So the entire world is rather upset at the United States, mainly at the White House because they, well, er, um, Donald Trump and his team, are still standing with Saudi Arabia after what it appears to be the nation’s king ordering a crazy assassination of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And by crazy, I mean he was killed, dismembered, and disposed of like garbage. They produced in a body double to smokescreen, the murderers left the city entirely, trying to build an alibi during the investigation. But no matter how many false leads they tried creating, the man was tortured for seven brutal minutes and it looks more and more like a powerful man was behind the decision.
The CIA, and pretty much most of the world is blaming the Saudi royals for instituting the hit, since Khashoggi is notoriously critical of the current regime. One visit inside the Saudi Arabian consulate later, and he was gone. His wife was waiting. There was no warning, no threat, just a painful execution. And this wasn’t a quick hit, this murder was sending a message to the rest of the country. One shot could have ended his life, but they went the Mexican cartel route and made the murder truly count. This did not like a scorned love or an argument kill, but instead a decision made by a powerful man, and in this case Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Nations surrounding Saudi Arabia are backing away from the country, tossing in sanctions and travel bans to note their displeasure of not just the killing but the cover-up attempts. The big player refusing to participate in the shock is the United States, as Donald Trump insists to remain allies for the purpose to keep those oil prices good and to keep the American economy flowing. It was a business decision plain and simple, for he didn’t want to give any leverage to China or Russia. He didn’t want to further tank the economy (which is hitting bumps). He didn’t want to damage the arms deals that have been going on since Bush. Donald Trump is focusing on the mighty dollar above the life of a murdered and dismembered American.
Now, let’s drop the shock, because this was incredibly expected, and remains in line with Donald Trump’s mindset and the capitalist nature of the country he represents.
Stop acting shocked, this is what you voted for. This is what you wanted, dollars above morality. Dirty money above making the proper decision. Do I personally agree with Trump? Absolutely not, 1,000 percent not, but I’m not shocked at his call, I’m not shocked that Khashoggi’s life holds no value in Washington. This is America, and America voted in a businessman to lead. Businesses and Businessmen have less of a heart than that of a good politician, facts are facts. Stop looking surprised.
Side-stepping just a little bit, Amazon is slowly crippling the country with their tactics, with their nonsense technique of selling themselves to the highest bidder every couple of months as to where to build the next headquarters. They are about to severely damage New York City in the coming years. They are already drowning stores of all kinds: local ones, retail stores, game stores, gift shops, bookstores, you name it. They are cluttering the streets with all these underpaid drivers being overworked to meet the intense demand. They have their staff working near sweatshop-like conditions at laughable wages that only increased after Bernie Sanders publicly called them out on it. Amazon is an awful company that most of you still utilize, to save those few dollars and save that extra hassle of driving to the store. Money above the morality.
Wal-Mart’s history with their employees has been hideous, they still rank #1 (and way, wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy above Target, so those shopping memes about spending at Target are inaccurate) in department stores in the United States, succeeding in nearly every corner of the nation. This is the norm, you shop where you save, and you avoid the noise of what the business represents. My personal guilty vice is Chick-Fil-A, an excellent restaurant chain with questionable morals even with their outstanding customer service. It just so happens that with larger social media presence and the most vocal president in the history of the United States are we seeing that money over morality matter in play at the White House. And the morality issue here is significantly greater than anything Amazon and Wal-Mart has pulled, but the stance remains the same.
Yes, Saudi Arabia has a rich financial history with the United States. Yes, previous administrations have had to swallow their pills of pride and morals to cozy up with them. Yes, Donald Trump’s relationship with the nation is far longer than this administration. And yes, Donald Trump’s campaign was Capitalism 2.0 with a pure rejection of any form of socialist democracy. He wanted to kill anything Obama had built because Obama’s campaign was full of social advances that would also slightly cripple some businesses. Obamacare, NAFTA, gun restrictions are just some examples of things Trump was combating because they didn’t benefit businessmen like him. Donald Trump lies a ton and has a slew of ideas that just don’t work when you are supposed to represent a nation. But the consistency has always been there in terms of business, so this toothless response to Saudi Arabia executing an American should have been completely expected. He is a businessmen president, his goal is to make America great again. And in his vision of America, money is required to be great, not moral or social stature.
Donald Trump battles countries that he doesn’t see financially benefiting him. Puerto Rico (in debt), Venezuela (what a mess), Cuba (y’all forgot he damaged this relationship, didn’t you?), Canada (part of the NAFTA cycle), Mexico (still trying to combat the blood money that gets exchanged between underbelly US and underbelly Mexico), North Korea (poor country with horrific history of partnership). In the meantime though, he stays tight with Russia (has financial ties), Egypt (business ties), U.A.E. (all businessmen have ties here), and of course Saudi Arabia (business ties, national ties as well). Financially, his decision today makes complete sense. Morally, its disappointing and quite irreprehensible. An American was brutally murdered overseas by the people running the country and with an attempt to completely get away with it, and in turn trying to make Trump look foolish.
Back in 1985 Kiki Camarena was brutally tortured and murdered while on assignment in Mexico. The United States was aware of the drug wars that was brewing but didn’t completely invest or go off the rails until one of their own had his head drilled and was hopped up on drugs so he could be tortured for a longer period of time, before having his body shrink-wrapped and dumped in another town. The White House under Reagan went ballistic and entered Mexico with a thirst for blood. They managed to split up the seemingly invincible Guadalajara Cartel within months. Funny that Narcos: Mexico, which is the story about Kiki and the beginning of the war, has occurred around the same time as this brutal murder in a nation that is closely attached to the United States financially. Back in 1985 the United States risked their relationship with the country on the border to take on the corrupt government and the evil men that did this deed, regardless of cost and potential trade tensions mounting.
Flash forward to today, and it looks like the United States will not seek justice in the terrible murder of one of their own at the hands of the very government the victim was residing at. Why? Because money speaks louder than morality nowadays, and in the eyes of the current administration sometimes in order to try to be great again, you have to be willing to look away from some of the blood. This is just part of the laws of business. Trump chose the dollar above the life, and nobody should be shocked, because this is who he is, this is the one consistency that has always been in his core values, whether you agree with it or not.
R.I.P. Jamal Khashoggi, your death should be avenged in the most severe way possible, and I hope that in the near future, this current administration reconsiders, risks that financially friendly relationship, and offers of swift and intense justice along with the rest of the world. It is time that we start putting Saudi Arabia in check for not only this, but for their actions in Yemen. It is time that we start reconsidering our ties with the country. Of course, only time will tell.
