Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says just as the U.S. should never apologize for its support for human rights, it should not have to apologize for working with Saudi Arabia for what he called “the good of innocent people.”
Mattis, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon Wednesday, said that while believes the U.S. should hold accountable the individual Saudis who were involved in killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, he also thinks it would be a mistake to cut ties with the Saudi government.
[Read: Trump backs Saudis despite Khashoggi killing in statement with 8 exclamation points]
“There’s two primary thrust lines. One is accountability for anyone involved in the murder, and yes, I am calling it murder,” Mattis said. “On the other hand, if we’re going to stop a war in Yemen, we’re going to have to deal with Saudi Arabia. There’s no way not to.”
Mattis credited the Saudi government with making humanitarian gestures, including allowing some wounded Houthi rebels to be moved to hospitals, and putting up $500 million, along with the United Arab Emirates, to feed Yemeni’s starving population.
Those actions helped paved the way for peace talks to be held in Sweden in early December, Mattis said.
“The Saudis were actually key to open the door to this,” Mattis said. “So we’re not going to either apologize for our human rights stand, nor will we apologize for working with Saudi Arabia where it’s necessary for the good of innocent people who are in trouble.”
[Opinion: Senate Republicans must show American values are more important than Saudi business deals]
