Sen. Jack Reed voiced support for ending aerial refueling for the Saudi air campaign in Yemen, where the kingdom has been accused of indiscriminately killing civilians. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images defense Reed calls for international investigation of Khashoggi’s disappearance

The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee called Wednesday for an international investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

Speaking to reporters, Jack Reed of Rhode Island also sharply criticized the Trump administration for not leveraging U.S. support to get answers amid reports the journalist was killed earlier this month at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.


“The first step, I think, is to determine exactly what happened,” Reed told reporters. “That, I believe, requires a thorough international investigation, not something that the Saudis will do.”

Reed predicted a probe would “paint a very critical picture” of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, and said Congress should examine restricting arms sales.

Reed dinged President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly expressed confidence in Saudi leaders’ denials that they orchestrated Khashoggi’s killing.

“The reality is, in terms of who has the leverage, we do,” Reed said. “And that’s why it’s surprising the president is so accommodating to their point of view.”

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The senator also slammed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s just-completed visit to Saudi Arabia as a “photo op,” saying the incident underscores the need for long-vacant ambassadorships in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to be filled.

“We can’t let that area of the world be sort of a … place where Jared Kushner and MBS are sort of plotting these grand schemes without any input from career professionals,” Reed said.

Reed, who opposed selling precision-guided munitions to the Saudis, stopped short of saying all arms sales to the country should be blocked, arguing Saudi Arabia has “legitimate defensive needs” like Patriot anti-missile batteries.

Separately, Reed also voiced support for ending aerial refueling for the Saudi air campaign in Yemen, where the kingdom has been accused of indiscriminately killing civilians.

The senator said refueling assistance, long a target of critics of U.S. involvement in Yemen, isn't effective in restraining Saudi behavior in the civil war there.