I was holding out for the information I requested from the State Department before writing another article so as to keep the series uninterrupted, but this situation is too important for me not to post my thoughts. I will post a link to my Twitter Moment on this subject at the bottom of this article so readers can see where I got the information I will be recounting.
On October 2nd, Jamal Khashoggi was seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. A few hours later, we were told he was missing. Initial reports from Al Jazeera said Khashoggi had been seen leaving the consulate twenty minutes after he entered. This information has since been tossed aside. The next day, we received very disturbing information that the Saudis had flown fifteen "diplomats" to Turkey, that Khashoggi had been tortured, killed, and dismembered, and that these "diplomats" most likely removed the body parts in diplomatic pouches that are not subject to being searched. The only evidence we were given was a very brief video clip of Khashoggi entering the consulate.
Very few people questioned this narrative. In fact, it was readily adopted and calls to hold Crown Prince MBS to account for this alleged butchery soon became shrill. These calls reached fever pitch when Turkey claimed to have audio and video recordings proving their claim as to Khashoggi's fate.
I was suspicious of the story from the start. It made no sense to me whatsoever, and evidence began to filter in that supported my apprehension. Supposedly Khashoggi was engaged to a woman who just happened to be Turkish, and photographs began to emerge of the "couple". Fortunately, there are a lot of sleuths on Twitter, and they went to work.
The first thing we learned was that Khaled Saffuri, the man who held the press conference making the outlandish claims as to Khashoggi's fate, has ties to Al Qaeda and Islamic Jihad (again, refer to the link below). Then someone analyzed one of the photographs of the couple and concluded it had been Photoshopped. At the same time, someone purporting to be a Syrian journalist began circulating the story that the Lebanese Prime Minister, Hariri, had been kidnapped last year by Riyadh (@BBassem7). We got into a heated argument because I remembered the incident in question. Hariri had resigned his post, on the air, and gone to Riyadh out of desperation because his government is heavily infiltrated by Hezbollah. I began to suspect this was an assault on Saudi Arabia by Turkey and Iran.
Then a reporter from the United Arab Emirates (@HSajwanization) posted astonishing information about Jamal Khashoggi's Twitter account (I had not even thought to look and see if Khashoggi had a Twitter account; my bad!) While the journalist was still missing, his Twitter account had been altered, with posts being deleted and following/unfollowing people! That is somewhat difficult to do if you are in fifteen pieces somewhere in the Sahara desert, and I cannot imagine why his captors would have demanded his Twitter password so they could screw around with his stats!
Now, I have no idea what has happened. My point is, neither does anyone else, and I am disturbed at how readily people are believing the narrative out of Ankara, practically demanding MBS' head on a platter with ZERO evidence to support Erdogan's claim. It is my hope that President Trump and Secretary Pompeo are treading very cautiously and are not jumping on the bandwagon like the media and the general public are doing. Obviously, we should watch this story very closely, but we must exercise our critical thinking skills and not jump to conclusions because the MSM wants us to do so.
One other thing. It is possible the reason Erdogan released Pastor Brunson was to get in Trump's good graces. Given the impromptu question-and-answer session this morning, it seems the ploy worked. Fortunately, he can always change his mind and I hope that he does so.
I will keep everyone posted, and will continue with General Flynn's situation as soon as I get my FOIA back from the State Department.
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