Trump’s ‘mad dog’ Mattis, Pompeo whitewash murderous Saudi prince

This 27 November 2018 video from the USA says about itself:

US-Backed Saudi Policy Just Starved 85k Children To Death

An estimated 85,000 children under the age of five have starved to death over the last three years as a result of [the Saudi Arabian regime’s] Yemen … war, a report from Save the Children has found, as the charity urged an immediate ceasefire to prevent more loss of life. The figure is a conservative estimate based on UN data on severe acute malnutrition, which the international body says has afflicted more than 1.3 million children.

This 28 November 2018 video says about itself:

🇺🇸🇸🇦Will Trump let CIA top brass tell Khashoggi case truth to Senate? | Al Jazeera English

The US Senate is likely to be briefed on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, though probably in the absence of CIA Director Gina Haspel.

The CIA has pointed the finger at the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for ordering Khashoggi’s killing last month. However, President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the CIA’s assessment as he stands firmly by MBS and Saudi Arabia. Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra reports.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

United States ministers whitewash Saudi Arabia in the murder of Khashoggi

The US Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs say there is no hard evidence that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman commissioned the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Secretary of State Pompeo said that before he would make a statement in a Senate committee and Secretary Mattis of Defense afterwards.

Pompeo said it is important for national security to keep ties with ally Saudi Arabia good. Both he and Mattis said that they have studied all the documents about the murder and that there is no ‘smoking gun’ that indicates involvement of the Saudi crown prince.

Gina Haspel absent

Mattis and Pompeo therefore agree with President Trump, who also said this week that the CIA has no evidence for involvement of Mohammed.

Many senators want Saudi Arabia to be punished for killing Khashoggi. Moreover, they are annoyed that they were not informed by CIA director Gina Haspel, but by Mattis and Pompeo. Haspel was not at the hearing. Whether that happened under pressure from the Trump government is unclear. The Senate committee may still demand that Haspel make a statement about the evidence in the Khashoggi case.