Journalist Khashoggi’s murder

I wonder if the truth will ever come out. I guess it depends on how annoyed Erdogan gets.

Erdogan is scoring series PR hits on Saudi Arabia, so he's going to keep it rolling.

Lots not to love about Erdogan but I'm glad he's taking on the Saudis.

Turkey and SA are backing different horses in Syria. There's also a huge difference in their dealings with Qatar and Iran.

This opposition isn't something new.

Are they really? (I am so ignorant on this) .

I thought this was a struggle to see who dominates the Sunni sphere.
I thought Bashir Al-Assad was Alawite so was looked down upon by Sunnis.

I looked it up and it seems both Turkey and Saudi Arabia were pro Syrian rebels/anti Assad.

I read this and I'm less ashamed of how much I don't understand:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sectarianism_and_minorities_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War

https://www.apnews.com/602e88e1b76148c48dcfe4838d9be33b

I'm going out on a limb, but I'm guessing everyone involved will be either executed or otherwise become deceased. Nobody is going to testify against Crown Prince. Nobody.

I think there will be a sham investigation, then a sham trial, and none of the accused will ever talk to reporters. Even if given an opportunity they won't talk or admit to anything for fear of retaliation against their families. And at some point, the ones who are disposable will be despatched.

The assassins were highly trained, but they didn't slip unnoticed past the Turks. Host countries keep close tabs on the guest embassies , they know who is traveling, who goes in and out, what type of equipment, what types of packages or anything at all that is taken in or sent out.

My thoughts are scrambled re: this horrific murder of a journalist. I have no frame of reference but why were 15 or more Saudi's sent to Turkey? Apparently everything was planned to happen inside the building, why 15? Did they prepare for multiple scenarios? The Saudi Embassy had to have state of the art methods to detect listening devices and electronic eavesdropping......If Turkey had an 'in' or special source thats over now .

Why would the Saudi's allow the Turks to search and examine the Embassy and Ambassador's residence.? The US Embassies in Tehran and Saigon were overtaken, other than those sites, I can't recall another country allowing foreign officials access to search thru the Embassies. I would love to know how all that was arranged and allowed. This story won't unfold quickly, I don't think. Maybe in 30 years my grandchildren will read about this period in history..

There are so many different groups over there, there's one group that reveres John the Baptist the same way Christians revere Christ.

Then there's other groups like the Bahá'í, whose most famous adherent is Omid Djalili.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jul/10/bahai-iran-repression

Turkey has had its own problems with Jihadis, and specifically Kurdish separatists which puts it at odds with the US, but finds common interest with Iran which has its own Kurdish population.

In short the only group in Syria that Turkey really supports are the Turkomen.

Delighted to hear Khashoggi’s son, Salah and his family have been allowed to leave SA.
I honestly thought he was a goner.

That’s at least one bright spot in a horrific story. I hope there are no family members still at risk.

The details that are coming out in dribs and drabs are blood curdling. This is the first I’ve ever used that phrase outside of describing a horror film. It was depraved. The Saudi crown prince needs to be stopped. How much of a beast do you have to be to order such gastly punishment because you find another man’s opinion unflattering.

It all hinges on how much power the crown prince has. I think it's safe to assume the king is innocent in all this, he has Alzheimer's and is little more than a figurehead.

Islamic succession is not as straightforward as that of European monarchies, there's not such a clear hierarchy. And high level members of the Royal family have already had meetings about this. The question is will they be able to mount a bloodless coup and replace him.

There are those who would relish the opportunity for personal reasons. A lot of Saudi Royals were among the group imprisoned in a luxury hotel on corruption charges. Pretty much all were forced to cough up millions of dollars and some were even tortured.

If however, Mohammad bin Salman's grip on the security apparatus is complete, they'll find the lowest ranking person the buck can conceivably stop at and execute him after a show trial.

Executions are public. A mate of mine lived in SA for a while when he was a kid, his dad had a contract over there. Once when he was in the market place the police suddenly blocked all exits before bringing some poor sod in who was then beheaded by a swordsman. At the moment of truth my mate looked away. He wasn't the only kid there by any means.

That's what Saudi Arabia is like on a good day.

He thought he could get away with it. Trump had given the impression that all he cared about was the Saudi millions, and that's probably still the case. Saddam Hussein also thought he could get away with invading Kuwait because of Bush Snr's ineptitude. Hussein didn't get away with it but Mohammad bin Salman probably will.

Quote Glitterbag:
The idea that an embassy is the property of the foreign power whom the embassy represents is not true. The Saudi Arabia embassy is on the soil of Turkey, a murder was committed, the Turkish police force can investigate. The Saudi diplomats have diplomatic immunity as far as being charged, of course, but the Turks can go in the embassy and investigate the murder anyway.

I guess I was working on an assumption. I can't think of another time it happened other than when an embassy is under attack or overtaken. Dang, now I'll be up anther couple of hours researching embassy protocol.

You've given me a research project.

If it makes you feel any better, I thought that the ground in the embassy actually was the property of the country the embassy represented too until a few days ago.

You might have some trouble researching it, because I think most countries don't want to engender bad feeling by having police search an embassy. And how many murders get committed in embassies? I'm sure quite a few murders were given the secret go-ahead in embassies, but the deed was usually carried out elsewhere. Probably didn't want blood staining the fine tablecloths, and all that.

Apparently there is American soil in the UK. Not at an embassy mind but Runnymede.

Looks like it will be a show trial.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46002332