APD Review | Money and Iran behind Trump’s decision to back Saudi leader on Khashoggi death

By APD writer Roy Lu

As the drama surrounding the death of the Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi shows no trace of abatement, the focus of public opinion has gradually shifted from whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the murder to what would be the official response of the U.S. Trump administration to the brutal slaying.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump virtually told the world that event if he might have felt appalled and disgusted by how the Saudis killed Khashoggi, why doesn’t America move on, and forget about any further punishments? In an astonishingly but Trump- like straightforward way, the U.S. leader again showcased the overwhelming weight of transactional approach in his foreign policy decision- making.

The message about Khashoggi’s death and Saudi crown prince’s involvement came quite late in a 633- word White House statement. In the statement unpresidentially riddled with exclamation marks, Trump showed no qualm supporting the Saudi crown prince even if the latter was very likely to have “had knowledge of this tragic event.” It should come as no surprise to us.

To begin with, as the economic factor always plays a dominating role in Trump’s decision- making, he regard the Saudis as a crucial element in his push to “make America great again” economically.

Since the outset of his presidency, Trump has made clear that job- making at home is ranked top when it comes to foreign policy making. Like a complacent salesperson, Trump flaunted his skills to sell U.S. “beautiful weapons” whenever possible, and the Saudis somehow have stood out among the buyers so far.

“After my heavily negotiated trip to Saudi Arabia last year, the Kingdom agreed to spend and invest $ 450 billion in the United States,” Trump said in the statement, calling the Saudi investment “a record amount of money.”

“Of the $ 450 billion, $ 110 billion will be spent on the purchase of military equipment from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and many other great U.S. defense contractors,” the statement added.

Though he did not say it out loud, Trump obviously regarded the United States, especially the U.S. defense industry, as a beneficiary out of close relations with Saudi Arabia.

Secondly, for the Trump administration, the Saudis are the linchpin of U.S. strategy in the Middle East.

Since the beginning of Trump’s presidency, the Kingdom not only agreed to increase its production of oil to offset the influence of fewer Iranian production of oil after Washington left the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but also indicated that it would help the Trump White House to broker a peace deal between Israel and Palestine.

Most importantly, Riyadh has successfully pitched itself as Washington’s key ally to fight back the influence of Iran in the region.

Unlike his immediate predecessor Barack Obama, Trump since Day One has thrown the United States into the regional rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Personally and encouraged by equally bellicose enablers surrounding him, Trump regards Teheran as the destabilizing force in the Middle East.

Blaming Iran for the “bloody proxy war” in Yemen, destabilization in Iraq’s fragile attempt at democracy, the rise of Hezbollah in Lebanon, and perpetuating conflict in Syria, Trump has made it clear that his top priority in the Middle East is to isolate and defeat Iran.

“They (the Saudis) have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran,” the statement exclaimed.

Roy Lu, researcher of APD Institute. Lu covered the 2016 U.S. presidential election till the very end of Donald Trump’s upset victory. He is a political contributor to APD.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)