The senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee has offered implicit support for President Trump’s policy of maintaining the U.S.-Saudi alliance despite the savage murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
Trump and U.S. foreign policy leaders must “walk a fine line” in how they react to Saudi Arabia’s murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and focus on the need to contain Iran, according to New York Rep. Eliot Engel.
“I feel that obviously what was done with Khashoggi is horrific, and we just can’t look the other way,” Engel told the Washington Examiner during a recent interview. “On the other hand, I don’t believe it’s in our interests to blow up the relationship that we have with the Saudis.”
Engel believes that American leverage should be wielded in a way that won’t rupture U.S.-Saudi relations, despite the crown prince’s apparent misdeeds.
“It seems likely, very likely, that he was deeply involved with this,” he said. “Again, I think that we cannot have business as usual right now; we’ve got to take some time to show our annoyance, but I don’t think you slam the door and you say ‘never,’ because in diplomacy, in foreign policy, there are always shifting alliances. And I think that Saudi Arabia is an important player in the region, and the United States needs to work with them.”
Engel, poised to take over as chairman of the Foreign Affairs panel in the next Congress, explained that perspective by reference to the threat of Iran, which he regards as “the biggest destabilizer in the Middle East.” He suggested that the United States should continue to regard Saudi Arabia as a key strategic partner, despite believing as well that it is “very likely” that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “was deeply involved” in the execution of the dissident journalist.
“If we’re going to contain Iran, we’re going to need Saudi Arabia’s help, so we’re sort of walking that fine line,” Engel said. “It’s disappointing to me that the crown prince seems to be so involved in the Khashoggi murder.”
President Trump, in a subsequent statement on U.S.-Saudi relations, was more agnostic about the crown prince’s involvement but no less blunt than Engel about the need to protect the partnership with the Sunni Arab monarchy.
“Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event – maybe he did and maybe he didn’t!” Trump said Monday. “That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi. 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. 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.”
That statement drew bipartisan skepticism on Capitol Hill, particularly among lawmakers who don’t want Trump to flinch from holding the crown prince personally responsible for the murder.
“In light of recent developments, including the Saudi government’s acknowledgement that Saudi officials killed Mr. Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate, we request that your determination specifically address whether Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman is responsible for Mr. Khashoggi’s murder,” retiring Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and ranking Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., wrote the president Monday evening.
And Engel, likewise, faulted Trump for seeking “to downplay a horrific murder” in a response to the president’s statement. Where the president pointed to Saudi purchases on U.S. military equipment as a reason to soften any blows delivered to the monarchy, the New York Democrat argued that the sales create “tremendous leverage” for the U.S.
“With that leverage, the United States should demand not only that American interests and security are preserved, but should also stand up for American values in our foreign policy. It’s unacceptable to murder a journalist,” Engel said in his own Monday statement.
“When the United States is leading on the global stage, we can apply the sort of pressure that advances our values. Instead, the president is acting as though the United States is dependent on Saudi Arabia and not the other way around.”
