Mr. President, don't forget about Saudi Arabia's attack on NAS Pensacola | Rep. Matt Gaetz
Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump'south support for Saudi Arabia in the wake of a deadly shooting by a Saudi national at a Florida naval base of operations is underscoring the latitude Trump gives the Kingdom's rulers, even equally Congress has pushed to limit the ties between Washington and Riyadh.
The December half-dozen set on on a military base in the Florida panhandle -- a political stronghold for the President -- raises questions about whether Trump volition experience any political fallout every bit Florida Republicans warn Saudi Arabia not to interfere in investigations and call for a review of foreigners training on US bases.
Also in question: the extent to which Saudi Arabia will assistance with the investigation.
The FBI is presuming the attack, which killed iii United states immature servicemembers, was an act of terrorism, a give-and-take the President has yet to use, though he has tweeted about Saudi condolences and promises of cooperation.
Speaking at the White Business firm the day after, Trump said Saudi Arabia's Rex Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud had told him they "are devastated," and that the Rex would exist involved "in taking intendance of the families." The President promised that "nosotros will get to the bottom" of what happened.
'Actually remarkable'
It's not the commencement time the President has come to Saudi Arabia's defence force. His remarks echoed his approach after the killing of Washington Mail service journalist Jamal Khashoggi. That premeditated murder was conducted by members of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's inner circle and US intelligence services accept linked it to the prince himself.
The Florida attack took place Fri when Mohammed Alshamrani, a 2d lieutenant in the Regal Saudi Air Force and a student naval flight officer, opened fire in a classroom building on the navy base. The 21-yr-one-time, one of 852 Saudis in the US for Defense Section security cooperation training, was killed after two deputies exchanged gunfire with him.
In the aftermath, the manner and speed of Trump'south reaction raised eyebrows.
"Information technology is really remarkable how he has gone out of his way to defend the Saudis," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who now directs the Brookings Intelligence Project. Riedel, who wrote a 2017 book on Saudi-Usa ties since the 1930s, said of the Kingdom'due south rulers that "so far they haven't had to do anything considering the President has been their spokesman."
Robert Jordan, a former US administrator to Saudi Arabia who took upwards that postal service immediately later the terror attacks of September xi, 2001, agreed. "The immediate response of the President in talking about King Salman'southward condolences and expressing how heartbroken the Saudi people was was a little quick," Jordan said. "Clearly there is a relationship between the ii leaders that is something they are trying to protect."
The White House and Land Section refused to comment on whether national security adviser Robert O'Brien or Secretarial assistant of Country Mike Pompeo had advised the President on how to deal with the fallout over the weekend.
Trump has consistently touted Saudi purchases of United states of america weapons systems, ranging from helicopters to machine guns, and his close ties to the Kingdom's rulers.
But equally the FBI announced Monday morning that the investigation remains fluid and Naval Air Station Pensacola shifted back to routine admission, some Florida Republicans were making articulate they had no interest in protecting the relationship.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott repeated his calls Monday for the assistants to append military training programs for "strange nationals on American soil" pending a full review.
The day afterward the shooting, stalwart Trump supporter Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida tweeted that he'd told the Saudi ambassador "in the strongest possible terms that nosotros expect to bear our investigation w full cooperation & no interference from the Kingdom."
And in the tense hours later the attack on Friday afternoon, Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said, "There's obviously going to exist a lot of questions about this individual being a strange national, being a part of the Saudi Air Force and then to be here training on our soil."
Democrats in Congress -- and some Republicans, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and South Carolina'due south Sen. Lindsey Graham -- have long pushed for Saudi Arabia to be held accountable for the Khashoggi killing and repeated reports of man rights violations in Yemen, where Riyadh is fighting Iranian-backed militants.
'Breadth'
In September, Trump vetoed bipartisan efforts to block "emergency" sales of weapons to the Kingdom.
Some analysts don't think Friday'southward killing of US troops will change the President'due south impulse to protect Saudi arabia.
"Yes the Usa-Saudi Arabia relationship is desperately strained in Congress ... but I don't see this incident altering the margin for error and the breadth this administration continues to requite to Kingdom of saudi arabia," said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation.
A erstwhile White House official said Trump has clearly been getting bad advice on Kingdom of saudi arabia. This official said the President'due south initial statements should have emphasized a focus is on the families of those killed and the longstanding intelligence human relationship Washington has with Riyadh.
"He probably focused on how badly the Saudis felt because that is the last thing he heard in the chat," this onetime official said. "And the President is aware that because of the Khashoggi incident everything that the The states does with the Saudis is under the microscope." That would drive his want to make sure Americans know the Saudis "came out with an outpouring of back up on this."
The one-time official added that Trump "is favorable towards the Saudis, just I can't say it is because of personal economic reasons or if information technology is because he is thinking we don't know anything correct now and these guys are getting a ton of heat."
An inclination to 'practise the minimum'
Alshamrani'due south motive is even so undetermined, only the FBI knows he purchased his gun legally and investigators desire to know more virtually a trip he made back to Saudi arabia earlier this year.
On Dominicus, the Saudi prince called Trump to reiterate the Kingdom's "absolute cooperation" with the United states on the investigation, officials said. And on Monday, a high-ranking Saudi defense attaché was traveling to Pensacola to see with US officials.
But a person familiar with the example said tension betwixt the countries is rising over the fact that upward to a dozen remaining Saudi military machine students in Pensacola have had their movements restricted to the base. And experts say history indicates there won't likely be much real cooperation.
"The natural Saudi inclination will be to get any Saudi who could be linked upwardly in this -- the classmates of this guy -- to get them out of the Us as quickly equally possible and do the minimum -- provide rank and serial number," Riedel said. "They tend to be very jealous nearly sharing information about Saudi citizens."
Referring to the terrorist assail on a Saudi housing complex where Us and coalition forces were living in 1996, Riedel said, "That'southward how they acted in the Khobar Towers, that's how they acted in ix/11 -- they were very reluctant to provide data."
"There is a trend of denial," said Jordan, the sometime ambassador, of the Saudis. When Jordan first arrived in the country, Rex Salman, and so the governor of Riyadh, insisted no Saudis were involved in the 9/xi attacks and that Israel was behind them. Fifteen out of the xix attackers were Saudi.
"I recollect the more than recent history of the Khashoggi murder is farther instruction on this," Hashemite kingdom of jordan continued, alluding to the lack of cooperation surrounding the journalist'south decease. "They are going to be very reluctant to air whatever muddied laundry with the United states of america or the public... We demand to find out what happened when this guy went home for vacations. That is going to be very hard."
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/09/politics/trump-saudi-pensacola-terrorist/index.html
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