WarSclerotic

U.S. President Donald Trump declared Tuesday he would not further punish Saudi Arabia for the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi – making clear in an exclamation-filled statement that the benefits of good relations with the kingdom outweigh the possibility that its crown prince ordered the killing.

“The United States intends to remain a steadfast partner of Saudi Arabia to ensure the interests of our country, Israel and all other partners in the region,” Trump said in the statement.

The U.S. needs a “counterbalance” to Iran, “and Israel needs help, too,” Trump said. “If we abandon Saudi Arabia, it would be a terrible mistake.”

Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post who had criticized the royal family, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

The president condemned the murder of as a “horrible crime … that our country does not condone.”

But he rejected calls by many in Congress, including members of his own party, for a tougher response, and also dismissed reports from U.S. intelligence agencies that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known about such an audacious and intricate plot.

“It could very well be that the crown prince had knowledge of this tragic event,” the president said. “Maybe he did and maybe he didn’t.”

In many ways, the statement captured Trump’s view of the world and foreign policy, grounded in economic necessity. It began with the words “America first!” followed by “The world is a very dangerous place!”

It came after weeks of debate over whether Trump would or should come down hard on the Saudis and the crown prince in response to the killing.

The U.S.  sanctioned 17 Saudi officials suspected of being responsible for or complicit in the killing, but members of Congress have called for harsher actions, including canceling arms sales.

Trump said “foolishly canceling these contracts,” which are worth billions of dollars, would benefit only Russia and China, which would be next in line to supply the weapons. Critics denounced Trump’s statement, saying he was ignoring human rights and granting Saudi Arabia a pass for economic reasons.

Representative Eliot Engel, who has the power to block arms deals as the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Washington should use its ability to sell weapons to the Saudis as leverage to influence Riyadh’s behavior.

“The reality is that the Saudis couldn’t simply buy their weapons somewhere else,” Engel said in a statement. “It would take years for the Saudi military to re-equip with Russian or Chinese weapons.”

When Trump mentions the $110 billion package with Saudi Arabia reached last year, he often adds that “it’s 500,000 jobs.”

But arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin predicts the deal could create nearly 10,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia, while keeping up to 18,000 existing U.S. workers busy if the whole package comes together – an outcome that industry experts say is unlikely.

Asked by a reporter if he was saying that human rights are too expensive to fight for, Trump responded, “No, I’m not saying that at all.”

But then he switched the subject to the “terrorist nation” of Iran rather than any actions by Saudi Arabia.

The mistake was Trump’s, said Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, contending the administration has “blinders on” in comparing Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“It’s a sign of weakness not to stand up to Saudi Arabia,” Paul said in an interview. “Sometimes when you have two evils, maybe you don’t support either side.”

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is close to Trump, also disagreed with the president’s statement, saying America must not lose its “moral voice” on the international stage.

“It is not in our national security interests to look the other way when it comes to the brutal murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Graham said.

Likewise, Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said that to suggest that U.S. silence can be bought with arms sales “undermines respect for the office of the presidency, the credibility of our intelligence community and America’s standing as a champion of human rights.”

Trump’s statement, issued just before he issued the traditional pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey at the White House and left for the long holiday weekend in Florida, underscored his world view of putting U.S. interests – both financial and geopolitical – above all else.

He told reporters on the South Lawn that oil prices would “skyrocket” if the U.S. broke with the Saudis, and he was not going to “destroy” the world’s economy by being “foolish with Saudi Arabia.”

Asked about any personal financial involvement, he said, “Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with me. What does have to do with me is putting America first.”

Trump said that King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed both “vigorously deny” any knowledge of the planning or execution of the killing. He also said the CIA has not made a conclusive determination about whether the crown prince ordered it.

A U.S. official familiar with the case told The Associated Press last week that intelligence officials had concluded that the crown prince, the kingdom’s de facto leader, did order the killing. Others familiar with the case, however, have cautioned that while it is likely the crown prince had a role, there continue to be questions about the degree.

“We may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi,” Trump said. “In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They have been a great ally in our very important fight against Iran.”

Saudi prosecutors say a 15-man team sent to Istanbul exceeded its authority when the lead negotiator in the team decided to kill Khashoggi for refusing orders to return. The Saudis say the agents dismembered his body, which has not been found.

Democrats on Capitol Hill called on the CIA and other top intelligence agencies to publicly report what they have learned about the killing.

The CIA had no comment on the president’s statement.

However, former director John Brennan, a frequent Trump critic, tweeted: “Since Mr. Trump excels in dishonesty, it is now up to members of Congress to obtain and declassify the CIA findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s death. No one in Saudi Arabia – most especially the crown prince – should escape accountability for such a heinous act.”

Trump said he knew some members of Congress would disagree with his decision. He said he would listen to their ideas, but only if they were focused on U.S. national security.

Late last week, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation that calls for suspending weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, for sanctions on people who block humanitarian access in Yemen or support the Houthi rebels, and mandatory sanctions on those responsible for Khashoggi’s death.

Democrats harshly criticized Trump’s decision Tuesday and called on Congress to cut off arm sales to Saudi Arabia and end support for Saudi Arabia’s war against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen, which is facing a humanitarian crisis.

“Standing with Saudi Arabia is not ‘America First!'” said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, where Khashoggi lived.

“President Trump has sided with a murderous regime over patriotic American intelligence officials.”

Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, said Khashoggi was killed by agents of the Saudi government in a “premeditated murder, plain and simple.” She said she would introduce legislation requiring intelligence agencies to release an unclassified public assessment.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended Trump’s decision, saying, “We are determined to ensure that we continue to make sure that we take care of the American people in all of the strategic decisions we make about with whom we work with around the world.”

The president opened his eight-paragraph statement chastising Iran for its proxy war against Saudi Arabia in Yemen, its activities in Iraq, its backing of the Syrian government of Bashar Assad and its support of terrorist groups, which Riyadh has pledged billions to fight.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in Washington on Tuesday that Turkey was not entirely satisfied with the level of cooperation it was receiving from the Saudis on Khashoggi’s murder and may seek a formal United Nations inquiry.

On Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote, “Mr. Trump bizarrely devotes the first paragraph of his shameful statement on Saudi atrocities to accuse Iran of every sort of malfeasance he can think of.”

Iranian forces are in Syria not just to support the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, “but to carry out their own long-term regional hegemonial program and to in some respects subvert the authority of the Syrian state just like they have done in Lebanon, just like they have done in Yemen, just like they’ve attempted to do in Iraq,” U.S. Special Representative for Syrian Engagement James Jeffrey said on Tuesday.

In a teleconference briefing with reporters from across the Middle East, Jeffrey mentioned U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, which “lays out a political process forward that would allow half the Syrian population, 12 million people, to return to their homes, because these people have either fled abroad or they fled to other areas of Syria. That is critical to bringing this conflict to an end. It is critical to preserving security in the region.”

Jeffrey’s remarks are consistent with growing reports of extensive Iranian efforts to turn Syria, ruled by Alawite Assad and largely Sunni Muslim, into a Shiite-majority country. Last week, Iran announced it was opening another university in Syria, which was set to join the list of schools it already operates in the country.

Jeffrey said that although many in the international community believe the war in Syria has come to an end, a flare-up is possible any minute.

He emphasized that Israel-Iran tensions are the most cause for concern, followed by Jordan and Iran.

“For the moment, Jordan’s major concern, as Jordanian officials talk to us, is both Iran’s movement into regions close to Jordan and of course the remnants of terrorist forces along the Jordanian border. Jordan has suffered terribly from terrorist attacks and we are committed to its security,” he said.

“In terms of Israel, it is even more dramatic because of the deployment of long-range Iranian weapon systems into Syria and they are used over Israeli territory twice in this past year and the Israeli response to that that led to the set of events culminating in the shoot down of a Russian plane by Syrian missiles and this is the kind of perhaps accidental, perhaps deliberate escalation that we are working night and day to prevent by trying to again de-escalate the conflict and revitalize the political process.”

Meanwhile, the European Union is said to be weighing sanctions on Iran over foiled attacks Tehran planned to carry out in Denmark and France after representatives from both Copenhagen and Paris briefed EU ministers on their findings.

According to the European Council’s website, EU foreign ministers on Tuesday “expressed their full solidarity to those member states which witnessed unacceptable behavior from Iranian actors on European soil, and affirmed their readiness to consider a targeted appropriate response.”

Denmark recalled its ambassador to Iran in late October after it accused Tehran of plotting to kill three Iranian dissidents living in the Scandinavian country.

A Norwegian citizen of Iranian descent was arrested Oct. 21 on suspicion of helping an unspecified Iranian intelligence service “to act in Denmark” and of alleged involvement in the assassination plot,  Danish Security and Intelligence Service Director Finn Borch Andersen said.

Earlier that month, French authorities on Tuesday froze the assets of the internal security section of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry as well as those of two Iranians, and all but pointed a finger at Tehran as the force behind an alleged plot to bomb an Iranian exile group’s rally near Paris in June.

Israel’s national intelligence agency, ‎the Mossad, in July revealed it had tipped off French authorities before the planned Iranian terrorist attack on French soil.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced that Israel will not join a global immigration pact that grants labor migrants the same legal status as refugees.

“I have instructed the Foreign Ministry to announce that Israel will not join and will not sign the immigration treaty,” Netanyahu said. “We are committed to protecting our borders from illegal infiltrators. That is what we have done and what we will continue to do.”

Netanyahu made the decision after Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely brought the issue to his attention.

Under the recently negotiated Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, U.N. member states tentatively agreed to cement the rights of refugees under the U.N. Charter. The document is set to be officially adopted in December at an intergovernmental conference in Morocco.

According to the Foreign Ministry website, Israeli officials took part in the formulation of the draft, participated in meetings of the forum that compiled it and presented the forum with relevant materials.

Unlike other agreements and conventions, the agreement will grant labor migrants as well as “climate migrants” the same legal status under international law as asylum seekers and refugees who flee tyrannical regimes. This would essentially make all migrants, legal or not, eligible for economic benefits.

The pact strives to “develop national short-, medium- and long-term policy goals regarding the inclusion of migrants in societies, including on labor market integration, family reunification, education, non-discrimination and health, including by fostering partnerships with relevant stakeholders” and to “provide newly arrived migrants with targeted, gender-responsive, child-sensitive, accessible and comprehensive information and legal guidance on their rights and obligations, including on compliance with national and local laws, obtaining of work and resident permits, status adjustments, registration with authorities, access to justice to file complaints about rights violations, as well as access to basic services.”

If adopted, the compact would not be legally binding, but its ambiguous wording could result in some parts of it being incorporated into international law, particularly if it is adopted by an overwhelming majority of member states.

It also uses phrases such as “we commit” and “collective commitment.”

For this reason, the United States, Australia, Austria and Hungary have refused to be parties to the compact. The Czech Republic, Poland and Croatia have also indicated they will not join it, while in Canada and Germany there have been campaigns against its adoption.

Two Israeli ministers have warned that Israel’s patience with ‎Hamas leaders is wearing thin and that any future Israeli military campaign is likely to include the ‎targeted assassination of terrorist leaders and potentially seizing ‎control of the Gaza Strip.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of the decision-making Diplomatic-Security ‎Cabinet, said Tuesday that “a shift from a defensive to an offensive policy against Hamas ‎means the targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders who are ‎members of Hamas’ military wing.”‎

He added that Israel is “closer than ever to seizing control of the ‎Gaza Strip.”

“This means taking and maintaining control of Gaza until ‎we eliminate its terrorist infrastructure,” Erdan said. “We’re closer than ever – ‎since the devastating [2005] disengagement – to having no other ‎choice but to take control over parts or all of Gaza.” ‎

Fellow cabinet member Housing and Construction Minister Yoav ‎Gallant told the audience that after the latest round of violence in ‎Gaza, the worst since 2014, Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar “is at a dramatic ‎crossroads and has to rethink his course.”

“They [Hamas] have to ‎decide whether they want to fight us or preserve the calm,”‎ he said.

Gallant, formerly the IDF’s GOC Southern Command, stressed that “war is the ‎last resort. There will be a [military] campaign in Gaza, but we will ‎be the ones to determine the circumstances and the timing.”‎

He said that “Sinwar is living on borrowed time. He won’t end ‎his life in a retirement home.” ‎