How Much Are Crises a Choice?

With the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, we may get a chance to see to extent to which crises are a choice.

Khashoggi is/was a Saudi citizen, a legal US resident, and a contributor to the Washington Post.  On October 2, he walked into the Saudi consulate in Turkey to pick up some divorce papers and has not been seen since.  Since he has given no evidence since of being alive and free, the only question can now be whether he is being held captive at the consulate, whether he has been forcibly taken to Saudi Arabia, or whether he has been killed.  The more time goes by without evidence that Khashoggi is alive, the stronger the suspicion that he was killed.

In other words, our putative allies, the Saudis at best kidnapped and more likely killed a US resident under our protection and contributor to a major US newspaper.  Under any other President, a diplomatic crisis would be underway.  Trump, who loves the Saudi government and hates the Washington Post, is doing his best to ignore the whole thing.

But our political and media establishment are in an uproar.  Members of Congress in both parties are demanding action.  Newspapers are publishing ever more embarrassing articles.  The pressure to have a crisis is growing.  We will see whether Trump can brazen it out or not.