Author: ReutersID: 1543074302012504500Sat, 2018-11-24 12:48
ABU DHABI: Saudi Arabia's Prince Turki Al-Faisal has cast doubt upon the reported CIA finding that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last month, saying the agency could not be counted on to reach a credible conclusion.
“The CIA is not necessarily the highest standard of veracity or accuracy in assessing situations. The examples of that are multitude,” Prince Turki told journalists in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
The prince, a former Saudi intelligence chief who has also served as ambassador to the US, said the agencys conclusion that Iraq possessed chemical weapons before the US invasion in 2003 showed it could be unreliable.
“That was the most glaring of inaccurate and wrong assessments, which led to a full-scale war with thousands being killed,” he said, speaking at an event hosted by the New York-based Beirut Institute.
“I dont see why the CIA is not on trial in the United States. This is my answer to their assessment of who is guilty and who is not and who did what in the consulate in Istanbul.”
US President Donald Trump has disputed that the agency reached a conclusion on the murder, saying instead “they have feelings certain ways.”
Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Saudi Arabia said Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered after negotiations to persuade him to return to Saudi Arabia failed.
The Kingdoms public prosecution is seeking the death penalty for five suspects charged in the murder, but has said Prince Mohammed had no prior knowledge of the operation.
Main category: Saudi ArabiaTags: Saudi ArabiaJamal KhashoggiRIP Jamal KhashoggiPrince Turki Al-Faisal Saudi cabinet refuses politicization of Khashoggi murder in IstanbulSaudi FM: Justice for Khashoggi is a Saudi demand before it is an international one
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