Biden's Saudi trip spotlights age-old tension between human rights agenda and political reality

[Celerity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/07/11/bidens-saudi-trip-spotlights-age-old-tension-between-human-rights-agenda-political-reality/

https://archive.ph/ZhExw



President Biden will make his first official trip to the Middle East on Wednesday in what will be another test of his ability to balance the administration’s stated focus on human rights and advancing strategic interests. The visit to Saudi Arabia — which comes as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to disrupt global energy security — has drawn ire from lawmakers and top foreign policy aides on its purpose and utility. Critics have slammed Biden’s visit to the oil-rich kingdom, given their record of human rights abuses under Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership, including the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (The crown prince has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing.)

But it’s Biden’s sit-down with MBS during a bilateral meeting that underscores the tension between his values-based approach to foreign policy and the governing realities of the current world. “This visit to Saudi Arabia is clearly a significant setback to the desire to place human rights at the center of American foreign policy,” Christopher J. Bolan, foreign policy adviser on Middle East and South Asia affairs for Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney, said. However, “forging an effectively bilateral relationship with the Kingdom and its leadership is something that serves American interests,” Bolan added, and “President Biden’s meeting with him is a reluctant recognition of that unpleasant reality.”

On the agenda: Biden will kick off his three-day trip to the Middle East with a stop in Israel, where he’ll meet with Prime Minister Yair Lapid to discuss Israeli national security. He’ll also visit the West Bank and meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Biden will then travel to Saudi Arabia for the Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jiddah. He will hold bilateral talks with King Salman and his leadership team, including MBS, White House spokesman John Kirby confirmed on Thursday. They are expected to discuss the cease-fire in Yemen, counterterrorism, climate change and energy security, Kirby said.

According to Bolan, Saudi Arabia has a lot to gain from a meeting with Biden. “For MBS personally, this visit cements his position as de facto ruler of the country. It also demonstrates his ability to pursue independent Saudi foreign and domestic policies despite intense public pressure and scrutiny from the U.S. Congress and President Biden.” According to Biden, the U.S. has much to gain from a meeting with Saudi leadership as well. “A region that’s coming together through diplomacy and cooperation — rather than coming apart through conflict — is less likely to give rise to violent extremism that threatens our homeland or new wars that could place new burdens on U.S. military forces and their families,” Biden wrote in a Washington Post op-ed on Saturday.

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[elleng]

1. Hugely difficult dilemma.