Thread by @bhweingarten

Why has media/establishment made the presumed murder of an Islamist Saudi dissident in Turkey THE defining issue in US FoPo? He's being used cynically to advance its agenda -- contra Trump-Gulf-Israel partnership, pro Turkey-Qatar-Iran-Muslim Bhood.
thefederalist.com/2018/10/19/kha… THREAD

To acknowledge Khashoggi was an advocate for political Islam till the end, served as a mouthpiece for alleged al-Qaeda-tied Saudi intel chief Turki bin Faisal and had curiously close access to and mourned death of bin Laden isn't to condone alleged murder
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It's to recognize that narrative the media/establishment is portraying here of presumed murder of a freedom-fighting journalist to upend our entire couterjihadist, Iran containment policy in the region -- before we have any evidence -- deserves skepticism
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From Riyadh, to Ankara, to Tehran, the media and establishment surely know that tyranny is the rule rather than the exception. The question is why this one alleged act of barbarism trumps all others in their eyes
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The answer is threefold: 1) Khashoggi is being used as a cudgel against the Trump foreign policy -- specifically trying to scuttle the counterjihadist/Iran containment policy of which Saudi is the lynchpin in the Islamic world
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2) Khashoggi serves one of the media's favorite narratives about Trump embracing authoritarians/harboring authoritarian tendencies (rather than that FoPo requires at times partnering w/ unsavory regimes that reject our values to advance greater interests)
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Recall however that media/establishment now up in arms over potentially maintaining Saudi relationship in spite of alleged savagery was perfectly acceptable sacrificing values for interests re Iran Deal, rise of MB in Egypt/jihadis in Libya, Russian reset thefederalist.com/2018/10/19/kha…

The hundreds of thousands dead in Iran-backed Syria, where Obama admin's chief contributions included arming ISIS and ceding control to Russia, are a testament to media/establishment comfort setting aside values when pursuing interests. thefederalist.com/2018/10/19/kha…

3) The media believes in protecting its own, and virtue-signaling. How else to explain hyperbolic outrage and moral hysteria over Saudis being Saudis re an Islamist dissident? This is sadly but obviously standard fare in the Middle East
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But the hidden element that is perhaps most telling about the media's portrayal of Khashoggi as a romantic freedom fighter is how ardently he defended political Islam -- read Sharia theocracy -- till the end. Why do they ignore this?
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Khashoggi viewed political Islam as essential to freedom and "democracy." Isn't it curious that media would conceal Khashoggi's defense of a system of theocratic tyranny antithetical to human rights, free press, all other things media claims to cherish?
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The answer here is that not only does media view Khashoggi as essential to its anti-Trump, pro-Iran policy. Also consistent with the Obama admin, the media and much of the pol establishment has long viewed partnership with Muslim Brotherhood as essential
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"Democracy" in the Middle East for the media/establishment has long meant tyranny of the Sharia supremacist majority, NOT liberalism. A reliable Muslim Brotherhood echo chamber -- akin to Ben Rhodes' Iran Deal echo chamber, has arisen to advance this cause
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We saw Muslim Brotherhood echo chamber rise when the Trump admin initially considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. It rose again in an effort to smear counterjihadists @SecPompeo and @AmbJohnBolton as Islamophobic bigots
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The same media and establishment accepting salacious and unverified Turkish sources as paragons of truth re Khashoggi, that has in the past sprung to protect the Muslim Brotherhood, is again all-in when it comes to a political Islamist MB-fellow traveler
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None of the actors with which we must deal in the Middle East save for Israel believe in anything resembling Western values. But America must operate in the world as it is, rather than as we wish it to be.
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Some are using Khashoggi saga as a cynical ploy to pressure Trump admin to upend its partnership w regimes that, although brutal and repressive, share a common adversary in Iran, and may be useful in suppressing jihad. They do US natl interest no good
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Our govt's paramount role is to protect life/liberty. Pursuit of our natsec/natl interest requires at times working w immoral regimes, requiring keen judgment, prioritizing principles v objectives. Doing everything we can to protect ourselves isn't immoral
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For historical evidence, look no further than the sickening but vital US alliance w/ the Soviets in WW2. Would it have been better to lose the war and thus all freedom by holding so-called moral high ground of refusing to fight alongside an evil regime?
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On the contrary, refusing to partner with those who might help us further our security interests, thereby imperiling our citizens, would be the height of immorality
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The Iran Deal-Muslim Brotherhood echo chamber chorus, led by none other than Ben Rhodes, is wholly hypocritical in its criticism given the evil regimes with which the Obama admin colluded, self-evidently to the detriment of our national interest
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The Khashoggi affair has revealed significantly more about the nature of our media and political establishment than about the Islamic world and American foreign policy in relation to it
thefederalist.com/2018/10/19/kha… END