Biden’s Saudi problem after the Khashoggi report was released

Those words are ringing awkwardly now. To be sure, the Biden administration is turning the page on “the hideous and unprecedented spoiling of Saudi Arabia by former President Donald Trump,” as the Post editorial noted. But Biden chose to avoid direct punitive measures on the crown prince for his role in the Khashoggi assassination, even after his administration released a US intelligence report that confirmed the US assessment that the crown prince approved the operation in 2018 to target Khashoggi. In 2017, the crown prince was in absolute control of the kingdom’s security and intelligence services, making it unlikely that Saudi officials would carry out an operation of this kind without the crown prince’s permission. ”Against the imposition of direct sanctions on the crown prince. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in Friday’s press conference: “The relationship with Saudi Arabia is greater than any individual.” The Biden administration sanctioned other prominent Saudi figures linked to the crown prince and imposed the “Khashoggi ban” – visa restrictions for foreign governments that have been found to be involved in “serious anti-dissident activities that cross borders” For many liberal commentators, activists and politicians, this is not enough. The Open Society Justice Initiative, which has been fighting in court since early last year for the release of intelligence on Khashoggi’s killing, said, “The United States and other governments should take immediate measures. To hold the Crown Prince and the Saudi government accountable for their blatant responsibility. Some commentators want to see the crown prince subject to the same US embargoes and restrictions imposed on perceived adversaries in Venezuela and North Korea. “Instead of sanctioning Mohammed bin Salman, Biden appears to be willing to let the killer pass,” wrote New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, using a common acronym for the crown prince. “The weak message to other thuggish dictators who are contemplating a murder like this is: Please don’t do it, but we will still work with you if we have to.” “The lack of action against the crown prince sends a clear message through Rep. Andy Kim (DN.J.) on Twitter.“ When we make exceptions to our allies in such situations, we expect the rest of the world that our values ​​go only as far as our relationships. We show countries like Russia and China that we may have convictions, but the consequences are never guaranteed. “Strategists in Washington have long since enabled or at least endured a catalog of rulers violating human rights for reasons of geopolitical expediency, and this is no different. Graeme Wood of Atlantic writes:“ The basic geopolitical reality has not changed. ”The reality in Saudi Arabia is that The United States, not for the first or last time, is stuck in a miserable situation, and that the end of this sordid episode will likely be an American official shaking hands, once again, with a murderer who Biden and his allies say they have embarked on to “recalibrate” US-Saudi relations. Experts argue that this gentle approach is more practical than the potential disruption sanctions could trigger on the crown prince, especially at a time when Biden needs Riyadh to his side amid other challenges in the Middle East. Yet left-leaning activists assert that the Saudis no longer have the same oil-induced leverage over Washington a generation ago, and that Trump’s cynical embrace and deals for the Saudis needlessly encouraged the reckless crown prince. Regarding Biden’s freezing of arms sales to Riyadh, which was approved by Trump due to congressional objections. This would also include keeping the crown prince – who had a famously direct line with the White House through Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner – out of reach and possibly even working to persuade the Saudi king to reconsider the succession hierarchy and bring in the number of rival royals that the crown prince has kept away from The haven is away from the cold, and there is an apparent incentive for the Saudis to correct. A senior Israeli defense official told journalist Neri Zilber, who wrote for Newlines, that Arabs “need to grow up.” “They don’t need every activist arrested, and they don’t need to go to battle with Congress.” Meanwhile, the crown prince is the most powerful figure in the most important Arab country in the Middle East. American interests – given his youth, they could stay in place for the next half-century. U.S. policymakers will have to contend with the future shaped by the crown prince’s ambitious plans for modernization. “Mohammed bin Salman has accelerated the economic and social transformation that is necessary and must be encouraged. Ultimately, moving toward “normality” would mean either a revolution in Saudi Arabia, or a less authoritarian government, ”writes Anil Schlain of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Governance. Biden should help support Saudi Arabia in this transformation. To avoid the Iranian model, that is, Saudi Arabia is going through a violent revolution and 40 years of hostility toward the United States, Biden must support Saudi normalization, despite Mohammed bin Salman’s murderous tyranny. ”This is a cold respite for Khashoggi and his allies. In an interview with Today’s WorldView, Omar Abdulaziz, a Saudi dissident residing in Canada and a friend of Khashoggi, referred to the mysterious disappearance of another Saudi dissident residing in Canada only last month after entering the Saudi embassy in Ottawa (he later appeared in Saudi Arabia). The Arabian Peninsula, in circumstances activists fear may have damaged an entire network of dissidents abroad.) Abdulaziz said that some of his relatives and friends were thrown in prison because of the regime’s dissatisfaction with its dissenting views, and Abdulaziz said: “Issuing the report and naming Muhammad bin Salman is a good step.” But the CIA knew that the Saudi regime had injured other people and did nothing.