Mike Pompeo Expected to Meet with Crown Prince in Saudi Arabia
WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Happening right now, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to meet with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pompeo promising he will press the prince on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.</s>MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I'll say what we've said consistently. America's position both privately and publicly is the same. This was an outrageous act, an unacceptable murder. Those who were responsible will be held accountable by the United States of America. We're determined to do that. We're determined to get at the facts just as quickly, as comprehensively as we can. We've had a policy that's been remarkably consistent with respect to this. We, like the rest of the world, value human rights all across the globe. And the murder of Jamal Khashoggi was outrageous, and we'll hold those responsible accountable. And then we'll talk about all the important things we do with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all the support they provide to keep Americans in Kansas, and Colorado, and California and in Washington, D.C., safe.</s>WHITFIELD: Last month the U.S. Senate passed a resolution condemning the crown prince for the murder. Saudi Arabia has denied bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, who was an outspoken critic of the Saudi regime. Kimberly Dozier is with me now to talk about all of this. So when Pompeo says he and the administration will make sure Saudi Arabia is being held accountable, what does that mean exactly?</s>KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, State Department officials have explained to us before that they don't think the investigation into the Khashoggi killing has gone far enough, been transparent enough, and they're not happy with what they've seen released publicly. Also --</s>WHITFIELD: But what could and would the U.S. do, especially when he underscores the importance of, you know, ongoing business relations with Saudi Arabia, just as the president has done?</s>DOZIER: Well, I think what they want to see from Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, is a more transparent release of information. They want to see the people who have been prosecuted thus far, what is the evidence against them, and are they just going to try to pretend like this didn't go all the way to the top? How much are they going to release? The things that Pompeo could do, and apparently he's been warning MBS behind closed doors that he could do are things like curtail some of the cooperation, possibly even prestige things where, you know, you have high-level meetings where MBS is invited to the White House, et cetera. There are things like that they can do that would hurt him, at least in an ego sense. So -- but what is the U.S. leverage? Well, the U.S. needs Saudi Arabia in its campaign against Iran. MBS knows that. So the problem is, you can say all of these stern things in public, like the secretary of State has done in interviews today, but really, they both need each other so they only can push so far.</s>WHITFIELD: So how important is this meeting between Pompeo and the crown prince, particularly now, more than 100 days after Khashoggi's murder?</s>DOZIER: I think it's very important in that this is a chance for Pompeo to say to him directly, here's what you need to do. Here's what we need to see. And to deliver the</s>WHITFIELD: So Pompeo is in the region, has been in the region primarily to, you know, allay any fears of U.S. allies, particularly with the discussions about the U.S. pulling out U.S. troops in Syria already, you know, reportedly, equipment has been pulled out. Is the presence of, you know, Bolton and Pompeo in the region -- is that comforting, you know, rattled U.S. allies?</s>DOZIER: It is intended as a reassurance tour of sorts. I did get a U.S. official to confirm that yes, they've repositioned or pulled out some equipment as they look ahead towards a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. But from the standpoint of the allies that they're speaking to, no matter what Bolton and Pompeo say, they still can't rule out a future Trump decision determined by some sort of a last- minute conversation with someone. They can't erase what happened just before Christmas, that Trump in a single phone call pivoted and changed the plan on everyone without consulting allies first. That's going to leave a mark for some time.</s>WHITFIELD: Yes, surprising allies, surprising even members of his own Cabinet. All right. Kimberly Dozier, thank you so much.</s>DOZIER: Thank you.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, we're three weeks now into a partial government shutdown with no end in sight, and federal workers, well, they're not the only ones feeling the pain. How this shutdown is hurting farmers, next.