Perhaps U.S. President Joe Biden’s strangest policy U-turn since taking office has been his total reversal on U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia. As a candidate in 2020, Biden called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, a pariah and promised to make Saudi leaders pay for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But focusing on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, appalling though it might be, is a red herring. The stated goal of normalization between Israel and the Arab states is admirable and achieving it would be historic. But it’s simply not worth the price the Biden administration appears willing to pay.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 02, 2023 14:07 UTC