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As Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continue their blockade of Qatar, the pair often justify their campaign by accusing Doha of sponsoring terrorism. Most analysts have cast this claim as hypocritical, given Saudi Arabia and the UAE’s history of links to extremist groups from...
There is a strange irony to the latest Turkish offensive announced in northern Syria. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan couched it on his Twitter feed as a move that will “preserve Syria’s territorial integrity and liberate local communities from terrorists.” Yet the creation of a “safe...
In late 2018, Fair Observer published many articles on the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. In an editorial decision, we decided to publish a 360⁰ series and an e-magazine on the subject one year after his death. We are doing so because freedom of the press matters and his murder raises deeply...
On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi expatriate journalist, walked into the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. What then transpired resembled a 1920s American gangland-style killing, complete with the victim’s final pleadings, the executioners’ harsh words and the chilling sound of a bone...
When Norah O’Donnell, interviewing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), boldly opened the dialogue with the question the world has been waiting for hard-hitting journalists to ask — “Did you order the murder of Jamal Khashoggi?” — no one, including O’Donnell, could have been...
On September 26, The Jerusalem Post announced that, even after his widely reported defeat in the latest round of Israeli elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to return to power, at least temporarily. In an article with the title, “Reuven Rivlin Gives Netanyahu Mandate to...
In an interview that will appear in a documentary called "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia" to air on PBS, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), we discover, deigned to speak in December 2018 about his responsibility concerning the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The...
After Iran shot down a $220-million US unmanned aerial vehicle over the Strait of Hormuz on June 20, President Donald Trump said the United States was “cocked and loaded” to retaliate. He apparently rescinded his decision only 10 minutes before the attack was to be carried out, after his...
On the morning of May 12, unidentified perpetrators attacked four oil tankers off the Fujairah port in the Gulf of Oman. Two of the tankers belonged to Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. The attacks occurred during Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s state visit to Tehran, which...
Following the attack on Saudi oil facilities, US President Donald Trump has finally responded with action by sending troops to the Middle East. He has left his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, the challenge of justifying why the US even needs to take action. The impression that emerges for a naive...
John Bolton tried his best. The national security adviser entered the Trump administration as a predictable warmonger with an unslakable thirst for power. He streamlined the national security apparatus to maximize his access to the president. At least at first, he played the role of loyal...
