One cannot overstate just what an odd and unwarranted reversal of the balance of power this was. This wasn’t quite groveling - the proud and stubborn Biden was unlikely to reduce himself to that - but it was a clear demonstration of an administration ever weaker and more adrift. In the misplaced hope of easing gasoline costs at home, the American president felt he needed to go to MBS to ask him to boost oil production. MBS needed only four years to rehabilitate himself after the grisly murder of Khashoggi, in which he was directly implicated.īut the meeting wasn’t merely a rehabilitation. Perhaps the sole memorable moment from Biden’s trip was his fist bump with the Saudi crown prince and de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman (a.k.a. But then the Saudis really did get away with it. Years ago, when Middle East hands would joke that the kingdom could get away with murder, it was merely a figure of speech. Saudi Arabia offers an even starker example. Autocrats test the limits to see how far they can go, only to find that such a limit doesn’t exist. Such provocations illustrate a long and enduring story in the Middle East, one in which the United States again and again proves unable to respond with any sense of purpose or self-respect. Neither of these possibilities is encouraging. In effect, the leaders of the UAE either are taunting Biden or are indifferent to the perception that they are taunting him. But it is not the sort of thing that happens under dictatorships that are ostensibly close U.S. This is the sort of thing that happens under dictatorships.
Ghafoor, a lawyer for the slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, was detained only two days prior while transiting through Dubai International Airport. On July 16, less than 24 hours after Biden left the region, the United Arab Emirates sentenced an American citizen, Asim Ghafoor, to three years in prison on nebulous charges.
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