Tunisia’s tough lesson for Mohammed bin Salman

practiced. The Tunisian Journalists’ Syndicate filed a lawsuit urging Tunisia to refer Mohammed bin Salman to the International Criminal Court. An independent judiciary responded by beginning an investigation. And perhaps most importantly, Tunisians could do all of this without fear of government retribution. These events are a small but powerful reminder of what Tunisia, despite its flaws and its struggles, can still teach us. It may not be a model, but it is, and can continue to be, an inspiration. And this is why — merely by existing — Tunisia represents both an exception and a threat to a new but ever-authoritarian Middle East. It’s no mistake that the only Arab Spring democracy is the one where people are protesting Mohammed bin Salman. Tunisia is the near-opposite of Saudi Arabia. The Saudis’ killing of Khashoggi was the culmination of a long list of sins and offenses, each of which have now come under greater scrutiny. Critics have focused on the Yemen war and understandably so. The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding there is perhaps the most egregious example of MBS’s recklessness. Yet Saudi Arabia’s increasingly destructive impact on the rest of the region predates MBS. From 2011, the Saudi authorities worked tirelessly to strengthen dictatorships in the wake of the Arab Spring. Saudi Arabia intervened militarily to crush the uprising in Bahrain, and provided billions to shore up the monarchies in Morocco, Jordan and Oman. In his new book “Into the Hands of the Soldiers,” New York Times journalist David Kirkpatrick provides new and damning details on just how instrumental Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were in fomenting the 2013 military coup that ended Egypt’s democratic experiment. In Egypt, they had a willing partner of the military general Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. In Tunisia they thankfully did not, and have — so far — been unable to push Tunisia off its democratic path despite considerable economic and diplomatic pressure. Today, Tunisia offers lessons not just to its neighbors but also to the United States and Europe on how to deal with strongmen such as Mohammed bin Salman — not with business-as-usual, but with criticism, accountability and a faith that justice, however slow and uneven, can be done. Read more: Democratic Tunisia is taking the wrong path in the fight against terrorism Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression In Egypt, trying to reaffirm faith in their revolution


Pilots unable to correct for faulty sensor that sent Indonesian flight plunging into the sea, report says

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A malfunctioning sensor and an automated response from the aircraft’s software stymied pilots’ efforts to control a doomed Indonesian flight that went careening into the sea last month, according to a preliminary investigative report released Wednesday. The report, which stops short of determining the cause of the crash or analyzing findings, chronicles the chaotic moments on the Lion Air flight before it crashed into the waters off the coast of Java last month, killing all 189 passengers and crew on board. It details how sensors and other equipment were checked and fixed before the aircraft’s final flight, but not the “angle of attack” sensor. That measures where the nose is pointing and was showing erroneous readings throughout the short time the plane was airborne. With the sensor insisting the nose was too high, an automatic feature kicked in, sending the plane plummeting as the pilots wrestled to regain control. Unable to trust their readings, the pilots resorted to asking air traffic control about their speed and altitude. Lion Air Flight 610 plunged into the Java Sea on Oct. 29 just after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, killing the eight crew members and 181 passengers on board, including a child and two infants. The crash appears to have been caused by a mix of brand new technology and cockpit confusion as the pilots fought to gain altitude after an early-morning takeoff from Jakarta. The flight crew — at an altitude of just 5,000 feet — had very little time to resolve the issue before the plane crashed into the sea at a reported 450 miles per hour. Though the report contains no conclusion assigning blame, its descriptions of automated systems overtaking the aircraft — leaving pilots both confused and powerless — poses questions for Boeing and Lion Air about whether the cockpit crew was prepared for this scenario. After the Lion Air crash, pilots in the United States accused Boeing of withholding safety information on its new 737 model. The aircraft’s pilots asked to return to Jakarta just two minutes after takeoff, reporting a “flight-control problem” but not specifying what it was. Black-box data released by Indonesian investigators showed that the pilots were pulling back on the control column, attempting to raise the plane’s nose, with almost 100 pounds of pressure before they crashed. The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee, which produced the report, also said


The Saudi crown prince should fear the long reach of justice

to the United States, “the torturer has become like the pirate and slave trader before him hostis humanis generis, an enemy of all mankind.” Twenty years ago, the principle was famously invoked by the British House of Lords when it upheld the arrest in London of the visiting former dictator of Chile, Augusto Pinochet. Since then, a number of governments have created specialized war-crimes units of investigators and prosecutors to take up these cases. The U.S. Department of Justice has such a group. In France and Germany, prosecutors and investigators are hard at work on cases against senior members of the Syrian regime. An Argentine judge in 2016 used the principle to seek the extradition to Argentina of Spanish officials alleged to have committed torture during the Franco dictatorship, given the absence of any prosecutions in Spain. The inquiry into MBS has now been assigned to an Argentine investigating prosecutor who on Wednesday reaffirmed Argentina’s duty to investigate these crimes and asked an investigative judge to request information from the Yemeni and Saudi governments about their own investigations. (He also sought information from the Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry about MBS’s diplomatic status.) If a formal probe is opened, an investigative judge will seek further evidence about MBS’s role. Argentina’s reaffirmation of the duty to investigate these crimes sends a strong signal that even powerful officials such as MBS are not beyond the reach of the law. Abusive officials commit atrocities because they assume they can get away with them. Often they are right. Initiating an investigation of the crown prince would send an important reminder that the reach of justice is long, that not everyone stands in awe of the impunity that brutal leaders build for themselves at home. That signal is important not only as a matter of respect for his current victims and their families. It is also essential for preventing more victims tomorrow. Read more: The Post’s View: Trump’s craven response to Khashoggi’s death means other Americans need to step up The Post’s View: To rescue Yemen, the U.S. must end all military support of the Saudi coalition Jeanne Shaheen and Todd Young: The United States has leverage to end the Yemeni civil war. Use it. David Ignatius: The Khashoggi killing had roots in a cutthroat Saudi family feud Noha Khashoggi and Razan Jamal Khashoggi: We are Jamal Khashoggi’s daughters. We promise his light will never fade.


Mike Pompeo’s highly evasive answers on Jamal Khashoggi

Two answers, neither of them to the question that was asked. The next questioner asked Pompeo, “Do you believe that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia” — Mohammed bin Salman — “ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s killing?” That’s a conclusion that the CIA, which Haspel runs and Pompeo used to run, has reached with “high confidence.” Again, Pompeo chose not to answer it directly. Instead, he opted for highly specific language that could easily leave the wrong impression. “I do believe I’ve read every piece of intelligence unless it’s come in the last few hours. I think I’ve read it all,” he said, before concluding: “There is no direct reporting connecting the crown prince to the order to murder Jamal Khashoggi. That’s all I can say in an unclassified setting.” That may be all he could say, but it’s perhaps more notable because he doesn’t say that he doesn’t believe the crown prince was responsible. Pompeo ignored that question and instead offered a much narrower denial. That denial leans heavily on the words “direct reporting.” CIA assessments are not criminal documents laying out irrefutable evidence. They are conclusions based upon the best American intelligence. That intelligence has concluded that Mohammed was behind Khashoggi’s killing, according to The Post’s reporting. By citing “direct reporting,” Pompeo is basically saying there is no smoking gun. The selective answer is a political one as much as it is meant to respect confidential intelligence. Pompeo chose to rule out something very specific in the service the White House’s purposes — to lead people to believe Mohammed wasn’t involved and to support President Trump’s conclusion that there should be no repercussions for the killing of a U.S. resident who worked for an American newspaper, The Washington Post. Pompeo disclosed just enough to further that goal but avoid disclosing other information that’s not so convenient. Given that and given the fact that the CIA director who is responsible for that inconvenient conclusion has not been made available to Congress — despite senators of both parties calling for that — it’s worth asking what the administration is afraid of. Why the very limited and clearly politically convenient version of transparency? Why not let the senators hear it directly from someone whose job this is? Is Haspel simply not willing to toe the administration line and offer misleading responses like Pompeo? It sure seems as if that may be the case.


The coverup of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder bothers even Republicans

For once, even Republican senators sounded actually mad and distressed by the Trump administration’s blatant prevarication. They were denied a briefing by CIA director Gina Haspel, reportedly at the White House’s direction, concerning the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist. (Presumably, Haspel would have told the truth — namely that her agency has a high level of confidence in the conclusion that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia played a role in Khashoggi’s death, which occurred at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.) Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said that senators were “frustrated” by Haspel’s absence, while the usually pliant Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) declared: “I am not going to be denied the ability to be briefed by the CIA — that we have oversight of — about whether or not their assessment supports my belief that this could not have happened without MBS knowing.” Graham also said he would not vote on must-pass bills until he had the briefing. (He did, however, later vote to advance the nomination of controversial judicial nominee Thomas Farr, who has been widely condemned for voter suppression efforts.) Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chimed in as well: It now remains to be seen whether they hold their ground. (It would be only the second time they’ve stood up to President Trump, the first being on sanctions against Russia early in his term). Democrats were livid. Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, characterized the decision to withhold Haspel as “outrageous.” If Democrats held the majority, Trump would not be able to pull off the whitewash. With Republicans, you never know. Several points should be underscored. First, Haspel has been undermined and undercut. The administration is advancing a position she knows to be untrue and is preventing her from informing Congress. The new Democrat-controlled House may call her as a witness next year, but she should quit, frankly, to preserve what dignity and integrity she has. Second, the briefing conducted by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should erase the notion they are responsible adults in the room. The hyped the U.S.-Saudi relationship, and Mattis disingenuously suggested we somehow would hold the Saudis to account. The Post reports: Of course, Trump is refusing to hold the Saudis responsible and is trying to exempt


Things could get very awkward for the Saudi crown prince at this week’s G-20 summit

the prince is being pushed by Human Rights Watch, which said it has documented 90 “apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes” in Yemen that “hit homes, markets, hospitals, schools and mosques.” In its petition, the organization argued that Mohammed, widely known as MBS, was ultimately responsible for several international-law violations because Saudi troops had conducted “indiscriminate and disproportionate" attacks on civilians. Officials say the investigation is in its early stages, and experts doubt that it will gain much traction. And even if Argentina pushes forward, the prince would probably be protected by diplomatic immunity. But even the possibility of an accusation could shake up the G-20 summit, scheduled to start this week. The Saudi crown prince is expected to be in attendance, along with leaders from China, Russia, the United States, Turkey and Europe. As the New York Times put it: “Even a small risk of a messy dispute in the Argentine courts could overshadow a trip previously seen as a chance for Prince Mohammed to show he remained welcome among world leaders even after the conclusion of American intelligence agencies that he had authorized the killing of Mr. Khashoggi.” As the Guardian put it, the Saudi prince’s presence “offers leaders a photo op to dread.” One member of the group — the United States — has offered unwavering support of the prince. In an unusual statement, President Trump appeared to contradict his own intelligence agencies (and the desires of members of his party in Congress) on Khashoggi’s killing and claimed that Saudi Arabia is too important a trading partner to lose. Others have been more circumspect. While France and Britain have maintained their arms deals with Saudi Arabia, neither has offered the kind of support Trump has provided. Additionally, Britain has been campaigning in the United Nations for a humanitarian cease-fire and the resumption of food and medical supplies to Yemen. Others have taken a more aggressive stance. Turkey has rigorously investigated the Khashoggi slaying, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly claimed that the journalist’s killing was premeditated and ordered by top officials, though he has declined to name the crown prince specifically. Germany has halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to the killing and urged others to do the same. Canada has said it will no longer sign arms deals with the country, though it has not walked back its existing arrangements. “I imagine MBS will


‘I don’t like that aggression’: Trump threatens to cancel Putin meeting over clash with Ukraine

President Trump threatened Tuesday to cancel his scheduled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a global summit later this week because of Russia’s maritime clash with Ukraine, saying, “I don’t like that aggression.” Russia captured three Ukrainian naval ships and their crews in the Black Sea on Sunday, an act that drew condemnation from the West and led to Ukraine preparing to impose martial law in 10 of the country’s 27 regions. Asked during an interview Monday with The Washington Post whether he thinks Putin was within his rights to seize the Ukrainian ships, Trump said he was considering canceling his bilateral meeting with Putin scheduled for later this week. “I am getting a report on that tonight and that will determine what happens at the meeting,” Trump said. “I’m getting a full report on that tonight. That will be very determinative. Maybe I won’t have the meeting. Maybe I won’t even have the meeting. We’re going to see, depending on what comes out tonight.” The session is planned on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires. Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked about Trump’s comments on Wednesday, told reporters that the Trump-Putin meeting was still on. “The meeting has been finalized,” Peskov said. “We have no other information from our U.S. counterparts.” Asked whether Russia’s aggression is a cause for concern to the American people, Trump said it is. “I don’t like that aggression,” Trump said. “I don’t want that aggression at all. Absolutely. And by the way, Europe shouldn’t like that aggression. And Germany shouldn’t like that aggression.” Trump went on to criticize Germany for not spending enough on its defenses as part of NATO. “They’re absolutely not doing enough,” Trump said. “Germany. Absolutely not! Many of those countries are not doing enough toward NATO. They should be spending much more money.” The Trump administration has also been critical of Germany for a planned gas pipeline deal with Russia. White House national security adviser John Bolton said Tuesday that Trump’s meeting with Putin would cover arms control and “security issues,” but he did not say whether Trump planned to challenge Putin over the naval incident. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley spoke for the administration when she condemned the incident Monday, Bolton said. The Russian action appears to fit a pattern in which the Kremlin takes provocative action and then gauges international reaction before moving further.


Countries vowed to cut carbon emissions. They aren’t even close to their goals, U.N. report finds

for 2 degrees is now 13 billion to 15 billion tons in 2030, and for 1.5 degrees it is 29 billion to 32 billion tons. The latter figure in particular may seem a shocking change, but it is important to understand how it came about. Scientists have become increasingly critical of future temperature and emissions scenarios that contain a large volume of “negative emissions” — a reliance on massive-scale technologies to remove carbon from the air. When programmed into computer models, such technologies gave the impression that the world could temporarily exceed a given temperature target, such as 1.5 degrees Celsius, by a good measure but then cool Earth down again through carbon removal. But criticism has been mounting, as the required technologies do not yet exist at scale and would require massive amounts of land and energy inputs, or cause other perturbations that would make them unpopular and difficult to scale up. “A lot of the latest scientific literature tried to be more cautious about the reliance on really large-scale carbon removal,” Levin said. That is one reason the emissions gap now appears larger: The fewer negative emissions there are later in the century, the larger emissions cuts would have to be in the present and near future. Another reason for the growing gap is more artificial; it turns on how the analysis is organized. The new report now analyzes possible climate and emissions pathways in three buckets — those that limit warming to 2 degrees, 1.8 degrees and 1.5 degrees — rather than two (for 2 degrees and 1.5 degrees), as in previous years. The result is that only the most stringent scenarios are now included in the 1.5-degrees grouping, said Peters, while scenarios that are still compliant with the technical language of the Paris agreement — exceeding 1.5 degrees, but not 2 degrees — allow for somewhat more emissions. So ultimately, it is really about how much risk we want to take with the planet. “There’s a lot of air between the 1.5 range and the 2-degree range,” Peters said. No matter what, the new report seems sure to cause even more soul-searching at the two-week U.N. climate summit in Poland. “They have really increased this message around urgency,” Levin said. “We can add this to the pile of reports that are clear calls for action, and the call is getting louder with every minute we delay.”


Trump stands by Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi killing

President Trump on Tuesday again questioned the CIA’s assessment that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and said the ruler’s repeated denials of his involvement had led the president to maintain close relations with the oil-rich kingdom. “If you look at my statement, it’s maybe he did and maybe he didn’t,” Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post, referring to his comments last week about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s role. “But he denies it. And people around him deny it,” Trump said, noting that Mohammed had spoken to him about the case in three separate phone calls. “And the CIA did not say affirmatively he did it, either, by the way. I’m not saying that they’re saying he didn’t do it, but they didn’t say it affirmatively.” In discussions with aides and advisers, the president has repeatedly pointed to the lack of a single piece of evidence, or a “smoking gun,” that would irrefutably lay the blame at Mohammed’s feet for ordering the death of Khashoggi, who was a Washington Post contributing columnist. But intelligence assessments are rarely, if ever, ironclad. The CIA based its assessment about Mohammed on surveillance from inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, where a Saudi hit team killed Khashoggi; the intercepted communications of Saudi officials; and the agency’s understanding of Mohammed’s control over his government and security apparatus, according to people familiar with the CIA’s findings, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. The agency has presented its analysis to lawmakers and administration officials. And lawmakers from both parties have said that the intelligence they’ve seen points to Mohammed’s direct involvement. Trump said he weighed how to hold the Saudis to account for Khashoggi’s death against U.S. national interests, claiming that the kingdom held extraordinary sway over the U.S. economy and security in the Middle East. “We have a very important ally in Saudi Arabia. We have an ally that has tremendous oil reserves, which are, frankly, they can make prices go up and down, and I want to keep them down,” Trump said. The president personally took credit for a recent drop in oil prices, which he said was a direct result of a tough conversation he had with the Saudis. “We have $52-a-barrel oil right now, and I called them about three months ago, before this whole thing happened with Khashoggi,


Why small groups of vaccine refusers can make large groups of people sick

schools. In a study of California schools, we found that Waldorf schools had vaccine refusal rates that were 19 times as high as those at public schools. Alternative schools, specifically Waldorf schools, have been associated with outbreaks outside the United States as well. Many recent outbreaks of measles and other preventable diseases in the United States have started among geographic clusters of vaccine refusers. Outbreaks in clusters of vaccine refusers mean that public health authorities and doctors need to focus on these areas of vulnerability, not just on increasing overall vaccination rates. Vaccines protect communities not only through direct protection of vaccinated individuals if they encounter viruses or bacteria, but also by reducing the likelihood of encountering these infections. Because vaccinated individuals have a substantially lower risk of catching and, therefore, passing on the infection, there are simply fewer chances for anyone to get it. When enough people are vaccinated, the risk of outbreaks goes down; when the vaccination rate gets high enough, the outbreak risk is virtually eliminated. This phenomenon is known as herd immunity (or community immunity), and the immunization rate at which the risk of outbreaks is eliminated is called the herd immunity threshold. That threshold depends on the infectivity of a virus or bacterium and, therefore, varies by disease. Herd immunity is important for several reasons. First, not everyone can be vaccinated: Children with certain medical conditions, such as some types of immunodeficiencies, and those on cancer chemotherapy cannot receive most vaccines, for instance. These vulnerable individuals, particularly children, need herd immunity to protect them from diseases that vaccines can prevent. And because few vaccines are 100 percent effective, some vaccinated children remain individually unprotected and rely on herd immunity, as well. Those with chronic medical conditions such as asthma or diabetes are particularly vulnerable to severe outcomes associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. For instance, people with diabetes are six times as likely to be hospitalized for an influenza-related reason as those without diabetes and are three times as likely to die because of influenza infection. Similarly, individuals with asthma have a higher risk of whooping cough. Clusters of vaccine refusal breach the herd immunity threshold in specific schools or neighborhoods — which means outbreaks can occur even if overall vaccination rates are high. Equally important, in an analysis of U.S. measles outbreaks since 2000, we found that vaccine refusers are disproportionately represented in early stages of


A ‘deeply shameful’ half-marathon cheating scandal in China implicates hundreds of runners

spirit has been violated across the globe, often in qualifying for marquee races. In 2015, for instance, Runner’s World reported that 2,439 Boston Marathon finishers ran the race at least 20 minutes slower than their qualifying times. So-called “race results sleuths” analyzed at least 1,409 of those runners and suspected 47 of wrongdoing, with 29 swapping bibs, 10 cutting the course, four falsifying results and four acting as bib mules (a faster runner recruited by another to run while wearing the slower runner’s bib). Cheating in road races became famous in 1980, when Rosie Ruiz won the Boston Marathon until an investigation determined that she had cut the course. Derek Murphy, a financial analyst in Cincinnati, even created a website, MarathonInvestigation.com, to track allegations of cheating. In 2017, 15 runners were kicked out of Boston’s race by the Boston Athletic Association, thanks to Murphy’s site. “I’m very analytical; I work with numbers all day,” he said, telling the Boston Globe that most of his tips about cheaters in races of all sizes come from followers. Because of that, he focuses on major races. “I really understand about what it takes to finish a marathon and how people work really hard to get that,” Murphy, who has run marathons himself, told the New York Post. “So yeah, it definitely rubbed me the wrong way that people were taking shortcuts and that’s pushing someone out because their route was oversold.” Murphy said he is doing his best to help honest runners, although he can’t police the race routes. “Really, this kind of started as a hobby, but then once it started getting some attention, it began to resonate with people,” he told the New York Post. “It’s kind of what I do at night instead of sitting and zoning out in front of the TV or a computer screen. It’s like a puzzle.” Read more from The Post: ‘I’m not playing any different this year': Aaron Rodgers defends his fundamentals as Packers struggle ‘I speak my mind’: Baker Mayfield doesn’t regret calling Hue Jackson ‘fake’ Barry Svrluga: Redskins ignore Colin Kaepernick, sign Reuben Foster and remind us of who they are ‘We’ll deal with the outcry': Jay Gruden addresses the Redskins' Reuben Foster decision ‘Touchdown confirmed’: Upon further review, NASA engineers’ NFL-inspired touchdown dance is the best Leonard Fournette will miss Colts game after his one-game suspension for ugly fight is upheld


In nail-biter, PBR avoids alleged possible extinction after last-minute settlement with MillerCoors

same could be said of its loyal drinkers, many of whom snubbed Schlitz and Miller the same way Cubs fans don’t root for the White Sox. But all of that love evaporated the day Pabst brewery closed its doors in October 1996. The local taverns started dumping it. Customers started boycotting. The brewer’s union sued on behalf of disgruntled unemployed workers. As Milwaukee historian John Gurda told CNN that month, “The closing of the brewery is more or less like a death.” That brings us to why MillerCoors started brewing Pabst shortly thereafter, and why, for the past nearly 20 years, Pabst has relied on the larger company. The thing is, Pabst today is nowhere near the nadir it experienced after shuttering the brewery in 1996, which has made its desperate-sounding legal battle with MillerCoors seem all the more unusual. According to the Brewers Association, Pabst Brewing Co. was ranked fifth in overall beer sales volume nationwide in 2017 (down from third in 2016), trailing Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Constellation and Heineken. At the same time, its growth is also not anywhere near its astounding comeback in the mid-2000s. If Pabst died in Milwaukee in 1996, it was reborn several years later — in Portland, Ore., maybe. For the first time in more than two decades, the company experienced a climb in sales in 2002. It was listed in the 2003 “Hipster Handbook” as the “best-tasting domestic beer,” recommended for hipsters along with its Milwaukee cousin, Schlitz. And it was especially popular in Portland, the New York Times Magazine discovered in 2003, when it went looking for the reason PBR had mysteriously reemerged as a beer for cool underground “alternative people,” as a Portland sales rep described the new customers. The Times found that it was especially popular among Portland bike messengers, who secured PBR sponsorships that never required them to display flashy advertisements like signs on their backs. Mocking the Portland hipsters, the local alt-weekly newspaper, the Willamette Week, ran a large picture that showed a guy drinking PBR, the Times noted. The Week said of Miller Brewing, “It’s totally not indie rock!” So what was the reason behind this resurgence? The main theory for PBR’s seemingly organic re-brand, experts told the Times, was Pabst’s marketing strategy of, well, no marketing. The bike messengers didn’t owe them any free ads. Kid Rock, a noted PBR fan, wanted to do an endorsement


What the UAE’s arrest of Matthew Hedges means for political science research in the Middle East

Matthew Hedges, a political science graduate student from Durham University, returned to Britain this week after more than six months in prison. Hedges was arrested on May 5 at the airport in Dubai during a research trip, and five months later was accused by the UAE public prosecutor of spying for Britain. Last week, he was The issues raised by his arrest and sentencing remain urgently important, however. The risks of research in countries across the Middle East have changed in recent years, in ways that may not be visible to academics who did their research in an earlier era. The murder of Italian graduate student In this context, many academics now question the feasibility of doing politically sensitive research in many countries in the Middle East. The current environment in the region is one in which the But avoiding research in these countries carries profound costs. Most academics who do political science research on the Middle East believe deeply in the importance of deep research on the ground. The best research, of any methodology, will be based on extended stays, cultural familiarity, language expertise, and extensive interview and documentary work. Research on the ground is the best way to develop new ideas, to see political issues through local eyes and to avoid dependence on misleading data sets and out-of-date assumptions. Such research also builds warm networks of academic collaboration and solidarity, which are as vital to building the capacity of local academia as to informing the research of foreign scholars. Can, and should, cases such as those of Hedges and Regeni deter political scientists from research in the Middle East? How would such a trend affect the practice of political science in the Middle East? Matthew Hedges and research safety in the UAE The case against Hedges generated widespread fear and outrage across the political science community. Hedges was reportedly arrested after his questions about UAE foreign policy and arms acquisitions after the Arab Spring aroused the suspicion of one of his interviewees. Such research topics, while of obvious potential sensitivity in the autocratic and tightly controlled UAE, fall well within the mainstream of political science. His arrest, harsh detention and life sentence came as a particular shock because the UAE, for all of its Hedges may well have remained in prison for life were it not for the highly public campaign to secure his release. The British Embassy


U.S. life expectancy declines again, a dismal trend not seen since World War I

were 14,495 overdose deaths attributed to narcotics such as oxycodone and hydrocodone and 3,194 from methadone, which is used as a painkiller. Those totals were virtually identical to the numbers in 2016. The number of heroin deaths, 15,482, also did not rise from the previous year. Robert Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the Center for Health Statistics, said the leveling off of prescription drug deaths may reflect a small impact from efforts in recent years to curb the diversion of legal painkillers to users and dealers on the streets. Those measures include prescription drug monitoring programs that help prevent substance abusers from obtaining multiple prescriptions by “doctor shopping.” Others noted programs that may also have helped: The overdose antidote naloxone has been made more widely available in many places; Rhode Island has made efforts to educate substance abusers as they leave jail, a time when they are particularly vulnerable to overdose; and Vermont and other states have bolstered treatment programs. States that have expanded their Medicaid programs are also able to offer more treatment for users. Anderson said provisional data for the first four months of 2018 show a plateau and possibly a small decline in drug overdose deaths. But Sharfstein, a former secretary of health in Maryland, said the heroin numbers reveal that fentanyl is pushing that drug out of the illicit market in some places. “The opioid market has been completely taken over by fentanyl,” Sharfstein said. Indeed, the new data shows that illicit fentanyl-related deaths surged again, from 19,413 in 2016 to 28,466 in 2017. As large as it was, that 47 percent increase was smaller than the jump between 2015 and 2016, when the number of deaths from fentanyl and its analogues more than doubled. (The total number of opioid deaths is smaller than the sum of the categories because some people die with multiple drugs in their systems.) The geographic disparity in overdose deaths continued in 2017. West Virginia again led the nation with 57.8 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Ohio, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. Nebraska, by contrast, had just 8.1 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 residents. Other factors in the life expectancy decline include a spike in deaths from flu last winter and increases in deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, strokes and suicide. Deaths from heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans, which had


Trump’s infatuation with Saudi Arabia is bad for U.S. interests

President Trump is contemptuous of many U.S. allies, from Canada to Germany, but he is exceedingly — and puzzlingly — solicitous toward Saudi Arabia. His affection for Riyadh was on display Wednesday when the administration refused to allow CIA Director Gina Haspel to testify before the Senate about her agency’s “high confidence” judgment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the murder of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In her place went Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. They had to tap-dance around the inconvenient truth that there is no way that a Saudi goon squad that included members of the crown prince’s personal security detail could possibly have murdered a high-profile journalist in a Saudi consulate without the crown prince’s express approval. Senators were predictably and rightly unimpressed. Mattis disingenuously said: “We have no smoking gun.” But you don’t need a tape of the crown prince saying “Kill Khashoggi” to conclude that the operation was indeed his handiwork. I have great respect for Mattis. So I am saddened to see him catering to the president with this deliberately deceptive — if technically accurate — statement. Pompeo went even further in an outrageously unconvincing Wall Street Journal op-ed that reads as if it were dictated by the crown prince’s high-priced public relations agents (which, for all we know, it might have been). Pompeo began on a partisan, not diplomatic, note by writing: “The October murder of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on.” This is a curious way to describe genuine and deserved outrage over the dismemberment of someone who was not just a “Saudi national” but also a U.S. resident and a contributor to a U.S. newspaper. The next paragraph contained this questionable assertion: “The kingdom is a powerful force for stability in the Middle East.” That has been true historically but is not now the case under the direction of a crown prince who has kidnapped the prime minister of Lebanon, held hundreds of the kingdom’s richest men hostage, launched an unwinnable war in Yemen, and blockaded Qatar. Investors wouldn’t be fleeing the kingdom if it were as stable as Pompeo suggests. Pompeo claims that “Saudi Arabia is working to secure Iraq’s fragile democracy,” which, if true, would be a first — Saudi Arabia spent most of the post-Saddam Hussein period backing


There’s no reason Congress and Trump can’t achieve their goals for Saudi Arabia

want to establish a channel for high-level, regular policy discussions — every three months the secretaries of state and defense should meet with the crown prince, foreign minister and members of the royal court to discuss issues and concerns. Beyond this, it is time to correct misguided policies that make it harder to counter Iran’s aggressive policies in the region. The president should say we will make a proposal to resolve the Saudi imbroglio with Qatar and that we expect the Saudis to accept it. Similarly, on Yemen it is not enough to call for a cease-fire based on the Houthis stopping first; the Saudis need to unilaterally declare a cease-fire for two weeks and say it will be extended indefinitely if the Houthis observe it. That way the humanitarian crisis can be eased, and a political process might have a chance. If the Houthis fail to reciprocate, the onus could be legitimately put on them and their Iranian backers. The Khashoggi killing and the shifting Saudi stories have been a boon for the Iranians (and Turkey), diverting attention from their misdeeds and putting Saudi Arabia on the defensive. If the kingdom wants to alter that reality, the crown prince needs to shift his policy on dissidents, accept responsibility and change the policy and the people around him. He also needs to show again his commitment to reform and social transformation. To that end, the administration should urge several steps: Release the imprisoned female activists, end the guardian rules for women, and change the Saudi textbooks that, as a recent Anti-Defamation League study shows, continue to demonize Jews and Christians. It’s hard to take seriously the crown prince’s claim that he’s creating a knowledge-based society when schoolbooks continue to teach dangerous shibboleths. None of this will undo Saudi responsibility for Khashoggi’s death. But taken together, these actions would impose consequences for his murder and likely alter objectionable Saudi policies — and those are aims worth pursuing. Read more: Max Boot: Trump’s infatuation with Saudi Arabia is bad for U.S. interests Global Opinions: The Saudi crown prince should fear the long reach of justice The Post’s View: Trump’s craven response to Khashoggi’s death means other Americans need to step up David Ignatius: The Khashoggi killing had roots in a cutthroat Saudi family feud Noha Khashoggi and Razan Jamal Khashoggi: We are Jamal Khashoggi’s daughters. We promise his light will never fade.


New tick species capable of transmitting deadly disease is spreading in the U.S.

found on a single animal, person, or in the environment. Illnesses from mosquito, tick and flea bites more than tripled in the United States from 2004 to 2016, according to the CDC. The increase in these vector-borne diseases has many underlying causes: expanding travel and trade, urbanization, population growth, and increasing temperatures. Warming temperatures and climate change make the environment more hospitable to ticks or mosquitoes that spread pathogens and increase the length of the season when ticks are active, Petersen said. Next week, officials from several federal agencies — including the CDC, the Agriculture Department, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service and the Defense Department — are meeting to develop a national coordinated strategy for fighting these vector-borne diseases. “The problems are getting worse and worse,” Petersen said, noting that every state except Alaska is grappling with a rise in these diseases. “We’re losing this battle.” Officials said they are trying to raise awareness among public health officials, health-care professionals and veterinarians about the potential threat from this species. In addition to the CDC report, Petersen and CDC colleagues published a companion paper in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene highlighting the “considerable gaps” in the ability of public health systems to respond to these diseases. Many diseases spread by ticks are underreported. There are also no proven measures that can be scaled up to control many vector-borne diseases that are transmitted by the black-legged or deer tick that spreads at least seven human pathogens in the United States, including the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Officials don’t know when or how long the longhorned tick arrived in the United States. Between August 2017 and September 2018, there have been 53 reports of the tick in the United States. The states with the highest percentage of infested counties are New Jersey (33 percent), West Virginia (20 percent) and Virginia (12 percent), including Fairfax County, a D.C. suburb. Using retrospective analysis, scientists believe the invasion occurred years earlier. Tadhgh Rainey, an entomologist at the Hunterdon County Division of Health in New Jersey, discovered the ticks Aug. 1, 2017, when a woman who had been shearing her pet Icelandic sheep arrived at the department with what she thought were mites on her hands. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be larval ticks. And she was covered in them. “She had them all over her clothing. We’re


Justice for Jamal Khashoggi

The Nov. 25 op-ed by Noha Khashoggi and Razan Jamal Khashoggi, “We will keep our father’s light alive,” was a moving and informative story about their father, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Through them and through us now, Jamal Khashoggi, murdered so brutally and inexcusably, will live on. The beautiful, heartbreaking picture of the empty chair compels all those who treasure openness, freedom and democracy to follow his example and demand that our country and the world find a way to bring justice for such a man in the face of a powerful, self-obsessed dictatorship. Helen Lutton Cohen


Trump’s favored Saudi prince becomes a global pariah

Want smart analysis of the most important news in your inbox every weekday along with other global reads, interesting ideas and opinions to know? Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has had quite the year Such dreams now look delusional. As 2018 draws to an end, Mohammed is a figure stained with blood. His alleged role in the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has made him into the bete noire of this year’s Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires, where the prince landed on Wednesday after a trip to Tunisia. His stop in the North African nation — one of the Arab world’s few functioning democracies — featured crowds of protesters denouncing him for Khashoggi’s abduction and murder last month. Things won’t get any less awkward in Argentina. An Argentine prosecutor is looking into whether Mohammed can be charged for war crimes, mostly related to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. It’s a move made possible by Argentina’s post-dictatorship constitution, which gives the country jurisdiction over any cases of war crimes or torture it would like to prosecute, no matter where they occurred. “The case against the prince is being pushed by Human Rights Watch, which said it has documented 90 ‘apparently unlawful coalition airstrikes’ in Yemen that ‘hit homes, markets, hospitals, schools and mosques,’" explained my colleague Amanda Erickson. “In its petition, the organization argued that Mohammed, widely known as MBS, was ultimately responsible for several international-law violations because Saudi troops had conducted ‘indiscriminate and disproportionate’ attacks on civilians.” While the inquiry is unlikely to have any real teeth, it will shadow the prince in all his deliberations with fellow world leaders. There is already speculation that other dignitaries will turn their backs on Mohammed in the Argentine capital. “As long as he dodges accountability for a state-sponsored murder, Mohammed bin Salman should be treated as a pariah by all those who value human rights and the rule of law,” noted The Washington Post in an editorial. “His initiatives should be shunned, and statesmen from the democratic world should not meet with him.” Mohammed seems to hope the scrutiny will eventually relent. Trump also pointed to the putative threat of Iran to justify maintaining the U.S. relationship with Riyadh. “It’s a dangerous, rough part of the world. But they’ve been a great ally,” Trump said of the Saudis. “Without them, Israel would be in a lot more trouble. We


New South Korean court ruling angers Japan, deepening crisis between America’s closest Pacific allies

TOKYO — Rulings by South Korea’s Supreme Court over the issue of forced labor during Japanese colonial rule 70 years ago have plunged relations between the United States’ two closest allies in Asia into crisis. On Thursday, South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to compensate 10 South Koreans for being forced to build ships and aircraft for Japan’s war effort in 1944. It was the second such ruling in a month, poisoning relations between the Asian democracies at a time of heightened tension in the region. Experts said it complicates efforts to present a united front against the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and China’s increasingly aggressive regional diplomacy. Japan maintains that the issue of forced labor was fully settled in 1965 when the two countries restored diplomatic ties and Tokyo gave Seoul $500 million in grants and loans in a “final and complete” settlement for its occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. But elderly victims of forced labor have been pursuing their own claims through the courts for years, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in supported their right to claim compensation after he took office last year. Last month, South Korea’s Supreme Court also ruled in favor of South Koreans seeking compensation from Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal. At least 10 more cases involving more than 900 plaintiffs are still awaiting final judgment. Japan’s foreign minister, Taro Kono, called Thursday’s decision “extremely regrettable and totally unacceptable” and said Tokyo would consider taking the case to international arbitration. “The decision completely overthrows the legal foundation of the friendly and cooperative relationship that Japan and the Republic of Korea have developed since the normalization of diplomatic relations in 1965,” he said in a statement. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry shot back that Japan was responding “excessively,” with spokesman Noh Kyu-duk saying the court’s decision should be respected in a democracy. Upholding two separate lower-court decisions, the Supreme Court ordered Mitsubishi to pay between $71,000 and $133,000 to two groups of five men and five women. The five women, including 87-year-old Yang Geum-deok, were forced to work at a Mitsubishi aircraft factory in Nagoya, Japan, under harsh conditions. Yang says she was frequently beaten by her Japanese supervisor at the factory and said this week she wanted the ruling to address “70 years of resentment.” The 1965 treaty between the two countries said


Jeremy Corbyn wants to schedule the Brexit debate around a celebrity reality show

a deal,” and that’s among the more polite epithets) and may not win Parliament’s approval despite May’s best efforts. She has debated the issue with politicians, hosted exhaustive government meetings, and traveled to Scotland and Northern Ireland to speak. She even agreed to a debate on the issue with one of her main political rivals, Corbyn. The thing is, the two can’t seem to figure out what that will look like. May agreed to go on the BBC on Dec. 9 to debate the deal. In exchange, BBC One said it would clear its evening, even postponing the season finale of David Attenborough’s “Dynasties” program. The BBC suggested a head-to-head debate conducted by a panel of people on all sides of the issue. Those with alternative proposals, such as a second Brexit vote, would have a chance to air their thoughts on another show later in the evening. Corbyn, on the other hand, said he preferred an offer from rival ITV. ITV said it would show the debate at 5 p.m., not 8. It proposed a single moderator and no audience questions. This format worked better, Corbyn told ITV’s “This Morning,” because it would let folks watch “I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here,” a popular reality show. The season finale is set to air on ITV on Dec. 9. “One should always have respect for the viewers,” Corbyn said. “I’m a Celebrity” sends celebrities to live in the jungle for a couple of weeks. This season includes John Barrowman, who plays Captain Jack Harkness on the science-fiction show “Doctor Who,” and Rita Simons, who played Roxy Mitchell on “EastEnders.” They camp and compete in disgusting challenges, such as eating bugs. Recent controversies have included whether it is appropriate for one of the male stars to blame a fight he had with a female contestant about how much rice to cook on her period and whether a male star should have to hang a pair of wet women’s underwear on a line to dry. The House of Commons will vote Dec. 11 on the government motion to approve the Brexit agreement. Read more: Can Brexit be stopped? A guide for those just waking up to Britain’s political nightmare. Who becomes the U.S.'s best friend in Europe after Britain leaves the E.U.? Theresa May needs Parliament’s support for her Brexit deal. The math isn’t in her favor.


D.C. police identify suspect in fatal shooting of man on Benning Road

D.C. police have identified a suspect in the fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man Monday afternoon in Northeast Washington. Malik Morris, 20, of Northeast, has been charged in an arrest warrant with first-degree murder while armed. Police released a photo of the suspect and said he had not been arrested as of Wednesday evening. The man who was shot — Randall Francis, 20, of Southeast — had graduated from Eastern High School in 2016 and was an aspiring model and photographer. Francis was shot in the head about 1:15 p.m. in front of a strip of stores in the 1800 block of Benning Road NE. Police said they believe he had been targeted, but they did not comment on a possible motive. peter.hermann@washpost.com


The Daily 202: Late gains in California vindicate DCCC’s intervention in House primaries

the Saudi crown prince ordered the assassination of Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi. -- National security adviser John Bolton said he didn’t listen to the tape of Khashoggi's murder because, “I don’t speak Arabic.” -- Some senators have complained that CIA Director Gina Haspel, who has heard the tape, will not be present for a closed-door briefing today before the entire Senate on U.S.-Saudi relations. -- “Behind the brutal murder of [Khashoggi] lies a power struggle within the Saudi royal family that helped feed the paranoia and recklessness of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” -- A neighborhood advisory panel in Washington will vote today on renaming the street outside the Saudi Embassy for Khashoggi. THE IMMIGRATION WARS: -- Trump appeared to soften his stance on forcing a partial government shutdown after Dec. 7 over funding for his border wall. -- But in another interview, Trump said he was firm in his demand for $5 billion in border wall funding and would "totally be willing" to shut the government down over the matter. -- Government officials continued to defend the use of tear gas at the southern border amid accusations of excessive force. -- Migrants waiting at the southern border are trying to impose order on the convoluted U.S. asylum process. ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN: -- A group of unidentified donors contributed nearly $17 million to a little-known conservative nonprofit that directed money to support Trump’s inauguration and his Supreme Court nominations. -- Kavanaugh has returned to coaching his younger daughter’s basketball team. -- Christine Blasey Ford expressed confidence in her decision to come forward with a sexual assault allegation against Kavanaugh. -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was cleared of wrongdoing in one probe connected to how he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah. -- Ivanka Trump claimed there was “no equivalency” between her use of a private email account and the controversy over Hillary Clinton’s private server. -- The White House attempted to enforce restrictions on how Ivanka Trump’s Idaho trip would be covered. -- Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt was provided the questions in advance for some of his Fox News interviews during his tumultuous tenure, MORE MIDTERMS FALLOUT: -- Mitch McConnell is urging Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to appoint former Senate candidate Martha McSally if Sen. Jon Kyl (R) vacates his seat at the end of the year. But some Arizona Republicans are publicly expressing


The Khashoggi killing had roots in a cutthroat Saudi family feud

Behind the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi lies a power struggle within the Saudi royal family that helped feed the paranoia and recklessness of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Eventually, this rage in the royal court led to the death and dismemberment of a Washington Post journalist. The opening scenes of this family feud took place in January 2015 in a VIP hospital suite in Riyadh, as King Abdullah lay on his deathbed. According to a Saudi who was at the hospital at the time, Abdullah’s sons and courtiers briefly delayed informing his successor, King Salman, that the monarch had passed — perhaps hoping to control the court’s stash of money and sustain powerful positions for Abdullah’s wing of the family. The cutthroat scheming within the House of Saud over the following years matches anything in the fantasy series “Game of Thrones.” The fallout extended to the United States, China, Switzerland and other countries, as the two most powerful clans of the royal family jockeyed for power. As the tension increased, the royal court around Mohammed bin Salman, the new king’s favorite son, even dared to try to kidnap a member of the Abdullah faction in Beijing in a brazen operation in August 2016 that reads like a chapter in a spy thriller. MBS, as Salman’s son is known, became increasingly anxious and aggressive toward those he considered enemies. Starting in the spring of 2017, a team of Saudi intelligence operatives, under the control of the royal court, began organizing kidnappings of dissidents abroad and at home, according to U.S. and Saudi experts. Detainees were held at covert sites. The Saudis used harsh enhanced interrogation techniques, a euphemism for torture, to make the captives talk. They were forced to sign oaths that if they disclosed any of what happened, they would pay a severe price. This real-life drama was described to me in a series of interviews by prominent Saudis and U.S. and European experts, in the United States and abroad, in the weeks since Khashoggi’s death. These sources had firsthand knowledge of events but asked not to be identified because they involve sensitive international matters. The information was checked with knowledgeable U.S. sources to confirm its accuracy. It helps explain the vortex of rage and lawlessness that ultimately sucked in Khashoggi, a Post Global Opinions columnist, when he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Here’s the


to Shanghai and protected him for the rest of his stay in China. Meanwhile, the Saudis, who had hoped to snatch Obaid in Beijing, were furious that he had slipped their grasp. They sent agents to search hotels in Beijing, looking for the Abdullah clan’s operative. In Shanghai, Obaid received a call from Gen. Yousuf bin Ali al-Idrissi, deputy head of Saudi intelligence, telling him to fly back to Beijing and get on the Saudi plane that had been sent to pick him up, according to a source briefed on the case. Obaid turned again for advice to his patron, Prince Turki, who called Idrissi. According to a knowledgeable source, Turki said: “If the king wants it, it will be done. On whose behalf are you speaking?” Idrissi gave an ambiguous answer about who had ordered Obaid’s forced departure from China. Obaid stayed in Shanghai under close guard of the Ministry of State Security for another week. Because Obaid had a Swiss passport, he also received protection from the Swiss Consulate in Shanghai. A Jan. 11, 2017, letter to Obaid’s lawyer from Swiss Consul General Françoise Killias Zillweger confirms: “Referring to the assumption of responsibility for Mr. Tarek Obaid, I inform you that this Consulate Generale has provided benefits under the consular protection.” Turki arrived in China on Aug. 30 and spoke at the IFF meeting on Sept. 1; he was also photographed with President Xi Jinping. MBS arrived for the G-20 summit that took place in Hangzhou Sept. 4 and 5. By then, Obaid was on Turki’s private Airbus flying to Switzerland. The Chinese checked to make sure that Obaid had arrived safely in Geneva. Once there, Obaid was immediately treated at a specialized clinic for injuries he had suffered in China, according to a Swiss source. An embarrassing failure MBS spoke at the G-20 gathering about his Vision 2030 modernization plan. But privately, he was said to be upset when he learned about Idrissi’s embarrassing failure in the rendition effort. When he returned home, MBS conducted an “investigation” of the incident. Idrissi was fired as deputy chief of intelligence; he was replaced later by Gen. Ahmed al-Assiri — a man the Saudis would later dismiss on suspicion that he helped plot Khashoggi’s killing in Istanbul. The Saudis sent a special delegation to China to apologize for the misuse of intelligence channels in the Obaid case. A Saudi official


Trump’s defense of Khashoggi’s Saudi murderers will stain him (and America) forever

Last Friday afternoon I went to the Belgian restaurant Brasserie Beck, a few blocks down the street from The Post. It was the place I had my last lunch with my friend and Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. I couldn’t hold back the tears. That evening, The Post reported that the CIA had concluded with “high confidence” that Jamal’s Oct. 2 murder by Saudi agents in the kingdom’s consulate in Turkey was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 33-year-old de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. There has been mounting evidence of the crown prince’s culpability. U.S. intelligence officials have said MBS, as the crown prince is called, plotted to lure Khashoggi from his home in Virginia back to Saudi Arabia to detain him. Close advisers to the crown prince, including the notorious Saud al-Qahtani, have been directly implicated in the murder. Analysts and officials from around the world have said that such an extensive operation could not have happened without the crown prince’s knowledge. A State Department official said it is “blindingly obvious” that MBS ordered Khashoggi’s killing. Despite all of this, President Trump has repeated that MBS has denied the killing. Over the weekend, he called the CIA report “premature.” Trump refuses to personally listen to the audio tape of Khashoggi’s killing, but admits that the tape is vicious. In a juvenile, clumsy White House statement on Tuesday full of falsehoods, Trump repeated the Saudi lie that Jamal was an “enemy of a state” and that the “United States would stand steadfastly by Saudi Arabia,” even though its regime lured, killed and dismembered a peaceful Post op-ed writer who lived in Virginia. In effect, Trump is doing his best to help the Saudi regime get away with the murder of a U.S. resident and one of the Arab world’s most prominent writers. If the administration continues down this path, it will further destroy whatever is left of America’s moral credibility on global human rights and freedom of expression. It puts truth-seekers and journalists who dare challenge the Saudi regime and other intolerant governments in grave danger, no matter where they live. Trump’s refusal to act gives a symbolic green light to the young, power-drunk Mohammed bin Salman so he can continue his reckless exploits in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world, for possibly the next 40 to 50 years, and face zero consequences. “If we allow a


A bro-shake with Putin, a talking-to from Macron: The Saudi prince’s less-than-royal treatment at the G-20

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was once feted in Western capitals as a new breed of economic and social reformer. Then came the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul on Oct. 2 — and with it, a whirlwind of international controversy and criticism that has engulfed the young Saudi royal. This week, less than two months after the killing of Khashoggi, Mohammed traveled to Buenos Aires for a G-20 meeting that brought together leaders from the world’s top economies. For the Saudi crown prince, it was a chance to see whether he would now get the cold shoulder from the same leaders who once embraced him. At a photo call during the official welcome ceremony Friday, Mohammed stood to the far right of the stage on the second row of world leaders. Footage showed the crown prince walking away from the stage as other world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mingled. But the crown prince appeared far from isolated. Later, Mohammed sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the G-20 summit began. The two were filmed aggressively shaking hands and laughing as they greeted each other. A more ambiguous interaction from earlier in the day with French President Emmanuel Macron was also captured on film that was shared by Saudi news outlets. What the two leaders are saying is hard to discern, but at one point Mohammed appears to tell Macron not to worry. “I do worry,” Macron responds. An Elysee official later told Reuters news agency that Macron had conveyed a “very firm” message that Saudi Arabia needed to allow international experts to be part of the investigation into Khashoggi’s death. Earlier this week, President Trump had said he had no plans to meet with Mohammed. “I would have met with him, but we didn’t set that one up,” Trump told reporters Thursday. On Friday, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news organization reported that the two leaders had a “friendly” meeting at the sidelines of the G-20. Trump later told reporters that there had been “no discussion” with the crown prince. “We might, but we had none," he said. Al Arabiya English also noted that Mohammed had been welcomed by Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri at Friday’s summit. Macri had previously told reporters that he thought the killing of Khashoggi was a valid subject for discussion at the G-20. "This issue, which has impacted the world,


Remarks by Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron at the 2018 Fourth Estate Awards

give the public the information it needs and deserves to know. That means, above all, holding politicians, policymakers and other powerful individuals and institutions to account. That is our job. And we will do it. With this award, you honor not only me but also my colleagues at The Washington Post whose work is daily testament to that mission. You also honor my former colleagues at the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Miami Herald and Boston Globe who maintain the same fervent sense of purpose. I am here today because of all those remarkable people. They gave me strength. They gave me inspiration. They have my deepest thanks. As do you, for having me here tonight. The National Press Club also recognized Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi with the 2018 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award “to help keep a light on this case as it is still developing and help ensure that it continues to move toward justice for Jamal and his family.” Washington Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan accepted the award on behalf of Khashoggi’s family. His prepared remarks are below. Thank you, Andrea. On behalf of Jamal’s friends and colleagues at the Washington Post, I’m honored to accept this award. On an evening that celebrates great journalism and champions press freedom around the world, we appreciate the National Press Club for recognizing the work of Jamal Khashoggi. Jamal gave everything he had to journalism. He was singularly committed to the journalist’s mission, which is to tell the truth. In particular, he told the world the truth about the Saudi government’s oppression and brutality toward its people. This devotion to his work—and to the country he loved—ultimately cost him his life. Jamal’s murder is an urgent and powerful example of why we must stand up for press freedom around the world. The Administration argues that we should tread lightly with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in order to “protect our interests” in the region. With potential commercial deals at stake, President Trump wants us to look the other way when it comes to the murder of an innocent journalist. He’s ignoring the findings of America’s intelligence services and wants to continue business as usual with Saudi Arabia as though this state-sponsored murder never happened. But turning a blind eye to a brazen assault on press freedom isn’t protecting our interests—it’s a betrayal of our interests. Business opportunities may


Transcript: The Energy 202

watching online that you can send questions to us. I’ll get them if you use the hashtag on Twitter #PostLive. So let me start just by asking each of you: how much of a threat do you see climate change is right now, both to society as well as progress, and how can your industry be part of the solution? Abigail? Hopper: Well, it seems odd that we would even have to question whether climate change is happening. Clearly it is and clearly, there’s an urgency about it. I think that’s what sort of has galvanized folks most recently with these recent reports. There is an urgency and a call to action. I have the pleasure of representing the solar industry and we are a cost-effective, equitable, dependable—the panel before talked about an equitable solution to provide carbon-free electricity. And so I think any answer and any solution to climate change that can happen right now has to include renewable energy and certainly solar energy. Casey: Hal? Quinn: Yeah, I think this situation presents a real challenge and an opportunity across all sectors of not only the energy industry but our economy as a whole. So in terms of electricity, I think all sectors can continue to step up. First would be using what they use more efficiently. In the coal sector, we have technologies that we can put out today that will decrease emissions by 21% and with more advanced technologies on the horizon, reduce emissions 30 to 35%, just in terms of combustion and then as we test carbon capture, which I think is really going to have to be part of the technology transformation across many sectors for fossil fuels, but also for industry. Because when you look at the numbers, fuel substitution doesn’t get everybody where they need to be according to the reports we see. Casey: Maria? Korsnick: Well, I just don’t think we can get to a climate solution without nuclear power. If you look at the recent reports, whether it’s the IGCC report, nature Conservancy recently came out with a report. The last panel talked about a Google paper that was recently released. Union of Concerned Scientists released a report earlier this month and all of it says, “We absolutely need nuclear power as part of the solution.” Not only is it no release of carbon, but it’s no release of other air


Transcript: The Energy 202

to continue to work on advancements. Korsnick: Well, in terms of the reactors that we have right now, that doesn’t require any kind of government investment. Those are invested in by the companies that own them. I ran a plant that actually went into commission in 1969. It’s a plant in upstate New York and if you were to tour that plant today, I would tell you, it’s like a teenager in terms of how well that it comes across. Those plans have been maintained. We’ve replaced pieces and parts throughout the time and you’d never guess that when you toured that plant that had been in operation since 1969, they’re incredibly well-maintained. In terms of the government involvement and investment, there’s new technology. America has wonderful ideas and we put those ideas to work and I think we have some of the most interesting innovative ideas that are happening here in our national labs and some of the private companies. But there’s a lot of risks to bring those to market. And so what we really need is the government to be able to invest, sort of build that first model, build that first of a kind, so that everybody can understand it, understand how it works, and then let the commercial process take on from there. That’s an example, a small modular reactor that—looking to build at the Idaho National Labs, as an example, so that you then have people that can have an example and they can see one. Casey: All right, statewide level, where do you see development and advancement? I think a lot of Americans perceive the coal industry as something that the Trump administration is trying to save and assist. When we see reports out of places like West Virginia, a lot of times, it’s about saving jobs and saving an industry. Quinn: We’re pleased with what the administration has been doing and looking back at some of what we consider regulatory excess of the past administration, particularly on coal and on its markets. When we saw the tail-off in production in demand, it largely coincides with a series of regulations under the last administration that started kicking in in 2011, ’13, then ’15, and we lost 50,000 or more megawatts of coal capacity. So looking back at some of those policies and saying, “Did they overreach?” Not to totally dismiss them or repeal


A 12-year-old gave out THC-laced gummies, police say. At least five classmates were hospitalized.

Several children at a Florida middle school overdosed on THC-laced gummies after a 12-year-old student handed them out in class, authorities said. Polk County Sheriff’s Office officials said the boy somehow acquired a package of gummies containing 100 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main mind-altering ingredient in cannabis, and gave it to six other seventh-graders during gym class at Mulberry Middle School on Thursday. At least five of the students were transported to a hospital after experiencing stomach pain, dizziness and nausea, and Sheriff Grady Judd said one of them had “all but passed out.” The child who handed out the gummies at school now faces seven felony charges for possessing and distributing marijuana. Ten states and D.C. have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults — but not in Florida, and never for children. “We’re fortunate in that the children are all going to make a great recovery; they’re going to be all right,” Judd told reporters during a news conference. “There’s no long-term injury or illness here as we understand, but obviously we’re concerned. “We’re concerned as to one, how did a 12-year-old ever come to be in possession of this drug? . . . And two, why did he offer it to these six kids?” In Florida, medical marijuana is legal with a prescription, but the drug remains illegal in other forms. Judd, the sheriff, said that the edibles that sickened the Mulberry Middle School students are sold online and come in a gummy brick that is supposed to be torn into 10 adult doses in states where the product is legal. Almost the entire package was divided among the six children, he said. Authorities said at least five of the children consumed the gummies, and it is believed that the sixth child did as well. As The Washington Post’s Kristine Phillips has reported, edibles, or food products laced with cannabis extract, have become a popular way to sell marijuana, and many are sold online, though interstate transport is illegal. Phillips added: The boy who handed out the gummies in Florida told investigators at least two different stories about how he got them, but said he did not eat any, the sheriff said. It’s unclear whether he understood that the gummies contained THC, but authorities pointed out that ignorance is not a defense against a crime. The boy will be charged with one count of possession


Baker Mayfield ‘is not going to blow smoke up anybody’s [you-know-what],’ says Browns OC

people don’t have to care. I’m not looking for anybody’s approval." Mayfield said, “I speak my mind,” and Kitchens claimed Thursday to be more than okay with the public disdain for Jackson. “I don’t have a problem with Baker saying anything like that,” the OC said. “I mean, ‘Hard Knocks’ is in here, everybody’s looking for a story. Well, he’s giving you a story,” Kitchens continued. “He’s telling you the truth. Everybody’s wanting an inside look at the truth, well hell, that’s the truth.” After specifying that Mayfield was speaking “what he felt to be true,” Kitchens claimed not to “know anything” about the “fake” jab made on Instagram. Rather, he framed his support for his quarterback in the context of the importance of team unity. “It’s about what’s said here. And more importantly, it’s about our fans, our organization and our locker room, most importantly,” he said. “It’s about what those guys feel in there. And when they start believing that — which they do — then you have something. And I think that’s the point we’re getting to.” It was notable that Kitchens was willing to endorse with such forthrightness remarks that portrayed another member of the coaching fraternity, let alone someone for whom he recently worked, in such a negative light. As some observers pointed out Thursday, Kitchens was brought to Cleveland by Haley, who took over the play-calling from Jackson this season and whose own conflicts with the coach led the team to decide to fire both of them in a clean sweep. In addition, Mayfield has turned the promotion of Kitchens into quite the positive for the franchise. Since he became OC, the quarterback has thrown just one interception to nine touchdowns while leading the Browns to a 2-1 record, and has the NFL’s second-best passer rating in that span. In six games under Jackson, Mayfield went 1-4 as a starter, with eight touchdowns and six interceptions. “We have people that we believe in calling the plays now,” the quarterback said, after the win over Jackson and the Bengals. Read more from The Post: Benefit of the doubt? The Redskins haven’t earned it, especially after Reuben Foster. Police make arrest after threatening tweets toward Jeff Brohm’s high school After a $16 million donation, a high school football league’s race for recruits goes national A ‘deeply shameful’ half-marathon cheating scandal in China implicates hundreds of runners


South Korea sends a train into North for the first time in a decade

the South and the North will prosper together and the ground for peace on the Korean Peninsula will be consolidated,” he said. “The train crossing the Korean Peninsula will carry peace and prosperity to northeast Asia and the world.” Cho also promised to maintain close consultation “with related nations” — in other words, the United States — so that the project proceeds with international support. After whistling twice, the South Korean train slowly traveled toward North Korea’s Panmun Station, near the town of Kaesong, where the cars would be reconnected to a North Korean engine. The survey will run in two stages. The first will go through central North Korea and along the northwestern coast to the city of Sinuiju near the Chinese border. The second phase will go from an area near the Mount Kumgang tourist region and along the east coast up to a riverside station near the border with Russia. The train will include passenger and sleeping cars as well as a power-generator car and a fuel-tank. “You will visit train stations and cross hills and rivers in North Korea no outsiders have visited,” Cho told the survey team. Freight services ran between the two Koreas from December 2007 until November 2008 to support factories in a joint economic zone at Kaesong in North Korea. But the line was cut in 2008 and the Kaesong park eventually closed in 2016 as relations deteriorated. The contrast between North Korea’s slow and decrepit network and the South’s gleaming bullet trains could hardly be greater. During his April meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un admitted the railways in his country were in an “embarrassing” state. Moon has since outlined ambitious plans to set up an East Asian Railway community, as a first step towards the sort of regional economic integration Europe established after World War II. Seoul wanted the railway survey to take place earlier this year, but the plan was initially blocked by the U.S.-led United Nations Special Command in South Korea. Strains have emerged in the relationship between Seoul and Washington over how to handle North Korea, with some members of the U.S. administration worried that South Korea is moving too fast down the path of rapprochement, and some South Koreans frustrated that the United States is making what they see as unreasonable demands of Pyongyang, while maintaining harsh sanctions. simon.denyer@washpost.com


‘The Lion of Kandahar’: Was slain commander a hero or part of the problem?

demand for his images than other leaders who have been killed in recent years.” After four decades of war, Afghans have no shortage of slain leaders to memorialize. But almost all, including Massoud, are associated exclusively with one ethnic group or another — a distinction that has dark overtones in a country full of unsettled scores and unhealed scars. One group’s champion is another’s butcher. But the demise of Raziq, an ethnic Pashtun and Kandahar’s longtime provincial police chief, has been mourned by Afghans of every background, making him a rare war martyr to achieve hero status across the country’s ethnic fault lines. On social media, fans have paid him the ultimate compliment by replacing their profile photos with his. Politicians and leaders of every stripe flocked to his mourning ceremonies last month and described Raziq’s untimely death (he looked a decade younger than his age) as an irreparable loss to the nation. He was shot dead, along with the provincial intelligence chief, after leaving a meeting with the top U.S. military commander, Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, who escaped unharmed. In a society where strongmen have long been admired and their abuses rarely called to account, there was an instant unspoken consensus that Raziq’s reported excesses were far outweighed by his success in keeping Kandahar stable and safe from insurgent attacks. But that consensus was not shared by Afghan and international human rights groups. Over the years, as Raziq rose through the ranks of the Afghan border police and then the national police, he acquired a reputation for brutality and vengeful abuses. In combating the Taliban on its home turf, he became an important ally of U.S.-led NATO forces here but faced local accusations of cruelty. One of his most persistent critics has been the nonprofit group Human Rights Watch. Patricia Gossman, the associate director of its Asia division, noted in a recent email that a U.N. report last year had identified Raziq’s police force as especially abusive. She said it was found responsible for “torturing detainees by suffocation, crushing testicles and electric shocks.” Raziq had repeatedly denied all allegations of abuse. Gossman, who visited Kandahar two years ago to investigate rights abuses, said that while Raziq was praised by Afghan elites and Western officials for improving security in the region, his victims were often unknown tribal rivals or others who crossed him, and who had little avenue for complaint.


Astrophysicists count all the starlight in the universe

into gamma rays, for instance, the result is an annihilation that creates new particles. Gamma rays are made of photons, too, though these have tremendous amounts of energy, up to a trillion times as much as visible light. Blazars, or supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, emit gamma rays when matter near these black holes is shredded and flung away. These collisions work to the astronomers' favor. “If you have a gamma ray photon, this will only interact with photons from starlight,” Ajello said. The starlight is, essentially, “absorbing” the gamma rays, akin to the way gases in Earth’s atmosphere absorb light from the sun. The gamma ray detector on the Fermi observatory can observe how these rays lose energy when they annihilate starlight. Measuring that absorption, this energy loss is a sign that the rays hit star photons. And presto: a way to count starlight. The team used 739 blazars to survey starlight across history. The closest blazar was created 200 million years ago. The most distant blazar gave the scientists a view as long ago as 11.6 billion years. (The universe is about 13.8 billion years old.) The stars really began to bloom when the universe was just 2 billion years old. Star formation reached its peak a billion years later and then began a slow decline as it aged. This peak of star formation is consistent with independent measurements via other telescopes, Prandini said. That’s good news, she said, because it means “we are actually seeing almost all the galaxies populating the recent universe.” What’s more, this “excellent data set” of the extragalactic background light still holds more information to be examined, Prandini said. It could be used to measure other cosmological values, such as the Hubble constant (which describes the universe’s expansion) and all of the matter, including dark matter, in the universe. Though this technique offered a glimpse into the early ages of the universe, the first billion years are still poorly understood. For that, Ajello said, astrophysicists are eagerly anticipating the long-delayed launch of the James Webb telescope, which will probe farther stars — and further back in time. Read more: Scientists detect gravitational waves from a new kind of nova, sparking a new era in astronomy Scientists detect signal from ‘cosmic dawn,’ when stars first lit up the universe In a cosmic first, scientists detect ‘ghost particles’ from a distant galaxy


Maryland hopes to recruit new hunters — and promote conservation

than $1 billion last year. In many families, the tradition has been handed down for generations. But as longtime sportsmen age and children lose interest, conservation advocates say a new approach is needed. Government agencies and nonprofit groups are even launching mentoring programs such as the one that helped Majid get started. A mentor hunter, provided through a program at the Blackwater refuge, taught the 35-year-old Ellicott City resident how to know a buck is nearby (based on droppings or scrape marks against a tree) and what to wear (lightweight layers and camouflage, plus bright orange when you’re on the move). “I didn’t have anybody to learn it from,” Majid said. “The more information I got, the more and more it seemed doable.” Marcia Pradines, project leader of a complex of wildlife refuges that includes Blackwater, said a mentored hunting program launched this year is about more than just preserving an industry and a culture. More hunters could mean more protection for wildlife and their habitats — through deer population control and investment. “Hunters fund conservation in many ways,” Pradines said. “They’re also the people out there enjoying the resource and wanting to make sure it’s protected.” Federal excise taxes are paid by the manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, archery equipment and fishing gear, and the money is divided among state wildlife agencies. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources received $11 million last year, including $7.8 million from hunting expenditures. It uses the revenue for programs that benefit wildlife and their habitats, including species not hunted or fished, such as butterflies and birds. The money has helped reverse population declines of species including elk, and in Maryland has helped pay for work to map populations of amphibians and reptiles and to grow species such as the blackbanded sunfish. But wildlife managers worry that a decline in hunting could cut into conservation budgets. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey found the number of hunters in the United States fell by 2 million from 2011 to 2016, to about 11 million. Maryland has avoided such a decline so far. The state has consistently sold more than 90,000 hunting licenses to adult residents in recent years, plus a growing number of nonresident licenses — more than 18,000 of them in the season that ended this spring. Nonetheless, hunters and state natural resources officials worry a change is coming. “Even though our numbers right


جذور جريمة قتل خاشقجي تكمن في صراع عائلي سعودي وحشيّ

شخص من داخل القصر. لكنه سرعان ما أثبت ولاءه لابن سلمان بقوة. بصفته مديرًا لمركز الدراسات والشؤون الإعلامية في البلاط الملكي، كان القحطاني يثير هواجس بن سلمان الدائرة حول منافسين محتملين ومخططين لانقلاب متوقع. بدأ القحطاني بجمع أسلحة إلكترونية لاستخدامها بالنيابة عن بن سلمان. في يونيو/حزيران 2015، اتصل القحطاني بمجموعة إيطالية غامضة تُعرَف باسم “فريق القرصنة” للحصول على أدوات إنترنت سرية. في 29 يونيو/حزيران 2015، راسل القحطاني زعيم فريق القرصنة قائلًا: “إنّ الديوان الملكي السعودي (مكتب الملك) يود أن يكون في تعاون مثمر معكم وأن يطور شراكة طويلة واستراتيجية.” خلص المحققون السعوديون والأميركيون إلى أنّ القحطاني، بصفته قائد العمليات المتعلقة بالمعلومات، ساعد في تنظيم جريمة قتل خاشقجي. بدأ فريق الملك سلمان بلعب السياسة العائلية الصارمة منذ الأسبوع الأول لتوليه السلطة. في أواخر يناير/كانون الثاني، عزل مرسوم ملكي اثنين من أبناء عبد الله، تركي ومشعل، من منصبيهما كحاكمَين لإمارتَيّ الرياض ومكة على التوالي. تركت الإطاحة بهما جروحًا لم تلتئم. نُصِّبَ محمد بن سلمان ذو سن التاسعة والعشرين آنذاك وزيرًا للدفاع، وعُيِّنَ الابن المرن لوزير الداخلية السابق، والشخص القوي والمفضل لدى وكالة الاستخبارات المركزية الأميركية “سي آي أيه” محمد بن نايف نائبًا لولي العهد الأمير مقرن، ورئيساً سابقاً متواضعاً للاستخبارات السعودية. أحكم سلمان وابنه محمد سيطرتهما في أبريل/نيسان 2015. أُطِيحَ بمقرن كولي للعهد ليحل محله محمد بن نايف. (قدم الملك يختًا فاخرًا اسمه “سولاندج” يبلغ طوله 280 قدمًا كهدية وداع لمقرن بعد عام من عزله، بالإضافة إلى منحه امتيازات أخرى، وفقًا لسعودي كان على اطلاع بهذه المعاملات.) أصبح بن سلمان نائبًا لرئيس مجلس الوزراء وانضم رسميًا إلى تسلسل الخلافة. على الرغم من أنّ بن سلمان لم يكن يبلغ سن الثلاثين حتى ذلك الحين، إلّا أنّه كان أميرًا ماكرًا بالفعل، وقد شجعه نائب ولي عهد الإمارات العربية المتحدة محمد بن زايد وكبير مسؤولي الاستخبارات الإماراتية الشيخ طحنون الذي زار يخت بن سلمان مرارًا وتكرارًا في عطلة نهاية الأسبوع خلال السنة الأولى تلك. كان بن سلمان قد اكتسب سمعةً في الرياض كشخص سريع الغضب، حيث قام في صغره بترهيب مسؤول تسجيل الأراضي الذي كان يعيق نقل الملكية التي كان يريدها الأمير الشاب بإرسال رصاصة له كرسالة تحذير. كان يفترض أن ينتبه المراقبون إلى علامتي تحذير في سبتمبر/أيلول 2015 كشفتا أنّ بن سلمان “كان أميرًا سعوديًا يمكنه إعادة إنعاش المملكة – أو إسقاطها في الهاوية”، كما جاء في أحد العناوين الرئيسية لإحدى مقالاتي المنشورة عام 2016. سافر السفير الأميركي السابق لدي الرياض جوزيف ويستفال إلى جدة في ذلك الشهر، حيث خطط لمقابلة محمد بن نايف، ولكن أُعيدَ توجيهه في المطار وأُرسِل لمقابلة بن سلمان بدلًا


Pompeo and Mattis criticized for defending U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia

The Trump administration’s determination to maintain warm ties with the Saudi royal family came into clear focus this week when Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis showed up at the Senate. Senators wanted to know more about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and U.S. support for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. Instead, Pompeo and Mattis kept pivoting to the threat posed by Iran. A smile frozen on his face, Pompeo deflected a reporter’s question on why the CIA director had not appeared to brief senators on intelligence implicating Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in Khashoggi’s killing. “I was asked to be here, and here I am,” Pompeo replied. When pressed again, he repeated the sentence almost verbatim: “I was asked to be here, and I’m here.” Pompeo’s unwillingness to provide a smoother, more direct answer crystallized how awkward it has become to maintain a solid U.S.-Saudi relationship as Congress threatens to cut off military funding for the country. The administration considers Saudi Arabia an important and influential ally needed to push back against Iran, keep oil prices low and support the administration’s still-unveiled peace plan for Israelis and Palestinians. But the explanations did not sit well with many senators seeking straightforward answers to their concerns about the slaying of the journalist and the crisis in Yemen, which the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. One senator summarized the hour with Pompeo and Mattis behind closed doors as “that horrible meeting.” Both men summarized positions already laid down by President Trump. But their defense of Saudi Arabia’s “strategic importance” to U.S. interests turned a harsh light on them. The different emphasis they placed on the relationship shielded Mattis from criticism more than Pompeo. In his prepared remarks, the Pentagon chief cited the “twin requirements” of holding Khashoggi’s killers accountable and “the reality of Saudi Arabia as a necessary strategic partner.” In his opening statement, as released by the State Department, Pompeo did not mention Khashoggi, whose killing, he wrote, has intensified “Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on.” Richard Fontaine, a former U.S. official and adviser to late Republican senator John McCain, said Mattis had articulated a more nuanced position than Pompeo. Mattis “has made clear which end he comes down on, but it seems to me he’s also made clear that he’s for more tough love with the Saudis,” Fontaine said, “whereas Pompeo’s message


Alexandria woman found shot to death in Southeast DC home

D.C. police detectives are investigating the slaying of a 19-year-old Alexandria woman after she was shot to death late Friday in Southeast Washington. Officers discovered Nya Howard-Reynolds about 11:51 p.m. suffering from a gunshot wound inside a residence on 57th Place SE, near the Prince George’s County border. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital. No other details were immediately available. Anyone with information was asked to call police at 202-727-9099. arelis.hernandez@washpost.com


Skywatch: What’s happening in the heavens in December

morning heavens offer the large gaseous Jupiter surfacing from a brief autumnal hiatus. Catch Jupiter later this week in the east-southeast peeking over the morning horizon to grab coffee with the fleet Mercury before sunrise. Jupiter, with a -1.7 magnitude (bright), gets higher in the morning sky, while Mercury is -0.4 magnitude (bright enough to find), according to U.S. Naval Observatory data. Make sure you have a clear view of the east-southeast horizon, as Jupiter and Mercury dance a cosmic tango and nudge closer, so that by Dec. 21, the two planets appear less than a degree apart. Evening planetary action starts in the western sky at dusk, when the ringed Saturn hangs low in the southwest after dark. The young, new crescent moon is found below Saturn on Dec. 8, but leapfrogs the ringed planet the next night. Our red neighbor Mars saunters in the south at nightfall early in December. It’s a zero-magnitude object, bright enough to see, and chills in the constellation Aquarius now. The nearly first-quarter moon appears to pass underneath the planet Dec. 14. Comet Wirtanen (46P) Zipping through the heavens, the Geminid meteors peak on the night of Dec. 13-14, at about 120 per hour, according to the American Meteor Society (amsmeteors.org). Normally comets can be tapped as the cause for shooting stars, but asteroid 3200 Phaethon prompted this show. (Journeying through the solar system, the comets leave dust behind when they round the sun. The Earth smacks into a comet’s dusty path and it lights up our atmosphere, giving us a meteor show.) A few nights before Christmas, catch the sparse Ursid meteor shower, which peaks at 10 per hour Dec. 22-23, according to the society. The parent comet (8P/Tuttle) of these shooting stars was discovered by Horace Tuttle in 1858 at Harvard College Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. — years before he was a Naval Observatory astronomer. Dark days will soon be behind us, as the winter solstice arrives Dec. 21 at 5:23 p.m., according to the Naval Observatory. Washington will have nine hours and 26 minutes of light that day — the least amount all year. On Jan. 1, we’ll see nine hours, 30 minutes. The good news for the next six months is that we’ll slowly gain more light. Down-to-Earth events: ● Dec. 3 — ● Dec. 5 — ● Dec. 8 — ● Dec. 20 — ● Dec. 21 —


The CIA killed my father. What did they do with his body?

Hajira Hematyara is a teacher in a village near Kabul. I believe there are two paths in life — the paths of right and wrong — and that all people know the right path in their hearts. So I believe that people in America, if they can read this, will know the right thing for their government to do is tell me and my family what happened to my father’s body. My father was Gul Rahman. Sixteen years ago, he was wrongfully imprisoned by the CIA because it suspected he was a militant. He was then tortured and killed in a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan — the only person known to have been killed at a CIA “black site.” I was 10 years old when he disappeared. He was a good and ordinary man and a wonderful father to me and my three younger sisters. We were living then in a camp in Pakistan for Afghan refugees fleeing the war in our country. We had little, but we were eating and surviving, and my father always had a positive outlook. He was always working to solve not only my family’s problems but also the problems of others around us who had even less than we did. We were poor, but he had a way of making us feel as though we owned a mountain. Even today, I can picture how he looked when he laughed and get back a little bit of that feeling. But for the past year, the picture of my father in my mind has been crowded out by another image. It is from an article in the Guardian describing a report from a CIA investigation into my father’s death. The report detailed his last hours, as he was freezing to death because he was “shackled . . . on bare concrete while nude from the waist down.” It said at 8 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2002, two hours before he was found dead, a guard saw my father was alive and shivering and that his eyes were “open and blinking.” That is how I learned the terrible final details of what happened to my father between the time he left home one morning on a trip to see a doctor in Islamabad and the time his eyes closed forever. For 15 years, my family had been asking for information from the governments of Pakistan and