Should We Continue To Do Business With This Barbaric Mediaeval Regime?

[Gromit]

Details are emerging of Jamal Khashoggi‘s murder at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. It was barbaric, like something from the middle ages.

[Distressing reports follow]

// The journalist was killed minutes after he arrived at the building in Istanbul to pick up marriage paperwork on 2 October, according to US and Turkish press reports of what the officials said were audio recordings that prove he was beaten and drugged, then brutally killed and dismembered. //

//
Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy, a Saudi military forensics official,is reportedly heard putting on headphones to listen to music as he begins to dismember the body, and encourages other people in the room to do the same.

According to Middle East Eye, Khashoggi was dragged from the office to Otaibi’s study next door, where Tubaigy began cutting up his body on a table while he was still alive. //

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/17/jamal-khashoggi-pompeo-to-meet-erdogan-as-gory-reports-of-killing-emerge

Should we accept Saudi Arabia our ally?
Does our acquiescence of the Saudis make us just as bad as they are?
Is trade (and money) more important than our moral duty?

[tamborine]

oil toro, unless you want 1hp

[ToraToraTora]

loads of places have loads of oil, we can manage without theirs.

[kvalidir]

I'd personally rather we didn't under a Tory or Labour Govt. chopping people up whilst they are still alive has the effect on me that I really don't think we should or that it should be without sanction, otherwise what motivation do they have to ever change?

[douglas9401]

Just another cultural difference I suppose.

[DTCwordfan]

suggest you get a reality check, TTT - oil imports from Saudi accounted less than 3% of supply - not exactly mind-boggling.

The dependency for us is their buying, read on..... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45863548

[Old_Geezer]

It's arguable that we aren't in a position to take the moral high ground at present. We need a pragmatic option. Maybe one could look at what we do sell and opt not to continue with all trade.

[Theland]

An alliance of civilised countries could invade them. Depose the boss and take the oil.
No resistance because they are only used to pressing buttons and killing civilians, or their own people.
Corporal Jones and his cold steel would have them running for the sand dunes.

[tamborine]

for toro

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=who+drills+most+oil&ie=UTF-8&;oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

[tamborine]

this is better toro

https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=safari&;hl=en-gb&lei=MKLHW7arKo2ia5ijqegE&;q=top%20oil%20producing%20countries%202018&ved=0ahUKEwjK5onVro7eAhWqxIUKHfIsCnUQsKwBCB8oAA&biw=375&bih=553

[kvalidir]

Well that's one way to start World War III Theland :/

[Theland]

World war 3? Nah! A walk over!

[ToraToraTora]

DTC I was just answering Tamborine.
Tambo, so what they produce oil we know that, we can buy what we need from other sources so can the world if it has the will.
Better we have some difficulty than condone this barbarism.

[tamborine]

we cant cut ourselves off from everyone coz they dont meet our standards. Better to talk than walk imo

[ToraToraTora]

I take your point tambo but sometimes the abhorrence just demands action.

[tamborine]

Khassogi submitted his report to Washington Post, claiming the Arab Spring fell foul of its promise. Khassogi was warned his dissident publications by the arabs but he defied them on the global stage by his report to US Post. Khassogi must have known the risk but naively walked into the honey trap in Arab Embassy in Turkey.

While UK abhor Khassogi killing & we can protest but we should not risk our trade deals over one, non-citizen, man’s dissident activities.

[emmie]

we don't go in for cutting up bodies of our enemies, not that i am aware of, and for what it's worth there are other countries we do lots of business with who are just as disreputable.

[tamborine]

Maybe not Emmie but foul acts are depicted on tv programs. There was a program last night I glimpsed at where a mans son was held captive. Those who held the son, 12y old approx, cut off the boys finger as remonstration. I switched off tv then through disgust of storyline.

[emmie]

but that is tv and it usually comes with a warning about violence, so one can choose not to watch, as i would.
surely we have been doing business with loads of countries that have poor to none human rights, china for example.

[tamborine]

For HR we cut our nose to spite our face?

[ToraToraTora]

Anyone know what induced him to go to the Embassy in the first place?