(CNN)With a trip to Saudi Arabia that is prompting reflection on US connections with a crucial but cruel Middle Eastern ally, President Joe Biden has put himself to the ultimate test of statesmanship and political acumen, as well as the fundamentals of his own foreign policy.
Biden will be there on Friday, balancing US ideals and national interests. He has already criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's brutal reign, which conflicts with his desire for his hosts to increase oil production in order to lower gas costs and inflation in the US.
The President runs the possibility of further political harm at home, where Americans are taking out their displeasure with high gas prices on him, if he departs without obtaining a sizable injection of crude into the world market. But if he is successful, he will further enrage human rights activists who charge him of abandoning US values for momentary political advantage. In either scenario, Biden will need to provide some kind of justification for his meeting with the Crown Prince, the unpredictable and oppressive de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia who US intelligence believes was responsible for the murder and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and Saudi dissident.After all, while bin Salman presided over the execution of political prisoners, started a bloody war in Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians, and was accused of detaining Lebanon's prime minister in another regional power struggle, Biden has prioritized the promotion of democracy at the top of his foreign policy agenda.The purpose of my trip to Saudi Arabia, according to Vice President Biden, "is to advance US interests in a way that I think gives us an opportunity to reestablish what I think we've made a mistake of stepping away from: our influence in the Middle East."
The President is purportedly traveling to Saudi Arabia to attend a regional summit that will also include the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan. He recently spent a few days in Israel and is attempting to solidify recent gains in a rapprochement between some of these countries and Israel. He also wants to get backing for his efforts to use diplomacy to resurrect the 2015 nuclear agreement before Iran enriches enough uranium for a nuclear weapon, a diplomatic effort that both the Israelis and the Saudis are wary of.Furthermore, Biden is keen to establish American leadership as rival superpowers China and Russia look to expand their influence in the area. Therefore, even though the President is facing criticism from progressives in his party for saying it, the President's argument that it is now in the US's best interests to cooperate with Saudi Arabia after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 severely strained relations does have substance.juggling act
With his visit, the President—who pledged to declare the Saudis a "pariah" during the 2020 presidential campaign—is going through a ritual experienced by commanders-in-chief who occasionally must compromise their own political objectives for a larger strategic objective.
Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel, posed this week's issue on "Amanpour" on CNN International: "How can we combine our interests in the free flow of oil at reasonable costs with our values?" This question perfectly encapsulated Biden's predicament.
"The President must tread lightly in some way. Because the price of oil is having a severe influence on inflation, we need the Saudis to expand production in order to lower the price. On the other hand, we must vehemently oppose the manner in which (Mohammed bin Salman) occasionally treats some of his subjects."
The repulsive aspect of this trip is that there is no way for Biden to achieve his objectives without elevating bin Salman, who is the head of the Saudi royal family and will take advantage of the visit of an American President to rehabilitate himself internationally and to send a message to other strongman-ruled states that there is no lasting cost for acting in a way that violates American values. Therefore, he might not feel particularly obligated to make extensive compromises.King Salman, who is set to leave after around 30 minutes of the bilateral sessions due to his health, will not attend the meeting between Biden and the Crown Prince, the White House announced late on Thursday. The administration's frequent reversals on whether and how Biden would speak with the Crown Prince have seemed to inflame dissent even further regarding the visit. In hindsight, the political pressure may have been lessened with an earlier declaration and a clear statement about what the President would say and do.
However, Biden said in a recent op-ed for the Washington Post that the larger goal of using his trip to advance regional peace was crucial because it may end the hostilities that forced US troops to fight and lose their lives in the Middle East for decades. Avoiding new foreign wars is at the core of Biden's presidency because his perspective was influenced by his own experiences and those of his late son Beau, who served in Iraq. This is another reason he remains steadfast in his efforts to save the Iran nuclear agreement, which would postpone the crucial choice of whether to use military force to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.Why does the US collaborate with Saudi Arabia?
Since it has been a recurring issue in US ties with the monarchy for more than 50 years, Biden knew that sooner or later, the issue of balancing US principles and national interests would come up in relation to the Saudis. For instance, Saudi Arabia has long been a crucial US partner, but its acceptance of fundamentalist Wahabi Islam created a breeding ground for extremism that finally gave rise to incidents like the September 11 attacks in 2001.Because of this, some experts on foreign policy have questioned whether the convenience marriage between Washington and Riyadh and the notion that the two nations genuinely share interests ought to be completely rethought. This was not a problem during Donald Trump's transactional presidency, when he clearly stated that he was not terminating ties over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi since the Saudis had purchased many American-made weapons. However, putting aside the absence of long-term security in US foreign policy, Presidents have long struggled to strike the right balance in US-Saudi relations. But because the free flow of oil is so crucial to the US economy, living standards, and their own political survival, they have always been attracted back to the kingdom.
On Thursday's episode of CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut stated that it was unimportant whether or not Biden would shake bin Salman's hand. Instead, he argued, the Saudis must demonstrate their dedication to altering their attitude toward human rights and prove their allegiance to Washington.
"Why did it need an emergency visit from the US President to persuade the Saudis to chose the US as their ally is the question for me," you ask. Murphy enquired.
"I thought the whole point of the United States choosing, over the course of several administrations, to look the other way when the Saudis chopped up political opponents, when they bombed civilians in Yemen, and when they executed political prisoners, was that, when the going got tough, we wouldn't have to make an emergency visit for the Saudis to choose the United States," said the speaker.As opposed to meeting with the downtrodden, why is Biden doing so?
Biden's approval ratings are plummeting as inflation surges, and following a period of record gasoline prices that have recently started to moderate, the trip comes at a politically risky time for him. From a purely political standpoint, some Americans may be relieved to see a President working with oil-producing countries to lower prices at home. But if the Gulf states don't significantly increase their production as a result of his visit, or if the action doesn't reduce gas prices, which last month helped drive inflation to a more than 40-year high of 9.1 percent, the President will be accused of abusing the prestige of the office and compromising his human rights beliefs for personal gain.
The administration is also concerned that there is no assurance that the spike in gas prices brought on by the conflict in Ukraine would be permanently reversed by the availability of more oil. This is due to the fact that one of the problems facing the industry has been a shortage of refining capacity following the pandemic, which a sudden influx of crude could possibly make worse.Even though Biden's foreign policy, particularly his revival of the Cold War coalition of Western nations to confront Russia over the invasion of Ukraine, has been largely successful, a trip to the region that does not result in clear victories for the President could add to perceptions of a presidency that is losing direction.
The gruesome killing of Jamal Khashoggi has come to symbolize broader US concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia, including the treatment of women, the fate of political detainees, and the disdain for civilian life in Yemen.
While asked if he would bring up the situation of the Washington Post journalist when he was with bin Salman, the President sounded irritable during a news conference in Israel on Thursday.
"I bring up human rights frequently. Although I frequently talk up human rights, my stance on Khashoggi has been very clear. If somebody in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else doesn't grasp it, they haven't been around for very long "said Biden.
A Saudi democracy campaigner named Lina al-Hathloul told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday that failing to raise US concerns about Saudi Arabia's human rights record would be "betrayal." In order to do business with authoritarian governments, numerous former presidents met with political dissidents, and human rights organizations have urged Biden to do the same while he is in Saudi Arabia. The White House has not yet made any announcements regarding such contacts.
She questioned, "Why is he meeting with the oppressor and not the oppressed?"
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