Eli Lake, Columnist

What Trump Can Do About Saudi Arabia

What happened to Jamal Khashoggi? The Saudis need to provide the U.S. with answers.

October 11, 2018 at 8:00 AM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

Is it already too late?
Photographer: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images

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When it comes to Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who has been missing since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last week, we remain in the allegation-and-denial phase. The Turkish police allege murder, and the Saudi government denies foul play.

As we wait for more information, it’s best to prepare for the worst. The Turkish government has provided specifics and evidence — such as video of Khashoggi entering the consulate and the names of 15 Saudi agents that it says flew to Istanbul in pursuit of him. The Saudis have issued blanket denials.