Bashing Saudi Arabia during a presidential election season is almost a tradition in the United States, and President Biden was no exception. Fueled by domestic outcry over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Saudi Arabia-led intervention in Yemen, Mr Biden went further than his predecessors by providing Saudi Arabia with a “pariah” state. That was misjudged.
With the war in Ukraine soaring energy prices and China forging more alliances in the Middle East, Mr Biden travels thousands of miles to try to mend a relationship that has reached a low point in its 80-year history — arguably even worse than since. the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Mr Biden tried to justify his visit to Saudi Arabia this week in a Washington Post opinion essay, and said his goal was to “refocus”, not “break up” relationships. Yet no justification for his visit to the kingdom this week can erase the truth: it is a defeat for Mr Biden and a personal and political triumph for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS, as he is popularly known. But it doesn’t have to be a defeat for the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia.
A change in Mr Biden’s attitude towards Prince Mohammed will no doubt stir some goodwill in the Saudi leadership. The question is, what will Mr. Biden choose from this renewed opportunity to reset the relationship?
The United States needs Saudi Arabia: the kingdom remains the main swing producer in the oil market and is the main buyer of American weapons worldwide. On the grounds of geopolitics and economics, Saudi Arabia’s cooperation with the United States is paramount when it comes to Washington’s efforts to counter Iran, end the war in Yemen, and strengthen Israel’s relations with the Arab world. normalize, as well as the influence of Russia and China in the region. All of this was true before the Russian invasion of Ukraine turned global oil markets upside down and soared gasoline prices in the United States and Europe.
Mr Biden’s stance — who turned a tense relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia into a personal duel with Prince Mohammed — would always be short-lived, especially as world events intervened. This became clear over the past six months when the Biden administration past dumb after dumb, culminating in the rejection of Prince Mohammed’s US demand to explicitly and actively side with the United States after Russia invaded Ukraine.
So the Biden administration had to come up with a solution to the Saudi problem, especially in a critical election year as Mr Biden’s appreciation for his job approval has plummeted and gas prices have risen.
The Biden administration has balked at seeing the desired results for this meeting. But returning home with only vague promises about oil and Israel — and no concrete human rights concessions from Saudi Arabia — would be a defeat not only for Mr Biden, but also for the United States. Realpolitik policymakers like to dismiss human rights as they have a place in pragmatic policymaking, but there is an opportunity for Mr Biden to make human rights part of a revamped strategy with Saudi Arabia that the kingdom could accept even if it isn’t enthusiastic. is.
Saudi Arabia will not become a democracy anytime soon. But the United States can still constructively work with the monarchy to make some profits in the field of human rights, defend itself against authoritarianism and promote regional integration.
The United States must demonstrate consistency in support of its values alongside its strategic goals. It’s easy for Saudi leaders to dismiss Biden’s human rights rhetoric as the murder of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who told the State Department said probably caused by gunfire from Israel Defense Forces positions generates nothing like the official outcry over Mr Khashoggi’s murder. The absence of a smoking gun didn’t stop the United States from investigating and publicly announcing Saudi behavior his findings to demonstrate a commitment to press freedom. If the matter of Mrs. Failing to mention Abu Akleh during Mr Biden’s visit to Israel would reinforce Saudi allegations that US commitment to its values is entirely conditional.
The United States should only push for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia if it can guarantee that the Saudi government will not suppress Saudi voices against normalization. And the United States must express its support for the rights of the Palestinians as much as the Israelis. If and when normalization takes place between Saudi Arabia and Israel, it should not be used to erase the human rights violations committed by both governments.
Saudi Arabia is investing substantially in the transformation of its digital infrastructure, which has become essential to the success of Vision 2030, Prince Mohammed’s plan to overhaul the economy – and his legacy. At the same time, the country is a case study in digital authoritarianism. The government takes advantage of the exceptionally high connectivity of its citizens to promote disinformation and propaganda, collect data about and deploy spyware against dissidents, and hack and track down its enemies.
The United States is already black list companies that supply digital repression tools to Saudi Arabia, such as the Israeli NSO Group. But it also needs to find ways to work with Saudi Arabia on the institutional and legal frameworks that regulate the technological environment in the kingdom. For example, the United States can capitalize on Saudi Arabia’s desire for U.S. technology by tying U.S. digital support and investment in place with safeguards that protect digital human rights and privacy.
The Biden administration must also continue to target Saudi instigators of authoritarianism through coercive diplomacy. The Khashoggi ban, a visa-restriction policy instituted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in response to Mr Khashoggi’s murder, is a good start that should be continued. Individuals acting on behalf of the Saudi government and involved in the repression of Saudi nationals at home and abroad must pay a price.
Likewise, regulation of relevant Saudi intelligence and paramilitary training should continue. In 2019, The Washington Post revealed that the State Department had rejected a proposal to train Saudi intelligence because of insufficient guarantees by the Saudis to prevent lawless operations against political dissidents. Moving forward, the United States could exert more control over the training former military and law enforcement officers provide the kingdom privately†
By making room for values in the bilateral relationship, Saudi leaders would help themselves. Without an improved record of values, Saudi Arabia will continue to face obstacles from Congress and the US administration that prevent it from getting the technology and military systems it wants and needs.
The same goes for business. Even if Khashoggi’s murder hadn’t scared US investors away, the Saudi government would… does not reach the level of foreign direct investment needed to achieve the goals of Vision 2030. Despite progress, weakness rule of law and the lack of participatory decision-making in the kingdom require investors to think twice and complicated existing relationships.
For the United States, Saudi affairs are critical if it is to outpace China in the Middle East. It also gives the US leverage in the success of Vision 2030.
None of these paths are easy to take. They demand from both Saudi and American leaders to plan strategically and not according to election data and oil prices. They also demand that Mr. Biden send a clear message: For a long time, Saudi leaders relied on US values to always be subordinate to US interests. But they also need to realize that having a minimum of shared values builds more consistent relationships than oil and weapons.
Yasmine Farouk (@Donald Trump) is a non-resident Middle East Program scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she focuses on Saudi Arabia and regional foreign relations.
The Times is committed to publication a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d love to hear what you think of this or any of our articles. Here are a few tips† And here’s our email: [email protected]†
Follow The New York Times Opinion section at: facebook† Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram†