Jared Kushner in Saudi Arabia Just Before the Shake-up? Why?

[MineralMan]

Last edited Sun Nov 5, 2017, 11:06 AM - Edit history (1)

I think that's an interesting question to ask. It occurs to me that he might have gone over there, at Trump's request, hand-carrying intelligence information generated by our agencies that incriminated some of the people who were removed from office.

If so, that would alarm a number of our allies, I have no doubt. It would demonstrate that Trump is likely to share classified information developed by intelligence agencies to further his own goals. That's a very dangerous game to be playing, it seems to me. A good deal of our intelligence info is generated with the help of agencies in allied countries. If Trump is playing fast and loose with that kind of highly-classified stuff, there is a problem.

Now, I don't know for certain whether that was why Kushner made two trips to that country just before the major shake-up that took place. However, I can't think of a lot of other reasons for his trips, especially given what has happened after them.

What do you think? What other reasons might Jared have had for his trips?

[sunonmars]

1. Its pretty obvious, Trumps has had a hand in all this.

[Not Ruth]

2. Trump? This sounds way above his innate ability, he can barely speak.

[MineralMan]

6. Not really. He's actually very canny when it comes to backdoor

dealings. If there was an advantage to him in some way by getting rid of some of those Saudis, he wouldn't hesitate to use classified information to promote that. Since I can't think of any other real reason for his peripatetic son-in-law to make two unpublicized trips to that country, I'm thinking there was some connection between his journeys and what has occurred in Saudi Arabia.

Being the courier of damning information about the deposed people is a logical reason for his trips.

[Not Ruth]

8. Sorry, not buying Machiavelli 2017, I have seen him tweet

[Sneederbunk]

26. Agreed, and those surrounding Trump while tools, are not the sharpest tools.

[defacto7]

28. Although I wouldn't call it a smart move

to trounce over there with classified info in public view. It sounds like the kind of stupid things Drumpf and associates might do, especially if there's money to be made or if Putin gave them the hint.

[skip fox]

3. Thanks for this heads up about

what might be the tip of a very dangerous iceberg.

[dalton99a]

4. Huge clue:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[MineralMan]

9. Yup. I remember those tweets, too.

[Not Ruth]

13. Trump planned to eliminate this billionaire for 2 years over a tweet fight?

[Hekate]

36. DTs holds grudges, is petty, and mean. He's very much on the record for that behavior.

Things eat at him. Would he remember a Tweet spat? Yes. Would he use the US government? Yes.

[Achilleaze]

32. republicans cronies never fail to disappoint

[secondwind]

5. I find this chilling.. We are living in history, folks. Put your seatbelt on!

[MineralMan]

7. I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking about this possibility.

I just didn't see anyone talking about it here on DU, so I mentioned it. I have a background in intelligence agencies, albeit a brief, old one. I do understand the process of multi-national intelligence gathering and the risks involved with dissemination of such information to further personal goals.

It could have a decidedly chilling effect on the intelligence community.

[FarCenter]

10. Kushner didn't go alone. He was accompanied by Dina Powell and Jason Greenblatt

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/29/jared-kushner-saudi-arabia-244291

Kushner was accompanied in the region by deputy national security adviser Dina Powell and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt. Greenblatt continued from Saudi Arabia to Amman, Jordan; Cairo; the West Bank city of Ramallah; and Jerusalem, where he was on Sunday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dina_Powell

Dina Habib Powell (Dina Habib Coptic: Ⲇⲓⲛⲁ Ϩⲁⲃⲓⲃ, Arabic: دينا حبيب‎‎ ; born June 12, 1973)[1][2] is an Egyptian-American[3][4][5][6] and Coptic-American non-profit executive, philanthropist, and U.S. policymaker. She is the current U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy[7] to President Donald Trump.[8][9] She is also an Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives,[10] a position that she continued in after her security appointment[11] and that she spends about 20 percent of her time on.[12]

Prior to accepting these White House positions, Powell was a managing director and partner at Goldman Sachs[9][13] and president of their non-profit subsidiary, the Goldman Sachs Foundation.[14] In that capacity she ran the Foundation's 10,000 Women program.[15] Before that, she served in the George W. Bush administration as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Deputy Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy, and an Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel.[9][16]

Powell was born in Egypt and immigrated with her family to Texas at a young age.[17] She is a lifelong member of the Republican Party.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Greenblatt

Jason Dov Greenblatt (born 1967) is an American lawyer. He was the executive vice president and chief legal officer to Donald Trump and The Trump Organization, and his advisor on Israel.[2] In January 2017, he was appointed as an Assistant to the President and Special Representative for International Negotiations by President Donald Trump.

[MineralMan]

14. Interesting, but I can't make a connection there.

I'm not sure how their presence is relevant to my suspicions.

[FarCenter]

16. Kushner and Greenblatt are noobs. Powell is a heavy hitter with experience and credentials.

Kushner and Greenblatt only serve to demonstrate that Powell has Trump's support (or possibly more importantly, McMaster's).

[MineralMan]

17. I have to admit that I don't follow the Middle East as closely

as I do other regions. I just found the juxtaposition of Kushner's trips and the shake-up within Saudi Arabia interesting. Coincidence? I have to think not.

[FarCenter]

18. Most likely they told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that they supported his move.

The clerics detained in September and the current detainees remove powerful people from the Saudi power structure, thus increasing MbS's grip on the succession when his father dies or abdicates.

MBS, Saudi's reformist crown prince with firm vision
http://www.france24.com/en/20171105-mbs-saudis-reformist-crown-prince-with-firm-vision

[Tatiana]

30. Interesting.

She appears to have been brought in to the administration by Ivanka/Jared. She is a former Goldman Sachs partner. This has to do with money. Let's see if financial backing is miraculously secured for the 666 property...

[Achilleaze]

35. The Incredible Ginormous 666 Miraculous Money Miracle (R)

Coming soon to a republican crime SINdickATE near The Big Apple.

republicans are into some skurvy skanky skeezy slimey sloppy shit.

[roamer65]

11. I suspect these Saudis are large scale IS funders.

With IS falling apart, the crown prince is trying to stop any ideas of a coup against the House of Saud.

[MineralMan]

15. That wouldn't surprise me.

If Kushner provided information to that effect, it might have triggered the action that was taken at this time. I don't know, but it all looks pretty suspicious to me.

[58Sunliner]

12. Good question. Wish I knew. Maybe someday we will.

They all belong in prison.

[NBachers]

19. Yeah, this is definitely a "What's really going on here?" situation.

[shanny]

20. der Fluegelhenie or Kushner as Machiavelli? I doubt it.

There are plenty of palace unrest / intrigue / power plays going on without any input from the doufuses.

This is from last summer when the current king scrambled the succession in favor of his son:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-palace-coup/addiction-and-intrigue-inside-the-saudi-palace-coup-idUSKBN1A41IS

[RandomAccess]

21. Laurence Tribe had some interesting information / speculation on it

Certainly helped me understand the probabilities much better . You'll have to read down to yesterday, several different posts. Someone should teach him how to thread his comments.

https://twitter.com/tribelaw/

[MineralMan]

22. Wow! That's hard to follow.

Sometimes I hate Twitter. There may be information there, but it all gets lost in the retweeting of old tweets, etc.

[defacto7]

29. It's the constant repetition that makes me ignore tweets.

[C_U_L8R]

23. It's really not much of stretch

to realize the Trumps are abusing our national security and intelligence gathering resources to further their own business interests. At least that the question Congress should be asking - if they have a spine for oversight.

[skip fox]

24. Is anyone in the media even mentioning this possibility??

[MineralMan]

25. I've not seen any mention.

I haven't done any extensive searching, though.

[mjvpi]

27. Good catch. Occams Razor

[HipChick]

31. Did he do this with Russia as well?

Handed over names that were helping the US ..rounded up and never heard from again..I believe Maddow went over this a few times

[MineralMan]

33. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't put it past him.

He appears to believe that US Intelligence is gathered specifically to help him achieve his own goals. I suspect that the dismay in the halls of the NSA and CIA, among others, is palpable.

[0rganism]

34. bringing peace to the middle east, of course

when 2scoops says he's gonna put the BEST people on a problem, they get it fixed pronto.

[bobbieinok]

37. Didn't some arrested loan big money to T and/or kushner?

[MineralMan]

40. I don't know.

But, then again, who didn't?

[Cracklin Charlie]

38. I hate thinking you might be right.

But I do.

What is wrong with these creatures?
Why are they selling out their own country?

They are filthy, stinky, dirty.

[Turbineguy]

39. Borrow money

develop funk hole for après-White House activities.

The Mariscal Estigarribia for the Trump family.