Oregon, Saudi Arabia and National Emergencies

AROUND THE BLOCK

I learned today… 

I learned today that five privileged young Saudi men studying in Oregon who were accused of crimes including rape, murder and hit and runs, have fled the state before their scheduled trials, spirited out of the country on fake passports and private planes before their trials.

New legislation introduced by Oregon’s two senators aims to punish Saudi Arabia following shocking allegations that the kingdom has whisked these men out of the country.

Federal investigators confirmed to the Oregonian/Oregon Live that a private lawyer hired by the Saudi consulate posted $100,000 of a $1 million bail for one of the men and apparently arranged for a dark SUV to pick him up shortly after he left jail. His severed electronic bracelet was found at a nearby gravel yard. Authorities believe he was given a forged passport and flown back to Saudi Arabia on a private jet. He was seen back in his home country a week after he disappeared.

In an interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Ned Price, former CIA Analyst and former National Security Council spokesperson said, “We’ve seen the impunity in which the Trump administration has granted Riyadh on the world stage.” 

https://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/questions-on-saudi-govt-role-in-manslaughter-suspect-fleeing-u-s-1435974211641d

Price went on to say, 

• “The Trump administration did nothing when the Saudis picked a fight with our neighbors to the north, the Canadians;
• They’ve gone along with Mohammed bin Salman’s disastrous war in Yemen;
• The Saudis essentially kidnapped the Lebanese prime minister with no recriminations;
• Trump has gone along with the blockade on Qatar where we have more than 10,000 troops;
• And we’ve all heard nothing in response to the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi.”

According to Price, in this case “the Trump administration has essentially allowed the Saudis to get away with murder on our soil.”

As of this writing, Trump is threatening to invoke a “national emergency” over the so-called "crisis" at the Mexican border.

An early draft of the presidential proclamation reads "The massive amount of aliens who unlawfully enter the United States each day is a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation and constitutes a national emergency.”

Here’s a thought. 

If Trump wants to declare a national emergency so badly, he should forget the wall and forget the southern border and pick up on the gift that the Saudis have given him – declare a national emergency in Oregon because the “massive amount of privileged Saudis who enter the United States each day are a direct threat to the safety and security of our nation in general and Oregon in particular.”

The national emergency declaration should: 1) recall the Saudi ambassador to the United States; 2) ban all immigration of Saudi nationals into the United States; and 3) suspend all arms sales to Saudi Arabia until the Saudis extradite these five Saudi nationals to Oregon to stand trial for the crimes for which they were accused and admit to the complicity of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and bring the Crown Prince to trial. 

Now, that’s a national emergency we can live with!