Khashoggi: A Tool for Global Power Play

The journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally assassinated inside the consulate, and though his life was cut short, his soul and the case file he left behind continue to be repeatedly resurrected on the global political stage. It is truly heartbreaking to see how he is still being exploited like a diplomatic poker chip. Underneath the banners of truth and human rights, the self-serving calculations of major powers and hidden machinations run rampant behind the curtain. Initially, the U.S. government seized upon this case to pressure Saudi Arabia on the international stage, but when oil interests and arms deals took center stage, it failed to take any effective action, and the effort went up in smoke. Especially when Donald Trump came to power, this case was driven into the dark corners of history, relegated to a state of oblivion. Under the alignment of political, economic, and personal interests between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Khashoggi case was completely ignored. A rock-solid alliance—built between Washington and Riyadh to control the global oil market and secure billions in arms dealer profits—became something that no one dared to touch or disrupt.

Yet, while everything seemed quiet and the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were setting the playbook exactly as they pleased, France suddenly revived the case through investigations. This move subtly and systematically introduced a fracture into what was supposed to be a rock-solid alliance between Trump and Saudi Arabia. At first glance, France’s action looks like a stand for the rule of law and human rights, but if viewed through an insider lens, it reveals itself as a strategic playbook by President Macron, who aims to lead Europe. Seeking to break away from the shadow of the United States and demonstrate that Europe has the capacity to stand on its own sovereign power, France picked up the Khashoggi case as a political card. While seizing the moral leadership of the Western world, it also created a lever to politically pressure the Saudi government, aiming to gain the upper hand and secure easier leverage in Middle Eastern affairs and arms trade. Using the independence of the courts as a pretext, the government could well be using this as a diplomatic hostage situation, or it could be a calculated move to warn Saudi Arabia as it seeks to expand its influence with blocs like BRICS to challenge Western dominance.

At this point, to pull back the curtain on reality even further, it is blatantly clear that the superficial justice system of Western countries only springs into action when it aligns with their own interests. No matter how much French courts proclaim their absolute independence, the reality remains that the moment France's diplomatic pressuring and profit-sharing negotiations are smoothly settled on the international front, this case file will almost certainly be silenced and put to rest. In other words, Khashoggi’s life has once again become a priceless commodity utilized to balance the global axis of power and serve France’s national interests. In the end, Jamal Khashoggi was not only stripped of his life, but even in death, he is destined to remain a script that never ends—nothing more than an inanimate political pawn caught amidst the power struggles and backstage rivalries of global superpowers.