The media, Democrats and even some Republicans have been full of moral indignation over the Trump administration’s failure to punish Saudi Arabia for killing writer Jamal Khashoggi. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia says “the president’s failure to hold Saudi Arabia responsible in any meaningful way” is an “example of this White House’s retreat from America’s leadership on human rights and protecting the free press.”

President Trump has balked at all of this, noting that the Saudis are valuable allies against Iran. The “Death to...