A burnt child dreads the fire. But it seems that the US president does not want to play that burnt child. He is all set to make a visit to the oil-rich nation and is planning to meet the Saudi crown, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Biden’s rhetoric- now a dead latter
Since taking office, Biden has been clear that human rights would be the center of America’s foreign policy. Whereas, the rhetoric stands in stark contrast to that of former US President Donald Trump and his son-in-law and chief Middle East advisor Jared Kushner. They maintained a close relationship with the crown prince which emboldened him. In lieu, Biden came in with a promise to “review the relationship with Saudi Arabia over the question of Yemen and human rights abuses, initiating with the Khashoggi murder”
Joe Biden is surely a closed book. He has been compelling the media for a long that he won’t be meeting with MBS. The US has been on a campaign trail for a long time to punish Saudi Arabia and teach the dictators a lesson. But now it seems that Biden’s rhetoric took a blunt turn. His visit to Saudi Arabia to meet the crown prince will come as a bolt from the blue for the people of the US as well, who have been averse to the dictatorship of the crown prince MBS and had long abnegated him on grounds of human rights issues.
Read More: Biden’s refurbished character certificate for MBS is his admission of loss
Biden’s administration trying to woo MBS
Joe Biden now planning a diplomatically sensitive trip with the de-facto ruler of the kingdom is a turning point in his long-held rhetoric of making Saudi Arabia a “pariah” in the US. Biden is now signaling to reset the strained relations with the Gulf nation in order to strengthen the oil supplies from the country. Oil imports from Saudi Arabia are the real kick in the can here.
The US wants the Gulf nations to increase their oil outputs so that it could counter the underway oil and gas crisis in the West. But what is more concerning is the aftermath of the meeting? The meeting of Biden with King Salman can prove to be a double-edged sword. With this meeting, Saudi Arabia is looking forward to the influx of offensive weapons as Biden is all set to rescind the restrictions that were imposed on such exports. Well, at home, this move could draw a flak from Congress, Biden’s fellow Democrats, and opposition Republicans for sure.
Transformation of US foreign policy
Biden is such a hypocrite. He is now taking steps to transform the foundation of the US Foreign Policy that he himself laid. Anyway, his talks are all mouth and no trousers. He is stepping back on his promise of not meeting MBS and making Saudi a pariah but what’s happening is just contradictory. He touted a foreign policy based on human rights abuses as soon as he took the office but now his meeting with King Salman which will also include prince Mohammed, the White House itself claimed.
Read More: Jamal Khashoggi permeates into Biden’s diplomatic bridge-building with MBS
The bilateral meeting with the Saudi King about to take place this week will include the brutal dictator, Prince Mohammed who was involved in the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing in 2018. However, Biden might justify his meeting with King Salman but the meeting with Prince Salman is something inevitable. This can even lead to resetting relations with Saudi Arabia, which was previously denounced as a “pariah” by Biden himself.
Moreover, this can even be attributed to the inflated prices of gas in the West. If Gulf nations increase their oil output and supplies to the US there will be abundant gas at the stations and in turn, this will lead to reduced prices. The soaring prices of gas in the US compelled Biden to literally beg before the Saudi Prince to secure a meeting. However, Biden might be playing a smart cookie here but this raises questions about his rhetoric.
