US President Joe Biden confirmed at the Saudi Summit in Red City of Jeddah that it would remain ever active and an engaged partner in the Middle East. The US would certainly do it, because if it leaves the region, the gap will quickly be filled by China, Russia and Iran. President Biden himself pointed this out before the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates – plus Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq at the summit. He vowed that it would prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. The US will not leave any stone unturned to continue its hegemony there.
The US economic sanction on Russia over the latter’s invasion of Ukraine created a rift in the relations between US and Saudi Arabia, and amid the strained ties, Biden visited the Middle East with a stop at Israel. Though Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for Israeli airplanes, Biden’s presence did not generate much enthusiasm among the Saudi Royals.
Neither the King Salman nor the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, went to the airport to receive Biden, but the governor of Mecca went. Yet Biden was there, because he needed Saudi Arabia for producing more oil to stem the soaring oil price. Saudi Arabia, however, did not turn down Biden and committed to pumping 13 million barrels per day from the present 11 million barrels per day. Back at home, this was seen as a defeat for Biden to MBS whom he had wanted to hold accountable for assassination of the dissident journalist Jamal Khasoggi. Fred Ryan, publisher and CEO of The Washington Post, wrote:
“The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake-it was shameful. It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the warranted redemption he has been desperately seeking.”
Biden indeed raised the issue of Khashoggi’s death with the crown prince, but as it appeared it was nothing more than a passing reference. Conversely, Joe Biden also remained rather non committal about the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh when he was in Israel and Palestine. This reinforced the fact that the US is not going to change the status quo in the region dominated by Israel. So much about the US’s role as a champion of human rights.
Therefore, the US ability to solve the problems festering in the region remains very much in doubt, since it now suffers a great credibility deficit in the region because of its weaknesses and biases. As matter stands today, the US is a complete failure to solve the Palestinian problem as a neutral and honest peace broker.
Creation of a separate and sovereign state for the Palestinians with East Jerusalem as its capital is now on the back burner on the one hand, Israeli settlement building on the Palestinian lands is continuing unabated on the other hand. The US all through is remaining a silent witness to this. On his Palestine visit, Biden just evaded the question of Palestine telling that now was not the time for peace talks. He was more concerned with ‘better quality of life’ and declared an aid package of $ 235 million to Palestine.
Three years ago, Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia ‘pay the price’ for killing journalist Jamal Khasoggi. But shooting of oil price due to Ukraine war, killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh by Israeli soldier as well as fall in his public approval rating at home forced Biden to revise his policy towards Saudi Arabia.
Though this trip of Biden has paved the way for a new partnership of US with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region, on Palestine question, the matter is all déjà vu again. “You don’t need to be a Jew to be a Zionist,” said Biden in Israel as he started his tour in the region. From a “great Zionist” like Biden as Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described him, Palestinians can hardly hope to see an end to Israeli settlement activities on their lands or hope for Palestine as a separate state. Unless the US tries hard to make its credence strong enough by solving the Palestine problem and helping democratic nations around the world where people are struggling for establishing democracy, they will find the US less trustworthy. That will not be good for the free world.
