What Trump’s cynical reaction on Khashoggi’s murder suggests

US President Donald Trump’s cynical and heartless reaction on dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s apparent assassination is in line with everything that the Empire stands for and has done, according to Daniel Patrick Welch, an American writer and political analyst.

Trump on Thursday said he is not willing to throw away billions of dollars in military deals with Saudi Arabia over the suspected murder of Khashoggi’s by Saudis in their Istanbul consulate last week.

“What good does that do us?” Trump asked. “This took place in Turkey and to the best of our knowledge, Khashoggi is not a United States citizen.”

Saudi Arabia is currently facing a growing chorus of criticism global leaders over the disappearance and alleged murder of Khashoggi inside Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

The 59-year-old Saudi journalist's disappearance and an explosive New York Times story alleging that he was dismembered inside the Saudi consulate, has raised concerns over the safety of Saudi dissidents inside the monarchy and abroad.

Khashoggi was known for his critical views on Riyadh. He lived in self-imposed exile in the US since September 2017, when he left Saudi Arabia amid a crackdown on dissident voices.

The New Yorker said in a recent article that the journalist had told it in August that he was worried about his life. Khashoggi also opposed Riyadh's aggression on Yemen.

“I don’t think anyone should be surprised by the cynical and heartless reaction of the Trump regime to Khashoggi’s assassination,” Welch said in an interview with Press TV on Friday.

“You know it falls in line with everything that the US government stands for and has done. This kind of dual fascination with human rights in other people’s countries when they are not allies to not giving a damn about...you know cops shooting people dead on their own streets, and the murder and mayhem caused by their allies in their own countries,” he added.

“I don’t think anyone should be surprised by the cynical and heartless reaction of the Trump regime to Khashoggi’s assassination. You know it falls in line with everything that the US government stands for and has done. This kind of dual fascination with human rights in other people’s countries when they are not allies to not giving a damn about...you know cops shooting people dead on their own streets, and the murder and mayhem caused by their allies in their own countries,” he stated.

“This is part and parcel of how Empire works. And Saudi Arabia is of course no exception and Khashoggi is no exception. This is just the way things are done. It’s of course crude and barbaric the way Trump phrases it but it really is just how any US president would react to the situation, to put a price on it and say it’s not worth it. It conjures up images of Madeleine Albright saying that it was worth it even though 500,000 children died in the sanctions on Iraq--but she said it was worth it,” he noted.

“And Trump saying that it isn’t worth it to lose this $110 billion arms deal. And then went on to brag about it how it was a record,” he stated.

“First of all the ghoulish spectre of arms...you know like as if you are selling pancakes or ingots. You’re selling death machines to rain hell and fire down on Yemeni children and threaten Iran and everything else under the sun. But this man is talking as if he wants to keep another business deal. It’s pretty repulsive,” the analyst observed.

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