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Pompeo defends US-Saudi ties and accuses critics of 'caterwauling' over Khashoggi
Source: The Guardian and agencies
Pompeo defends US-Saudi ties and accuses critics of 'caterwauling' over Khashoggi
Secretary of state said downgrading partnership would be mistake for national security
Guardian staff and agencies in Washington
Wed 28 Nov 2018 17.32 GMT
The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has said that downgrading US ties with Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi would be a mistake for national security and would not push Saudis in a better direction at home.
After repeated calls from members of Congress for a strong US response, Pompeo and the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, were briefing the US Senate behind closed doors about Saudi Arabia and the 2 October murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, as well as the civil war in Yemen.
“The October murder of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on. But degrading US-Saudi ties would be a grave mistake for the national security of the US and its allies,” Pompeo wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
In his remarks for the briefing, which were released as it got under way, Mattis also argued that pulling back US military support in Yemen and stopping weapons sales to important partners would be misguided.
-snip-
Secretary of state said downgrading partnership would be mistake for national security
Guardian staff and agencies in Washington
Wed 28 Nov 2018 17.32 GMT
The secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has said that downgrading US ties with Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi would be a mistake for national security and would not push Saudis in a better direction at home.
After repeated calls from members of Congress for a strong US response, Pompeo and the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, were briefing the US Senate behind closed doors about Saudi Arabia and the 2 October murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, as well as the civil war in Yemen.
“The October murder of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on. But degrading US-Saudi ties would be a grave mistake for the national security of the US and its allies,” Pompeo wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
In his remarks for the briefing, which were released as it got under way, Mattis also argued that pulling back US military support in Yemen and stopping weapons sales to important partners would be misguided.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/28/mike-pompeo-khashoggi-us-saudi-ties-downgrading-mistake