Who is Jamal Khashoggi?

The Washington Post claims Jamal Khashoggi is a Saudi Arabian opinion column journalist and editor-in-chief of the Al-Arab News Channel. They also claim he was the thorn in the side to the Saudi government. He was twice fired as the editor-in-chief of Saudi Al-Watan daily newspaper.

He supposedly criticized the Saudi Arabian government and Mohammed Bin Salman in a piece he wrote in September 2017, because he believed that the Saudi people should be more involved in the government’s policies. Otherwise, by all accounts, Jamal Khashoggi supported many of Mohammed Bin Salman’s reforms including women driving and easing of religious reforms.

Mr. Khashoggi was not opposed to the monarchy and did not call for regime change, yet mainstream media is convinced the Saudi Arabian government was responsible for Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance and/or demise.

Does It Hold Water?

It seems unlikely that the Saudi Arabian government felt threatened by a journalist living outside its own country, over a 13-month-old article. If the Saudi Arabian government did wait 13 months to murder Mr. Khashoggi, it seems they could locate a better place to take out their revenge rather than inside their own embassy.

A disappearance or murder in an embassy would most certainly result in worldwide controversy and attention. If the Saudi Arabian government waited 13 months to find the right opportunity, it seems ridiculous that the embassy would be their best choice. An embassy is filled with people, cameras, and is the political face of its country.

Would the Saudi Arabian government intentionally put itself in the middle of a worldwide controversy by 1) Killing a well-known journalist who lives outside the country and has minimal government or political impact? 2) Killing inside its own embassy, to leave little doubt who committed the crime? 3) Killing to remove the critical voice of a journalist or revenge for a 13-month-old article? These actions, if conducted by the Saudi Arabian government, would most resoundingly have the opposite effect, and they would know this.

Is The Fiancee Financed?

Other issues do not ring true concerning Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance. Foreign media sources report that the woman who the United States mainstream media claims is Mr. Khashoggi’s fiancee is not. Khadija Cengiz, the woman claiming to be Mr. Khashoggi’s fiancee, said she spoke to the security guard in front of the Saudi Consulate after waiting for three hours. However, the Turkish guard had the day off. Ms. Cengiz also started publishing suspicions before Mr. Khashoggi was deemed missing.

Who is the fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi? Ms. Cengiz studied at Fethullah Gulen school. She was employed with external crisis management and affiliated with Turkish President Erdogan’s Intelligence Agency. In 2009, she finished a course offered by the Israeli Mossad which specialized in Arab affairs and cultural research for the Middle East. Then she went to Oman to obtain a masters at Sultan Qaboos University which supports a network to spread hatred among the people of the Gulf and specifically between Oman, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.

Ms. Cengiz only recently claimed to be Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee. Salah Khashoggi, Jamal Khashoggi’s son, stated neither he nor his family knew Ms. Cengiz and only know of her through the media as being tied to the Qatari government.

Border Canal

In April of 2018, Saudi Arabia announced it planned to dig a canal the length of the border of Qatar to turn the peninsula into an island and further isolate Qatar. Saudi Arabia also stated the project would include a dump filling it with waste from nuclear reactors. The project is going to be funded entirely by the Saudi and Emirati private sector investment –under full Saudi authority according to Sabq Online Newspaper.

Was Jamal Khashoggi’s targeted disappearance Qatar’s message to Saudi Arabia? Is it retaliation for being ostracized and a method to frame Saudi Arabia as well as turn public opinion against them?