Does America's ex-military personnel really teach people to dismember bodies?
Is that an actual course, or did foreign psychopaths (albeit with state department approval) get training in actual military stuff (shooting, ironing beds, polishing boots, logistics, etc.) and then go on all by themselves to butcher journalists with a carving knife?
I don't see the link here, other than a bit or outrage and a wee dopamine hit.
So? US trains plenty of Saudis. One of the trainees killed 3 US soldiers on US soil not so long ago.
Imagine if some sane US president threw his/her hands up in the air and manages to convince the congress and senate to simply leave the Middle East alone to figure their affairs out for themselves. Take all the money you were spending in maintaining your military presence in Middle East and say augment investments in geographically sensible defense systems, modern spy satellites and intelligence. With the left over money, perhaps implement a single-payer healthcare system. Oh well, political leaders are only short-term thinkers now. They only pander to those that will vote for them or their party in the next elections....
I think the thing that surprises me the most about this situation is that people are surprised. KSA is a brutal, authoritarian regime currently waging a nigh genocidal campaign down in Yemen, and we keep selling them ungodly amounts of weapons no matter what they do. Why wouldn’t we train their assassination squads? It’s far from the worst thing we’ve enabled them to do. I think the blockade of food that’s caused roughly 100,000 children starve to death is probably a wee bit worse, all things considered.
Why is keeping nice with the Saudi family so important? Why does the US government bend over backwards to cover up for them?
What is paramilitary training? Working at a butcher's?
Saudi Arabia routinely dismembers their criminals, and has done so for many decades. They don't need training to do this.
Khaashoggi was working with the Qatari government against the interests of Saudi Arabia, in a very public way.
He is no more important than the millions of women subjugated and tortured by the regime on a daily basis, whose stories nobody will ever hear. He is propped up as some kind of martyr of hero because it helps with some other associated narratives which the media has an interest in.
The abstract story of Saudi Arabia butchers person who works against Saudi interests has been told countless times already.
I clicked expecting to enjoy another public black eye for the School of the Americas, and instead I’m left with dread that the USA has privatized that training. Because of course you have.
There seems to be a "perpetual surprise" around Saudi Arabia. Its a shitty regime, we support, train, arm and cover for their shitty behaviour. That's how it is. We're 2nd-order responsible for crushing any move towards democracy, for radicalising the population, for the horrific treatment for women and lgbt+, for their war against Yeman, all of it. None of this should be "news" any more than its news that the navy had ships.