Mr Biden came into office bowing to leftist disdain for Riyadh without appreciating the strategic need for Arab allies in the Gulf. As a candidate heswore offSaudi Arabia to “pay the price and make them, in fact, the angel they are.” He said that “there was little social emancipation value in the present government.”
As president, he withdrew support for the country’s war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and sought to isolate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Mr. Biden also bowed to Iran, as Barack Obama did not make a good impression, which made the Saudis even more uncomfortable.
It all backfired. Iran has denied Mr Biden’s concessions to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and has harassed UN nuclear watchdogs. Meanwhile, Saudi has projected Russia and China as strategic and economic partners as an alternative to the US. Until recently, the Saudis had rejected Mr Biden’s appeal to pump more oil, and the crown prince reportedly refused to take his call. Now Mr Biden is inviting Saudi Arabia again, and his public bow may have to deepen his initial public disdain.
Mr. Biden’s brand of liberal internationalism is good at transmitting American principles but not so effective in protecting American interests.
Practiced a crude transactional global politics that often ignored human rights and praised dictators. But Mr Biden has gone to the extent that some aides do not trust him.
In a world where great power politics has returned with a vengeance, and anti-Americans are on the march, America needs allies in a rough neighborhood. Some of them are going to be tasteless by American standards.
One example is the Saudi Crown Prince with his alleged involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But they have also brought an unknown degree of social reform, including among women, to the state. Mr Biden is right to try to mend ties, even if it means angering the left in his party.
Wonderland: NATO cannot quarantine Putin in Ukraine. He and other adversaries in the West have been trying to undermine and transform us for years. Images: KNS / AFP / AP via Composite Getty Images / KCNA: Mark Kelly
opinion | President Biden’s Saudi Arabia Flip Flop
President Joe Biden walks down the stairs of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, MD, on June 14.
photo:
Susan Walsh / The Associated Press
The White House confirmed on Tuesday that President Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia The following month, however, the Left was critical of the visit even before its formal announcement. While his visit makes strategic and economic sense, it would be less embarrassing now if Mr Biden was more realistic about the world from day one.
Mr Biden came into office bowing to leftist disdain for Riyadh without appreciating the strategic need for Arab allies in the Gulf. As a candidate heswore offSaudi Arabia to “pay the price and make them, in fact, the angel they are.” He said that “there was little social emancipation value in the present government.”
As president, he withdrew support for the country’s war against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and sought to isolate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Mr. Biden also bowed to Iran, as Barack Obama did not make a good impression, which made the Saudis even more uncomfortable.
It all backfired. Iran has denied Mr Biden’s concessions to return to the 2015 nuclear deal and has harassed UN nuclear watchdogs. Meanwhile, Saudi has projected Russia and China as strategic and economic partners as an alternative to the US. Until recently, the Saudis had rejected Mr Biden’s appeal to pump more oil, and the crown prince reportedly refused to take his call. Now Mr Biden is inviting Saudi Arabia again, and his public bow may have to deepen his initial public disdain.
Mr. Biden’s brand of liberal internationalism is good at transmitting American principles but not so effective in protecting American interests.
Donald Trump
Practiced a crude transactional global politics that often ignored human rights and praised dictators. But Mr Biden has gone to the extent that some aides do not trust him.
In a world where great power politics has returned with a vengeance, and anti-Americans are on the march, America needs allies in a rough neighborhood. Some of them are going to be tasteless by American standards.
One example is the Saudi Crown Prince with his alleged involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But they have also brought an unknown degree of social reform, including among women, to the state. Mr Biden is right to try to mend ties, even if it means angering the left in his party.
Wonderland: NATO cannot quarantine Putin in Ukraine. He and other adversaries in the West have been trying to undermine and transform us for years. Images: KNS / AFP / AP via Composite Getty Images / KCNA: Mark Kelly
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Printed June 15, 2022, in print edition as ‘President Biden’s Saudi Flip Flops’.