Pragmatic needs expose Biden’s Middle East contradictions

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As we follow, Biden is visiting the Middle East this week. He has passed through Israel and Palestine in recent days. It’s landing in Saudi Arabia today. The main purpose of the trip, according to the government itself, is to forge renewed alliances to control Iran from a geopolitical perspective, while also finding ways to try to lower fuel prices in the United States. , was considered the main responsible.According to the record inflation that the country went through – 9.1%, for more than 40 years.

When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the moment is particularly tense due to accusations by the Trump administration that stem from the establishment of the Abraham Accords, as well as the murder of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The Palestinians blame the Israelis for this death and criticize the US actions in the incident.

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In the case of Saudi Arabia, the situation is even more delicate. In addition to the country’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who has been a vocal supporter of Trump in recent years, he was classified as a dictator who had to be isolated by President Biden himself during the election campaign. At the time, Biden described Saudi Arabia as an international pariah. Among the main factors that motivated this demonstration were the persecution and deaths of critics and dissidents, including journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the Saudi war in Yemen, one of the bloodiest wars in the world.

Biden has systematically tried to justify this decision since announcing the trip. In an article published in The Washington Post recently, he stated that he sees the region’s energy resources as strategic in order to overcome the global effects of the crisis between Russia and Ukraine in terms of supply, and that the USA continues its engagement with the countries in this field. contributes to the stability of the region and reduces the risk of future violence against the country.

Despite the president’s rhetorical efforts, the objective truth is that, like countless other US administrations, Biden prefers to look at Saudi Arabia from a selective perspective. The president is facing a serious popularity crisis with dwindling and alarming approval rates at a time when Democrats must remain fully competitive in the November legislative elections. In this way, it shuts its eyes to its own value agenda, including serious human rights violations in the name of short-term political interests.

It’s important to remember that Saudi Arabia is the main oil producer in the world and has a huge impact on OPEC. So Biden, unsurprisingly, wants the Saudis to increase production to help lower international prices and control inflation around the world. But in pursuit of this goal, the American president makes a risky bet. First, there is no clear indication that the Saudis are interested in such agendas. Second, because this attack has further fueled the polarization and fragmentation within the Democratic party itself, potentially eroding key support bases for Biden. Third, because it jeopardizes the moral authority that the president likes to reinforce as a central component of his foreign policy. Once again, international politics is much more politics approximately policy.

IDEA

07/15/2022 08:08

** This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of UOL

source: Noticias
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