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Khashoggi and the Saudi Flag
So true . . .
That’s Mohammed in a nutshell. Saudi is pure and basic Islam.
Folks need to take a step back, go to Bryan Stephens’ post just up on the Member Feed (placing the Khashoggi incident in context), and in particular the Sultan Knish/Daniel Greenfield blog post that Bryan links to — and only then, decide whether they want to lavish praise on this Ramirez cartoon.
The fact of the matter is that Khashoggi was a Washinton Post journalist, and Trump appears intent on covering this up.
I read Brian and the accompanying article. I’m not sure why the context matters here. The left seems willing to take a harder look at fundamental Islam and the ramifications of it based on this issue. Haven’t people on the right been pulling their hair out trying to accomplish this? Take the win!
Are you suggesting that the murder of a Washington Post columnist is a “win”? If not, please identify what in the world is the “win” here.
Michael Ramirez has such a feel for the mainstream Conservative movement. I can’t think of any of his editorial cartoons that I disagree with.
Gary spare me your outrage over the death of one man at the hands of radical Islam. The fact is it’s been a bloodbath for centuries. The win is the leftist media considering a glaring threat that they have been actively ignoring and abetting for years.
So the WaPo hires a Muslim Brotherhood agent intent on terrorism and you think he’s a “journalist”. Figures. That some Saudi murdered him is probable. What is far from clear is why this terrorist apologist was working for the Washington Post. What is far from clear is how the Turks came into possession of the tape. What is far from clear is whether Turkey-Qatar-Iran are not heavily implicated. That you would swallow the press narrative is not surprising considering everything else you’ve ever written. Like all the rest of your neocon bretheren you believe there is a liberal, democratic option in the Middle East and for that time after time, you show how little you understand.
I wish that were true, but the left is onto this because they think they can use it to smear Trump, and Gary is just following the same script.
So that’s why the Secretary of State flew out to Saudi right. To “cover it up”.
He was a “journalist”. And a Muslim Brotherhood member. And maybe a spy.
Not high on my list of giving much of a care.
Oh I know why they’re on it, but it’s still naturally leading them away from an entrenched position.
I hesitate to reprint a comment in two different posts. However my Comment #31 in the Brent Stephens OP is applicable here. I think that we have lost all sense of context about who Jamal Khashoggi was before his death. Here is his final column that the Washington Post just published after his death. I do not see a Muslim Brotherhood radical in these words. (In light of the Washington Post’s desire to publicize Jamal Khashoggi, I believe that they would not object to this column being reprinted.)
“I was recently online looking at the 2018 “Freedom in the World” report published by Freedom House and came to a grave realization. There is only one country in the Arab world that has been classified as “free.” That nation is Tunisia. Jordan, Morocco and Kuwait come second, with a classification of “partly free.” The rest of the countries in the Arab world are classified as “not free.”
“As a result, Arabs living in these countries are either uninformed or misinformed. They are unable to adequately address, much less publicly discuss, matters that affect the region and their day-to-day lives. A state-run narrative dominates the public psyche, and while many do not believe it, a large majority of the population falls victim to this false narrative. Sadly, this situation is unlikely to change.
“The Arab world was ripe with hope during the spring of 2011. Journalists, academics and the general population were brimming with expectations of a bright and free Arab society within their respective countries. They expected to be emancipated from the hegemony of their governments and the consistent interventions and censorship of information. These expectations were quickly shattered; these societies either fell back to the old status quo or faced even harsher conditions than before.
“My dear friend, the prominent Saudi writer Saleh al-Shehi, wrote one of the most famous columns ever published in the Saudi press. He unfortunately is now serving an unwarranted five-year prison sentence for supposed comments contrary to the Saudi establishment. The Egyptian government’s seizure of the entire print run of a newspaper, al-Masry al Youm, did not enrage or provoke a reaction from colleagues. These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence.
“As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate. There was a time when journalists believed the Internet would liberate information from the censorship and control associated with print media. But these governments, whose very existence relies on the control of information, have aggressively blocked the Internet. They have also arrested local reporters and pressured advertisers to harm the revenue of specific publications.
[Read Khashoggi’s last column for The Post before his disappearance in Arabic]
“There are a few oases that continue to embody the spirit of the Arab Spring. Qatar’s government continues to support international news coverage, in contrast to its neighbors’ efforts to uphold the control of information to support the “old Arab order.” Even in Tunisia and Kuwait, where the press is considered at least “partly free,” the media focuses on domestic issues but not issues faced by the greater Arab world. They are hesitant to provide a platform for journalists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Yemen. Even Lebanon, the Arab world’s crown jewel when it comes to press freedom, has fallen victim to the polarization and influence of pro-Iran Hezbollah.
“The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power. During the Cold War, Radio Free Europe, which grew over the years into a critical institution, played an important role in fostering and sustaining the hope of freedom. Arabs need something similar. In 1967, the New York Times and The Post took joint ownership of the International Herald Tribune newspaper, which went on to become a platform for voices from around the world.
“My publication, The Post, has taken the initiative to translate many of my pieces and publish them in Arabic. For that, I am grateful. Arabs need to read in their own language so they can understand and discuss the various aspects and complications of democracy in the United States and the West. If an Egyptian reads an article exposing the actual cost of a construction project in Washington, then he or she would be able to better understand the implications of similar projects in his or her community.
“The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices. We suffer from poverty, mismanagement and poor education. Through the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments spreading hate through propaganda, ordinary people in the Arab world would be able to address the structural problems their societies face.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/jamal-khashoggi-what-the-arab-world-needs-most-is-free-expression/2018/10/17/adfc8c44-d21d-11e8-8c22-fa2ef74bd6d6_story.html?utm_term=.21098e7269df
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