The Murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the Crisis in US-Saudi Relations

On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. He never walked out.

A substantial body of evidence has surfaced to suggest that he was murdered–and his body dismembered–in a premeditated operation that can be traced to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman.

Khashoggi’s death has sparked a global crisis with few parallels in recent history. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is now under international scrutiny not seen since 9/11. In the United States, there has been a growing chorus of outrage.

It has been led by the media, civil society groups, human rights activists and average citizens, all of whom are demanding accountability from Riyadh and a reassessment of U.S.-Saudi relations. A bipartisan group of Senators are pushing for sanctions on Saudi Arabia in accordance with the Magnitsky Act.

How should the United States respond to this crisis? Should we be guided by our values and ethics or our economic and material interests? What are the broader lessons to be learned from this event that can guide a better US Middle East policy in the coming years? These questions will be answered in this lecture.

Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.