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I am not assuming you have an opinion or knowledge on this but you seem more informed than I am. If the Saudis are retreating to this story, what is the theory

I am not assuming you have an opinion or knowledge on this but you seem more informed than I am. If the Saudis are retreating to this story, what is the theory on what may have really happened? This back and forth, I thought, stemmed from the idea that the recording is or could have been faked (unclear by who, Turkey?), it sounds like, from what you said above, the tape doesn’t matter except that it caused Saudi Arabia to change its story. If it did, it sounds like it was a good thing since it made them retreat from as you said, a transparently false lie. At this point I’m not sure what my point is any more. Sorry :)

dragonwriter 8y ago
> the Saudis are retreating to this story, what is the theory on what may have really happened? The dominant one (and what the CIA has reportedly concluded) is that the Crown Prince (the effective ruler of the Kingdom) ordered the murder; the precise motivation isn't (AFAIK) clear; Kashoggi was a critic of the regime with a significant media impact, but what in particular led to the killing is murky, but MBS isn't running a warm fuzzy regime that is generally respectful of human rights and individual liberty, so while them killing a dissident Saudi journalist abroad is unusual, it's not much outside of their normal patterns; murdering dissidents (or executing them without an opportunity for presenting a defense) isn't new, nor is surveillance and harassment of Saudi dissidents abroad. > This back and forth, I thought, stemmed from the idea that the recording is or could have been faked (unclear by who, Turkey?) Yes, and that was the initial Saudi claim when Turkey claimed to have tape. Apparently, some of Saudi Arabia’s defenders haven't caught up with the new regime story, which no longer denies anything that is believed based on the tape alone, but only the attribution of the acts captured in the tape to the command of the leadership rather than rogue elements, which (AFAIK) is not at all rooted in the tape content itself.
- codezero 8y ago
  Thanks for all this.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> the Saudis are retreating to this story, what is the theory on what may have really happened? The dominant one (and what the CIA has reportedly concluded) is that the Crown Prince (the effective ruler of the Kingdom) ordered the murder; the precise motivation isn't (AFAIK) clear; Kashoggi was a critic of the regime with a significant media impact, but what in particular led to the killing is murky, but MBS isn't running a warm fuzzy regime that is generally respectful of human rights and individual liberty, so while them killing a dissident Saudi journalist abroad is unusual, it's not much outside of their normal patterns; murdering dissidents (or executing them without an opportunity for presenting a defense) isn't new, nor is surveillance and harassment of Saudi dissidents abroad. > This back and forth, I thought, stemmed from the idea that the recording is or could have been faked (unclear by who, Turkey?) Yes, and that was the initial Saudi claim when Turkey claimed to have tape. Apparently, some of Saudi Arabia’s defenders haven't caught up with the new regime story, which no longer denies anything that is believed based on the tape alone, but only the attribution of the acts captured in the tape to the command of the leadership rather than rogue elements, which (AFAIK) is not at all rooted in the tape content itself.

codezero 8y ago
Thanks for all this.