Brandon J. Weich
Washington Times, Oct. 17, 2022
“Clearly, Mr. Biden cannot tell friends from foes. Namely, Iran is a foe whereas Saudi Arabia, for all its imperfections, is a friend. Mr. Biden’s failure to recognize this means the United States is being led to a very dangerous place in its relations with the Middle East.”
At the start of October, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made a stunning announcement: It was making Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the next-in-line to be king, the country’s prime minister. A day later, the Department of Justice announced a 45-day delay in acknowledging MBS‘ new political title because, if they did recognize it, then MBS would be insulated from being sued — MBS is being sued by the widow of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi-born critic of MBS who was murdered by agents of the crown prince while he was at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey in 2018. Since becoming president, Joe Biden has vowed to hold MBS accountable for Mr. Khashoggi‘s murder.
The delay by the Biden DOJ to recognize MBS’ new role as prime minister and therefore reaffirm MBS’ sovereign immunity has created tension with Riyadh. Two days after this fateful delay by the Biden DOJ, the leadership of Saudi Arabia decided to cut oil production by a staggering 2 million barrels per day.
The Saudi production cuts will undoubtedly harm the U.S. economy by raising prices at the pump and damage the Democratic Party’s chances in the coming midterms.
This is just one provocation taken by the Biden administration directed against MBS and the Saudi government since Mr. Biden took office in January 2021. President Biden is committed to normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia’s chief rival in the Middle East, the Islamic Republic of Iran.
As the Biden administration attempts to distance itself from Saudi Arabia and move closer to Iran, Riyadh is striking back. But beneath the surface, there is something more. Mr. Biden’s antipathy toward MBS goes deeper than simply being disgusted by MBS’ abysmal human rights record. Mr. Biden and his national security officials likely view MBS as a problem to be removed as quickly as possible. … Source
