The Daily Signal - #323: The Importance of US-Saudi Relationship

Episode Date: October 22, 2018

The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is raising new questions about the U.S.-Saudi alliance. We talk to Jim Phillips of The Heritage Foundation about what the U.S. should do, now that the Saudis have admitted Khashoggi is dead. Plus: We debate whether buying a lottery ticket is a good life decision. We also cover these stories:--President Trump tweeted he’s beginning to cut U.S. aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador --  in light of the migrant caravan heading north to the U.S. border.--The Trump administration is facing pushback from Russia after announcing over the weekend the U.S. will withdraw from a longstanding nuclear treaty.--Two-thirds of Americans now back legalizing marijuana.--Get ready to receive your food from the sky. Uber is planning to produce food-delivery drones by the year 2021,The Daily Signal podcast is available on Ricochet, iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play, or Stitcher. All of our podcasts can be found at DailySignal.com/podcasts. If you like what you hear, please leave a review. You can also leave us a message at 202-608-6205 or write us at [e-mail]. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Feeling festive. Catch classic holiday favorites like Home Alone, the Santa Claus and Die Hard, along with holiday episodes from Family Guy, Abbott Elementary, and more with Hulu on Disney Plus. From festive Disney flicks to binge-worthy Hulu originals, Hulu on Disney Plus is your home for the holidays. Celebrate the season with Hulu, available on Disney Plus in Canada. This is the Daily Signal podcast for Tuesday, October 23rd. I'm Kate Trinko. And I'm Daniel Davis. The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is raising new questions about the U.S. Saudi alliance. We'll talk to Jim Phillips of the Heritage Foundation about what the U.S. should do now that the Saudis have admitted Kishogi is dead.

Plus, we'll debate whether buying a lottery ticket is a good life decision. But first, we'll cover a few of the top headlines. President Trump announced he's beginning to cut U.S. aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. this in light of the migrant caravan heading north to the U.S. border. That caravan now includes roughly 7,000 people, according to the United Nations, so it's now doubled in size. Mexican border officials were unable to block the caravan from crossing into its territory, prompting Trump to call it a national emergency.

He also blamed Democrats for the crisis, saying on Twitter, quote, Every time you see a caravan or people illegally coming or attempting to come into our country illegally, Think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic immigration laws. Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and a top advisor, addressed the Saudi situation involving journalists and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi reportedly killed when in the Saudi consulate in Turkey earlier this month. Kushner addressed this in an interview with CNN Monday.

He had this to say about the alliance with Saudi Arabia. We have to be able to work with our allies. And Saudi Arabia has been, I think, a very strong ally in terms of pushing back against Iran's aggression, which is funding a lot of terror in the region, whether it's the Houthis in Yemen or it's Hezbollah or Hamas. We have a lot of terrorism in the region. The Middle East is a rough place. It's been a rough place for a very long time. And we have to be able to pursue our strategic objectives. But we also have to deal with, obviously, what seems to be a terrible situation. Kushner also discuss the next steps. With regards to the situation in Saudi Arabia, I'd say that right now as an administration, we're more in the fact-finding phase, and we're obviously getting as many facts as we can from the different places, and then we'll determine which facts are credible. And then after that, the president and the Secretary of State will make a determination

as to what we deem to be credible and what actions we think we should take. As Daniel noted, we'll have Heritage's Jim Phillips on shortly to discuss the situation in detail. Well, the Trump administration is facing some pushback from Russia after announcing over the weekend that the U.S. will withdraw from a longstanding nuclear treaty. That treaty is known as the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF. President Trump said Russia has violated the terms of the treaty by producing or testing certain long-range cruise missiles, an allocation Russia denies. National Security Advisor John Bolton faces tense talks with Russian officials over the matter this week. Two-thirds of Americans now back legalizing marijuana. According to Gallup,

which released the new poll Monday, that's more than double how many supported it in 2000 when 31% of Americans did. Break it down in 75% of Democrats, 71% of independents, and 53% of Republicans now support legalizing marijuana. The Trump administration is working on a proposal that would bring clarity to the legal definition of gender in federal law. The Department of Health and Human Services has produced a draft memo obtained by the New York Times, which argues that the meaning of sex in Title IX of civil rights law means gender must be considered as grounded in unchanging biological reality. That's a clear shift away from the Obama administration, which worked to loosen the definition

of sex to include new concepts of gender that are based on one's feelings of identity. rather than biology. A new data analysis from a University of Utah professor, Nicholas Wolfinger, found that those who said they were happiest in their marriages have had only one sexual partner in their lifetime. Among women who have only slept with their spouse, 65% report having a very happy marriage compared to 57% of women who have had 11 or more sexual partners. Among men, 71% who have only had sex with their spouse report having a very happy marriage.

whereas among those with 11 or more partners, 58% say they are very happy. The study was published in the Institute for Family Studies. Well, get ready to receive your food from the sky. Uber is planning to produce food delivery drones by the year 2021. And it seems like a long time away, but it's only three years away. Uber faces a number of technical and regulatory hurdles to get there, but they remain confident. as Uber chief executive Dara Koshahi said earlier this year at a conference, quote, we need flying burgers.

You know, when you started this and we're like food from the sky, I was like, I wonder if like God is just rolling his eyes and like, I already did this with Nana guys. Right, right, right. You're not the first. This is true. But hey, we're catching up. Next up, we're going to talk to Heritage's Jim Phillips about Jamal Khashoggi.

I'm Rob Blewey editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal. And I'm Jenny Maltebano. Each weekday, the Daily Signal delivers the morning bell email direct to your inbox. We created the morning bell to be your one-stop source for credible news reporting and insightful commentary on the issues that are shaping the agenda. You can subscribe today and get it delivered to your inbox each weekday morning. Sign up now at daily signal.com. Just click on the connect button at the top of the page and subscribe today. Well, Saudi Arabia is facing new scrutiny over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

And here in studio to discuss that with us is Jim Phillips. He's a Middle East expert here at the Heritage Foundation. Jim, thanks for being back on. Well, thank you for inviting me. So, Jim, can you give us an update on the situation with Khashoggi? Well, the Saudis are slowly evolving their explanation as to what happened on October 2nd when he disappeared in the consulate. After saying that he had left the consulate, they had no idea where he was, they're now saying that there was an argument. and a fistfight in which he died, although there's still some loose ends on this story,

because they still claim they don't know where the body is. So let's just say the story is evolving, but the Saudis are slowly coming clean to admit responsibility for his death. So one of the most curious things about this, at least to me, is that this actually happened in Turkey. and the Turks have been releasing selective information that they claim is valid. How does Turkey figure into all this? And what should the U.S. be thinking about their role or lack thereof in an investigation? Well, I think, unfortunately, one of the problems that is muddy the waters even further beyond the Saudi attempts to muddy them is the fact that there's an information war or really a disinformation war going on between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. And probably the first accounts of both are false.

The Turks claim that they have an audio tape. And initially they claimed they had a videotape, too, of Khashoggi being killed and tortured by the Saudis. But now it appears that they may not have those tapes. And in fact, the story behind those tapes were really. was released in a Turkish newspaper of very questionable credibility

a newspaper that has falsified interviews before and added manipulated audio tape to make Kurdish demonstrators look guilty and it has a very questionable

record in terms of reporting the facts. This same newspaper claims that the U.S. is training ISIS terrorists in Syria. So I think what has happened, unfortunately, is that the Turkish government is using these series of damaging leaks to pressure not only Saudi Arabia, but pressure the U.S. into breaking relations with Saudi Arabia in order to further the agenda of Turkish President Erdogan. Well, if the Saudis did kill Khashoggi, would that mean the crown prince is behind it, that he plotted this?

Unfortunately, it probably does mean he was behind it, because in the Saudi system, it's very difficult to see some kind of rogue force, especially since in recent years the crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, has consolidated power in his hands. So it's likely that this did occur at his orders, although now the Saudi government is trying to distance itself from that. So Senator Rand Paul suggested in a call with reporters Monday that Saudi Arabia would essentially do a cover up. He said the 15 people who actually committed the killing, they will quickly execute them or shuffle them off somewhere never to be seen again. Anybody that can possibly say the crown prince is involved will probably be executed. those remarks are according to reporting in the Washington Examiner. Do you think Paul is right? I mean, is there any possibility of coming to the truth and investigation here, or is it likely that the Saudis will behave ruthlessly and we're never going to know?

Well, I think he's right that there will be a cover-up attempt, but I don't think he's right in suggesting that everybody involved is going to die. I think some of them will probably end up in jail. Some of them may gladly take the fall to protect others, but I don't think necessarily that they're going to die one by one in mysterious traffic accidents. And if they do, we should definitely react to that. Well, you wrote a piece for us last week in The Daily Signal talking about the cautious approach that the U.S. should take,

can make sure we have all the facts before we make any big decisions. Knowing what we know now and assuming that, you know, for the sake of argument that it was the Crown Prince who did this, how does that change the calculus in the way we relate to Saudi Arabia and then how would that, what are the regional factors that you have to consider? Yeah, I think this, although not all the facts are known, what is known has greatly undermined faith in the judgment of this crown prince and definitely has undermined his reputation. I think he's not likely to ever visit the U.S. again, let alone other countries that are likely to see huge demonstrations focused on his presence if he does show up. But I think it would be a mistake

for the U.S., first of all, to rush to judgment and impose penalties before the investigations are known because, you know, as I mentioned, the information coming out of these leaks and Turkish newspapers are, is not a very credible source to base U.S. action on. We need to get to the bottom. And essentially, this is turning into a murder investigation. So, you know, we shouldn't be rushing to get the facts here. We should be sure of what we're getting. not only from the Turkish side but from the Saudi side.

And secondly, that this looks like this act, if it did occur on the prince's orders, is motivated to a large degree by insecurity. And the U.S. should be careful that in tailoring a response to this, we don't further inflame Saudi insecurity or there will be other acts like this in the future. So I would advocate trying to insulate the U.S.-S.-Saudi security relationship from sanctions that would be taken in this course. I know, for instance, going back to the 80s, when the French were found to be responsible for the death of an environmental peacekeeper in, I think it was in South Pacific,

the U.S. didn't break relations with France, even though it was found to be responsible for the death of that protester. You know, there were some steps taken, but the broader relationship survives. And I think that's very important for Saudi Arabia. So turning to that point, you referred in your op-ed to Saudi Arabia as a key Middle Eastern ally for the United States. Why is that relationship so important for the U.S.? Well, Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest producers of oil in the world. And now that the U.S. is stepping up sanctions against Iran, it's very important that the oil that Iran formally exported, which is not going to be exported because of sanctions, it's important that that oil be replaced.

And that Saudi Arabia has the largest untapped source of oil production. And so it's important for containing Iran, for combating Islamic terrorists. Saudis are an important part of the anti-terror coalition. They've had problems in restricting the Islamic charities from passing some of these money to terrorist groups in the past, but they've done a better job. But Saudi Arabia is important for stabilizing the Middle East and the future. And if the U.S. unilaterally torpedoes the security relationship, then the Saudis could be doing a lot more, very dangerous, unilateral things.

So you had mentioned earlier that you thought insecurity was a big part of the reason why the Saudis presumably killed Khashoggi. You know, this guy, he's a U.S. resident, writes for the Washington Post, someone I had never even heard of until this all happened. Why did he get under their skin so much? And I mean, this seems insane to us, I think, looking at this calculus. Why would you do this? What do you think they're thinking is?

Well, I can only speculate, but I think that's good. We'd prefer that you not. Be a Saudi prince, yes. Yeah, real knowledge. But I think Khashoggi potentially represented a dual threat one was an internal threat because he had very close ties to other members of the royal family, including members of the royal family whose toes that the crown prince stepped on when he elbowed them out of the way on his rise to power.

And secondly, Khashoggi showed some sympathy for the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Saudis are extremely opposed to, and they see as a deep existential threat to their continued rule. They may have suspected him of taking money from Qatar, which is an Arab Gulf state that the Saudis have had a cold war with because they consider it too close to the Muslim Brotherhood and too close to Iran. So he may have, Khashoggi may have represented to the prince both a potential internal and an external threat to his personal political power. Wow, fascinating.

Well, Jim Phillips, appreciate you coming on to explain for us. Well, thank you. Do conversations about the Supreme Court leave you scratching your head? Then subscribe to SCOTUS 101, a podcast breaking down the cases, personalities, and gossip at the Supreme Court. So it seems like everyone's jindexam. up for the $1.6 billion mega million's drawing occurring tonight with plenty of ideas on how to spend that cash. But USA Today found a few skeptics.

The newspaper reports, quote, Los Angeles Beach Club worker, which also I would like to know what a Los Angeles beach club worker is. But anyway, aside from that, Marcellus Jones isn't quite so sure. Jones 26 bought three quick pick mega millions tickets Sunday. But he said the thought of winning, the $1.6 billion scares him. Jones has heard the stories about heartache brought on by big lottery wins. He says he's concerned about developing a drug addiction or mismanaging his fortune. End quote.

So joining us today is Celia Rampersad, who is an entertainment scholar, podcast producer, video guru, whatever. And she possibly bought... You know, I'm going to really look into getting my title extended to all of that. Okay, you know what? Your card would be very good. There's podcast titles. Anyway, the important thing is Celia podcast. possibly bought her very first lottery ticket ever on Friday when the drawing was a measly hundreds

of millions. That's correct. So I actually didn't even think about it, but you're right. I did purchase my first lottery ticket on Friday. And I just want to preface this whole entire conversation with, I have always been vehemently opposed to purchasing lottery tickets because I think it's a massive waste of money. But in the spirit of camaraderie and Peer pressure. Let's call it what it is. Peer pressure, yes, you're right. I was pulled into an office pool for lotto tickets.

And in the back of my head, I felt this small excitement of the idea of maybe possibly winning the lotto. But now having gone through that, I still am on the side of lotto. Buying lotto tickets is a waste of money. So you're not buying one for Tuesday's drawing? Absolutely not. So even if it's just $2. Well, see, this is the slippery slope, Daniel. This is the slippery slope.

Well, what percentage of the world lives on $2 a day or less? But it's all relative. It's, you know, you don't live on $2. So here's the thing, though. I actually would, you know this. We had this conversation. And for the record, I think it's a bad life decision because, you know, for a number of whole reasons that we can talk about.

But I do think that it can serve, things like this can actually serve as entertainment value. You know, it's like, oh, $2. Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. You're like, arguing totally the wrong side. So you said you're not buying one for a reason that I don't think very many people could relate to. That's right. So the reason I'm not buying a lottery ticket, I don't think I ever will, is because, yes, there are all kinds of great things I could do with the money and give it to great causes and, like, buy a private airplane, which would be awesome. But I would never be able to say I earned it. And I would be able to say I earned it. and I would have, I would have to hire a lot of people to teach me how to manage it and to invest all of it. And I do, and I just feel like life is about, it's about earning your success. I really believe that. There's a sense of like self-worth and confidence that you have when, you know, you just didn't have everything handed to you.

Well, but, you know, that's sort of an interesting point because on the one hand, while I think we, can partially earn our success through hard work. You know, I'd say that a lot of people get advantages, whether, you know, through their birth, their parents' economic status, their IQ. There's a lot of things that we don't control that confer advantages. But I don't know. But those things are not equal to getting a billion dollars just put into your bank account. True, true.

But I guess I sort of question, like, can you ever fully own earned success? I think you can in degrees. Like you can say, yeah, I did this, this, and this to earn this job and to this, you know, this pay raise and all these things. And you can save over time and watch your 401k grow and say, yeah, I tangibly did that. Well, that's true. It is very satisfying to watch your 401k grow and feel all the pain. Yeah, I think I am going to actually contrary you guys, buy a lot of ticket at some point. I would like to think that if I buy one and win Tuesday's drawing, I will spend it responsible.

and give most of it to charity. I'm a little bit concerned. My brother, who's a Catholic Seminarian, was like, if you win it, give it all away within three weeks. It doesn't do any good. And I was like, that seems a little extreme. Like, I don't even know if I'd have the check in three weeks. But also, like, giving responsibly. I don't want to just throw money at people on the streets. I don't know. I think it's kind of fun to think about how your life could change. But I think actually, what studies they've done, do you support the lot of winners often do not end up happy. That's right. Yes, because money doesn't buy you happiness, Kate. It buys you a lot of things that can help with happiness. No, but I think that's true.

And actually, I was looking at that there was a study that I think Purdue University did that USA Today reported on, I believe, earlier this year. Yeah, $105,000 is the ideal income for happiness in North America. So sort of beyond that, you're not going to be any happier. Very interesting. And that number differs depending on where in the world you are. as you pointed out, it's relative. But yeah, at a certain point of, I guess, upper middle class prosperity, you don't get any happier. Or you don't get happier from your money. Right.

So you can be happy for other reasons. Like, you can be really wealthy, but also have other things that make you happy. I think overall happiness levels. Really? Yeah. Like, it's not like you're happy because you live on the beach and the ocean makes you happy or something, which would be what I. Also, a private jet is a stupid thing to spend money on. You should totally share it.

No, no, no. I did not say private jet. I said small private. plane that I would fly. Oh. And would have to upkeep. You forget about that. Yeah, that's all worth it.

Okay, again, Bilea, you got a cash pay out of $900 million. Well, you know, the first thing I would do, Kate, is if I won that amount of money, that large amount of money, I would invest. I would be wise with the funds. Because a billion dollars is not enough. Yes, that is correct. Well, that's what a good foundations do.

They invest. That's a way of, that's like a way of baptizing your money to, say, oh, all of it's actually legit because I'm earning it now, because I'm investing it. And I'm being a responsible individual who's just won an absolute, like, massive amount of money. Well, I was also reading a different article that I can't remember where it. It was all about, like, how, I guess, six states don't require you to publicly come forward if you win, I think including Maryland, which is very near us. And that it is better if you are concerned about that to buy in one of those states because you don't have to be a resident to buy in that state. And then that way you can't be targeted by all your relatives until the day you die.

Wouldn't that be fun if you kept it a secret your whole life and were just this anonymous donor your whole life and just kept living a normal, you know, doing a normal job. And just give a few million here, a few million there. I think that's the ideal. That'd be great. I think that's the ideal way to accept the money. I don't think I would have the willpower. I think I would want like one really posh thing, like a house or something. Like I just.

Just one outlet friend. Or I want to travel around the whole island. Or just one island. Just, yeah. Just something small. That would be doped on an island. So, I don't know. It's probably for the best that I probably will not win tonight.

But anyway. Well, this was good. We'll see if either of you end up billionaires. Well, no, Philea is out. She's not buying. So, Kate, basically, if you're a billionaire, I'll ask you. If I'm a billionaire, I will announce it on this podcast if I announce it publicly. And I will not take random solicitations for my largest.

for money. All right, that's going to do it for us today. Thanks so much for listening to The Daily Signal podcast. Brought to you from the Robert H. Bruce Radio Studio at the Heritage Foundation. Please be sure to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, or SoundCloud. And please leave us a review or rating on iTunes to give us any feedback. And if you win the lottery, please feel free to donate to us. That is very true.

We'll see you again tomorrow. You've been listening to the Daily Signal podcast, executive produced by Kate Tranko and Daniel Davis. designed by Michael Gooden, Lauren Evans, and Thalia Rampersad. For more information, visit DailySignal.com.