Blog note: There are number of things that this article underscores prophetically about the assassination of Khashoggi.

1. The Saudi’s can’t keep their lies straight. They have changed their story so many times, that you don’t know from which book you are reading. Their lies have contradicted each other. The lies, coverups, public relations blasts, government authorized announcements, fellow Arabian support and scapegoating is all to be expected. The public relations spin is paid for. Other notable Arab country supporters all benefit in some way, shape or form (financially) from the generosity of the Saudis. To cross the ruling family in Saudi Arabia is to invite disaster, among other things. Anyone who has been following this international event quickly realizes that Khashoggi was not a terrorist or extremist. He merely criticized and pointed out the failings of the government and the politics behind the government. For this, he was considered a serious threat to the ‘establishment.’
2. The United States sees Saudi Arabia as an ally in the Middle East, and one of the key chess pieces against Iran. The United States needs to maintain strong relations with Saudi Arabia, to keep arms sales and oil flowing. The enemy (Saudi Arabia) of my enemy (Iran) is my friend. These facts override the unfortunate assassination of Khashoggi at the hands of the ruling family (or authority by the Prince).
3. Iran and Saudi Arabia are enemies, politically, militarily and religiously. Each have a branch of Islam that is opposed towards one another.
4. Israel has been working hard to build friendships and alliances with its other neighbors in the region. The Israelis need to maintain strong ties with Saudi Arabia for one of the same reasons as the U.S. Iran is “the” sworn enemy of Israel. Iran has vowed to wipe Israel off of the map. Period. This is another case of the enemy (Saudi Arabia) of my enemy (Iran) is my friend. The Saudi’s are the ONLY major player in the Middle East that are accommodating and supportive towards Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu has gone on record supporting the Saudis through this scandal. This is exactly what the Saudis are looking for…international support.
5. The assassination of Khashoggi has forced the international community’s hands to show their allegiances (via support, condemnations or veiled responses).
6. Because of the U.S., Israeli and other Arab countries support of Saudi Arabia, the scandal will have little impact diplomatically or militarily on Saudi Arabia
7. Because of the Saudi’s positive and growing relationship with Israel, the Saudi’s will likely play a very important role in solidifying the “peace and safety” agreement that Trump will unveil to the Middle East…soon. It is not hard to see that the Saudi’s will play a big role in solidifying Arab support for the peace deal. The deal will be seen as a way to counter the threat of Iran in the region.

Mohammed bin Salman ‘told White House’ Khashoggi was a dangerous Islamist

Our Foreign Staff. The Telegraph. November 1, 2018

Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, reportedly told the White House that Jamal Khashoggi was a dangerous Islamist in a phone call days after the journalist was murdered.

Crown Prince Mohammed told Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, and John Bolton, the president’s national security advisor, that Mr Khashoggi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Washington Post.

The prince’s private disparagement of the murdered journalist is at odds with his public comments, where he described Mr Khashoggi’s killing as “repulsive” and said it was “very painful for all Saudis”.

His reported comments were made while Saudi Arabia was still claiming that Mr Khashoggi had walked safely out of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a story that has now changed several times.

The remarks are likely to fuel suspicions among US senators that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered Mr Khashoggi’s death but placed the blame on low-level operatives after the killing led to a diplomatic crisis.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 18 men on suspicion of killing Mr Khashoggi but denied that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered his death or had any involvement in it.

Neither the White House nor Saudi Arabia has commented on the report about the October 9 phone call between Mr Bolton, Mr Kushner and the crown prince.

Mr Khashoggi’s family have consistently denied that he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that was once tolerated by Saudi Arabia but is now banned.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not considered a terrorist group by Western countries, although it is banned by several authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, including Egypt and the UAE.

In his writings, Mr Khashoggi expressed sympathy for parts of the group’s agenda and praised Qatar, the only Gulf Arab state to embrace the Brotherhood.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, also reportedly called senior White House officials to defend the crown prince and emphasise that Israel sees him as an important partner in the Middle East.

Mr Netanyahu and the White House both consider Crown Prince Mohammed an ally against Iran and hope that he will lead other Arab states in endorsing a US plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Israel’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states has been warming in recent years and the once-secret relations are becoming ever more public.

Mr Netanyahu visited Oman last week and two Israeli ministers made trips to the UAE, drawing protests from Palestinians who argued the Arab states were “normalising” relations with Israel while it continues to occupy the West Bank and blockade Gaza.

Turkish investigators are continuing to search for Mr Khashoggi’s body. One line of inquiry is that his Saudi killers dissolved it in acid, although experts said it seemed unlikely they could manage that quickly and within the consulate in Istanbul.