TAGHVA: Saudi Arabia's hubris demands a global response

The Saudi state may finally have taken a step too far. Earlier this week the world was shocked with the news that members of Saudi Arabia's highest levels of intelligence allegedly interrogated Jamal Khashoggi and ended up killing him. Turkish sources allege he was killed by a 15-strong team of Saudi agents. According to Mr. Trump, King Salman denied "any knowledge of whatever may have happened 'to our Saudi Arabian citizen'."

According to Turkish reports, Saudi intelligence planned to also abduct Mr. Khashoggi from Turkey.

Saudi government tries to evade responsibility

Turkish officials also announced that "certain evidence" of Khashgahi's killing was found at the Saudi consulate. Although the official did not provide details on the evidence that was recovered during the hours long search during a diplomatic mission that ended early Tuesday. While Saudi officials at first responded that they had not killed the journalists, recent reports state the killing did in fact occur but did so without being sanctioned.

Since these reports, some have attempted to reduce and distance the impact of the killing, as if the lack of government sanction helps deal with the problem at hand. In reality, whether the killing was sanctioned or unsanctioned the implications are horrific, and demands a truly strong response.

A targeted killing

If the state did, in fact, sanction the attacks, then you have a monarchy ordering assassinations in foreign countries against the very people who are supposed to hold power to account. That level of infringement into another nation's sovereign land, and a state's willingness to use murder is something that cannot be taken lightly as it could imply that no one is safe when questioning the Saudi State. This is something no self-respecting democracy which values freedom of speech or their own national sovereignty would allow to happen.

A more horrific scenario - unsanctioned murder by internal factions

Perhaps more frightening than a targeted kill is one which was not sanctioned. Saudi Arabia at this moment is engaged in a war in Yemen and will receive large shipments of Canadian and American made military goods. If the government can't control their own forces, who is there to say that those same weapons shipments won't be used on our own people when some faction within the Saudi state decides to work against the interests of the current government? This is not by any means an unfair question to ask when Saudi Arabia has a clear history of potential run-off factions causing debilitating damage against the West. For example, two former U.S. senators, including the co-chairmen of the Congressional Inquiry into the attacks, told CBS in April 2016 that the redacted pages of the Congressional Inquiry?s report refer to evidence of Saudi Arabia's substantial involvement in the execution of the attacks. Furthermore 15 out of the 19 individuals involved in the 9/11 attacks were of Saudi origin. That is perhaps why the Saudi government's answers have been even more worrying than originally expected, and demand the highest level of response regardless of intent. If the Saudi government cannot adequately manage their forces, they cannot be trusted with high-level western weaponry.

Saudi Arabia is entitled and proud

If the Saudi state is actively stifling dissent through abductions and the murders of journalists then they are ideologically within the camp of nations like China and should be chiefly opposed due to their long-term threat to western democracies. What's even more interesting is how much the Saudi's are willing to put themselves into this position largely due to their pride. Within recent months the Saudi state has taken public and intense stances against nations like Canada due to their belief that they are a nation which deserves some special level of sensitivity when it comes to insane practices such as imprisoning activists and executing people for witchcraft. This intense sense of entitlement has now brought them here, to a place where their aggressive actions are publicly on display for the world to see. What do you think should occur? Do you think the killing was sanctioned? Does it matter? Join the conversation below!