Abe’s state visit to China on Friday This is a step in the right direction but there are certainly risks to Japan’s foreign policy. One is that Japan may be perceived as caving in to China. After opposing China’s land reclamation and military build-up in the East China Sea and South China Sea, as well as abstaining from the Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank, a Chinese-led development bank, on grounds of being a tool for Chinese economic statecraft, the strategic change of heart may reek of opportunism. If Japan is perceived by smaller Asian nations to be ceding to China, they could possibly do the same. A second risk for Tokyo is that the meeting could be seen by Washington and the rest of Asia as a hedging strategy — an “insurance” policy, as put by a Chinese think tank delegation to Tokyo in April. Japan cannot afford to see any gains in its relationship with China become a wedge in its alliance with the United States. Japan is trying to create a multilateral front with the United States, in line with World Trade Organization rules, to address China’s lack of reciprocity in economic relations and export its own standards. Abe repeatedly tried to persuade President Trump of the geopolitical importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in upholding the liberal economic trading order and of the necessity for trilateral cooperation with Europe to counter Chinese industrial policy. Both pleas were ignored. He was told by Trump in private to leave tackling China’s economic policies to America, according to a a senior official in the Abe government.


Mattis condemns Khashoggi killing, warns such behavior threatens Middle East stability

MANAMA, Bahrain — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday condemned the killing of Washington Post contributor and Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi as intolerable, minutes before Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, at the same venue, criticized the “ hysterical” global reaction in the case. In his first substantive comments on a cascading geopolitical crisis that risks rupturing Saudi Arabia’s relations with the West, Mattis suggested that the killing threatened to undermine stability in the Middle East. The defense secretary made the remarks at a security conference in the island kingdom of Bahrain, across a bridge from Saudi Arabia, shortly before Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir decried what he said was a rush to conclusions before the investigation’s completion. Since Khashoggi disappeared at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, Saudi officials have issued an evolving series of narratives. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia appeared to acknowledge that its agents had killed the dissident Saudi journalist in a “premeditated” operation but has not implicated top officials, including the de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Mattis said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would be taking unspecified “additional measures” in response to the killing beyond the revocation of U.S. visas for certain Saudi suspects. The administration, however, has so far been reluctant to join calls by European allies and others for harsher measures against Riyadh, including a possible halt to arm sales. Above all, Mattis pushed the message that the Khashoggi killing was both a human rights issue and a national security concern for nations in the Middle East. “When opposing voices can be heard within a political process adapted to each nation’s culture, one that permits peaceful opposition by giving voice and human rights to all, a nation becomes more secure,” Mattis said. “When people can speak and be heard calling for peace and respect for all, the terrorist message of hatred and violence is not embraced. With our collective interests in peace and unwavering respect for human rights in mind, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all greatly,” he continued. Without naming Saudi Arabia, Mattis suggested that Khashoggi’s death threatened to stir greater instability in the Middle East at a critical time. The region is struggling to cope with brutal conflicts in Syria and Yemen, a political division between several Persian Gulf nations and Qatar, and what Mattis described as malign activity from Iran