If reports from Turkey are to be believed, Washington Post editorialist Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a mob-like hit, and a pretty gruesome one at that.  I am glad to see some politicians using this horrible story as a means of broadening the scope of this new scrutiny being focused on the House of Saud, namely Senator Chris Murphy, Ro Khanna, and a handful of others. Those of us who want action on the Yemen question have to overcome this culture of privilege in which the life of a columnist (important as it may be) is seen to be worth more than that of a Yemeni child … or fifty Yemeni children. While it’s heartening to see that some legislators understand this issue, it’s maddening to think that something so basic needs to be explained. It’s not right to kill people – how hard is that? Isn’t that fundamental to christian teaching?

Sadly, the problem goes way beyond what other countries do. We have a bad habit of supporting paramilitary activities in other countries, as well as allowing our own citizens to act as mercenaries and even officers in foreign military organizations. The latter problem is familiar to anyone who has followed the exploits of Blackwater and other similar war-fighting  “contractors”.  A recent report from Aram Roston of BuzzFeed News, featured on DemocracyNow! this past week, chronicles the deadly activities of a company named Spear Operations Group in Yemen on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. This firm is made up of former Navy SEALs, special forces, etc., and they basically assassinate enemies of the UAE, like a made to order hit squad.

While running assassination – basically, terrorist – teams overseas is nothing new, this is an American company working for another – if allied – government. I’m not suggesting that this is breaking American law, but that is the scandal. How is it that this is a legal practice? How is it that Americans, including active duty military, can, as Roston reports, are able to serve in an official capacity in the armed forces of another country? That has been happening forever, of course – the French Foreign Legion, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the Israeli Defense Forces, etc. , but still … that’s one small step away from joining ISIS, in my humble opinion, and the distance between those two things is purely a political, not a moral, gap. ISIS are fanatical killers – so is the government of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, only to a much greater degree. They have lots of company in that regard.

Our government should neither promote nor condone assassinations anywhere in the world, full stop. Neither should it permit its own citizens to monetize assassination while they enjoy the blessings of American citizenship.

luv u,

jp