as long as we knew what we stood for we were okay; tide/time spare no man

10-11-18     Trump calls relations with Arabia excellent....

  “The Saudis will keep killing civilians and journalists as long as we keep arming and assisting them,” Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, said on Twitter on Thursday. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/us/politics/trump-jamal-khashoggi-turkey-saudi.html

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10-16    President Trump signaled that he is more than ready to assist in that dodge.  The President tweeted that in a phone call, the young Saudi leader had “totally denied any knowledge of what took place” — as if that should settle the matter.  Mohammed bin Salman grandly declared to Mr. Pompeo “We face our challenges together — the past, the day of, tomorrow.”  “Absolutely,” the grinning U.S. envoy replied.     https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/what-a-thorough-transparent-and-timely-investigation-of-jamal-khashoggis-disappearance-should-look-like/2018/10/16/aaf1d670-d16f-11e8-8c22-fa2ef74bd6d6_story.html?utm_term=.a16aa5e4583b

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10-16     In his strongest language to date over the missing journalist, President Trump said in an interview with The Associated Press:  “Here we go again with you’re guilty until proven innocent.”  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/world/middleeast/pompeo-saudi-arabia-turkey.html

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10-18-18       Jared Kushner reportedly told President Donald Trump to back Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — despite mounting evidence that the royal was involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi two weeks ago.

Kushner’s reasoning?  The royal, also known as MBS, has withstood past criticism.  https://www.vox.com/2018/10/18/17996320/saudi-arabia-khashoggi-kushner-trump-nyt

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10-18-18  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he told President Donald Trump to give Saudi Arabia "a few more days to complete" an investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.   https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/18/pompeo-us-giving-saudi-arabia-a-few-more-days-to-complete-khashoggi-probe.html

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(a month later:)     11-17-18  privately he remains skeptical, Trump aides said.  He has also looked for ways to avoid pinning the blame on Mohammed (crown prince b.S.), the aides said. 

  Trump spoke with Haspel (CIA chief) and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his flight, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One. 

  But within the White House there has been little doubt that Mohammed was behind the killing.  “This is a situation where everyone basically knows what happened,” said one adviser who talks to Trump often….Trump has made clear to European allies that he is uninterested in a joint response to the killing, even as pressure mounts to hold the Saudi regime accountable, according to a diplomat briefed on the calls.      https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-says-hell-speak-with-cia-about-khashoggi-killing/2018/11/17/f5150774-ea72-11e8-bd89-eecf3b178206_story.html?utm_term=.ea9ddc5a4c6e

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10-24    “The problem is that we are now taking an approach to foreign policy that focuses on personalities and not principles,” says Colin Clarke, a Middle East expert at the Soufan Center and the author of After the Caliphate.  “Personalities leading these countries came and went, but as long as we knew what we stood for we were okay.  Now we’re working through Jared Kushner, and we bet on M.B.S. big time who is turning out not to be the liberal reformer he promised he’d be.  Huge surprise, right?”   https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/10/cia-saudi-arabia-khashoggi

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236.  But the swarm of small worms of doubt requires a lengthy cure.  The strongest trust can be upset neither by thought nor word.  It would be better to swallow a deadly poison than to remain in the illness of doubt.  He who is shielded with trust needs no other armor.    -Morya:  Agni Yoga 1929