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| Jamal Khashoggi. |
But here is the thing, as horrific as the murder is, it is the murder of one person. At the same time, the Kingdom is killing thousands in Yemen using U.S. provided military equipment.“There will be severe punishment.” – President Trump on what will happen if Saudi Arabia is found to be behind the disappearance of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi pic.twitter.com/aE4581jHqY— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 14, 2018
But Trump told "60 Minutes" correspondent Leslie Stahl that sanctions against military equipment going to the Saudis was off the table as an option to "punish" Saudi Arabia if it was found that the government was behind the murder.
He justified refusing to put sanctions on military equipment on the table by stating it would hurt U.S. military equipment manufacturers such as Lockheed, Raytheon and Boeing.
At the same time, though, it must be noted, Trump has no problem launching a trade war that hurts farmers, builders etc.
In other words, Trump claims he will be outraged if it is proven that Khashoggi was murdered and will "punish" Saudi Arabia but not by the logical step of putting sanctions on military sales, which might actually limit more killing. Especially, if Trump muscles other countries to respect the sanctions, countries that might attempt to provide military equipment, just like the Empire does in other situations.
Of course, from a libertarian perspective, the U.S. shouldn't meddle in affairs taking place outside the United States but how Trump approaches the Khashoggi affair provides us with clear evidence that Trump has no intention of messing with the military-industrial-complex. And that should be of concern to all of us.
Robert Wenzel is Editor & Publisher of Where is this concern for jobs when his tariffs hurt other kinds of US exports? https://t.co/hdMO5yKh19— Patrick W. Watson (@PatrickW) October 15, 2018
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