Democrat Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah”, pointing to the imminent triumph of justice. Now the administration of the new US president hypocritically calls the Middle Eastern kingdom an important partner
As News Front reported, on 2 October 2018, The Washington Post columnist Jamal Hashqaji was brutally murdered right inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. As it later emerged, Saudi officials, in particular Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom, were involved in the incident. Donald Trump’s administration, which has been working closely with Riyadh, chose to hushed up the matter.
Joe Biden had his own approach. For example, Washington released the intelligence report on Khashqaji’s murder, after which authorities imposed sanctions on some Arabs. These measures could have been in line with Biden’s campaign promises to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” as a punishment. But the Democrats’ ostensible moves are little more than hypocrisy, as strategic interests have once again taken over, the Associated Press writes.
Although Washington imposed the restrictions, they completely bypassed the Saudi prince himself. The decision came despite the fact that US intelligence actually held him responsible for the murder of Khashqaji. As a result, the US authorities have once again demonstrated that they are prepared to compromise their high moral principles, especially when it comes to a purchaser of US arms and an ally in confronting Iran.
“We talked about it in terms of recalibration. It’s not a break-up”, – commented US State Department spokesman Ned Pricebob.
The Biden administration was simply afraid to clash with Mohammed bin Salman, who could rule the kingdom for decades. It has gone so far as to actively refer to Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner rather than a pariah in Washington.
As the AP notes, this stands in stark contrast to Biden’s campaign promises that he would make the kingdom “pay the price” for human rights abuses and make it “the de facto pariah that it is.” In fact, the new administration’s approach is not even different from that of the previous administration: condemnation that is not allowed to influence cooperation.
Even former President Donald Trump has stated that Biden’s position is not so different from his.