Saudi Arabia

The terrorist attack on the Khobar Towers was the bloodiest attack on America between the Beirut Marine barracks disaster in 1983 and September 11, 2001. Its legacy still haunts Washington’s relations with Iran. I watched the drama up close.

The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a U.S. intelligence report on Feb. 26 that concludes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The report dates to Feb. 11, 2021 but was declassified by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on Feb. 25, 2021.

Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of the late-journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) have jointly filed a lawsuit against several Saudi Arabian government officials—including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Plaintiffs filed the suit under the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) and the Alien Tort Statue (ATS).

On Friday, September 11, 2020, at 12:00 p.m., The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will hold a hearing on the U.S.-Saudi security and intelligence relationship. The committee will hear from Dr. Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at the United Nations, as well as Mr. Bruce Riedel, senior fellow and director of the Intelligence Project at Brookings and Mr. Ali Soufan of the Soufan Center.