Allies in Silence and Blood

News:

Lawmaker Says Trump’s Call With Saudi Leader Was ‘Shocking’ (New York Times)

Comment:

The renewed controversy in Washington surrounding a still-classified 2019 phone call between Donald Trump and Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) once again exposes the profound contradictions at the core of Western claims to uphold press freedom. Former National Security Council official Eugene Vindman has demanded the release of the transcript, calling its contents “shocking” and suggesting a possible quid pro quo. The call took place only months after the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a crime that U.S. intelligence concluded was approved by the Saudi crown prince himself.

This week, Trump’s public remarks exposed once again that in the West, accountability is sacrificed whenever it threatens power or strategic interests. When questioned in the Oval Office about why Americans should trust Mohammed bin Salman citing U.S. intelligence findings implicating him in Khashoggi’s murder, Trump dismissed the concern outright. He claimed the crown prince “knew nothing” about the killing and brushed the entire affair aside with the chilling remark: “things happen.” With that, the lofty rhetoric of human rights and press freedom rings hollow.

For decades, the U.S. has backed dictators like Mubarak, Gaddafi, Ben Ali, and the Assad family not because they upheld human rights, but because they secured Western access to resources, markets, and geopolitical influence. Only when these regimes became liabilities did Western leaders resurrect their rhetoric of “democracy” and “human rights.” It is a performance, not a principle.

All of this converges on a brutal conclusion that the blood of journalists and the blood of Muslims is only valuable when it aligns with Western interests. For the West, “freedom of the press” is a mirage. Khashoggi’s murder was not a turning point but rather it was a symbol of a deeper hypocrisy. Trump’s vigorous defense of MBS, his dismissive “things happen” line, and his attacks on the press are not just cynical but they are revealing.

When accountability for a murdered journalist threatens economic or political leverage, the applause for press freedom falls silent. And that is the hypocrisy deeply embedded in the democratic values the West claims to uphold. Every value, moral authority and principles they claim to uphold has been exposed as a poisoned lie the moment it threatens their interests.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Haitham Ibn Thbait
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in America