US President Joe Biden addresses trades leaders at the North America鈥檚 Building Trades Unions (NABTU) Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC, on April 6, 2022. AFP FILE PHOTO
WASHINGTON 鈥� Making an about-face by visiting Saudi Arabia, US President Joe Biden is betting he has more to gain than lose even as rights activists accuse him of selling his soul to oil.
Biden joins eight decades of US presidents who have all in due time courted the oil-rich kingdom, which has assiduously cultivated ties in Washington despite repeated crises including the September 11 attacks, carried out mostly by Saudis.
The White House announced Tuesday that Biden would travel next month for a regional summit in Jeddah and meet Saudi leaders 鈥� whom as a candidate he promised to treat as 鈥渢he pariah that they are鈥� 鈥� including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
According to US intelligence, 鈥淢BS鈥� ordered the 2018 murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Biden on taking office declassified the Khashoggi findings and promised to 鈥渞ecalibrate鈥� the relationship, including by scaling back support for the Saudis鈥� devastating air campaign in Yemen.
Administration officials say they have recently seen the Saudis responding to US concerns including backing a fragile truce in Yemen, where the Riyadh-backed government is battling Iranian-linked Huthi rebels, and making tentative steps to improve relations with US ally Israel.
In a surprise, the Saudis earlier this month led an agreement by oil producers to boost output, a relief to Biden whose poll numbers have been battered by soaring gas prices 鈥� which, however, have kept rising.
Dan Shapiro, who served as ambassador to Israel when Biden was vice president, noted that the 36-year-old crown prince is likely to be the key Saudi leader for years to come.
The visit comes as China increasingly looks to Gulf Arab nations, which have mostly rebuffed US efforts to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
鈥淧resident Biden has concluded correctly that the United States has more strategic interests that would be served by stabilizing the US-Saudi relationship,鈥� said Shapiro, now at the Atlantic Council.
鈥淚t鈥檚 critical that, as we deal with challenges like Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, and China鈥檚 increasingly assertive stance globally, partners 鈥� particularly in the Middle East, particularly energy-producing nations 鈥� will align themselves with US interests.鈥�
鈥� 鈥楪otten away with murder鈥� 鈥�
The trip marks a White House calculation that it is worth weathering the criticism from lawmakers, mostly in his Democratic Party, and activists who say he is jeopardizing his own claims to put human rights at the heart of his foreign policy.
Biden just last week saw his Summit of the Americas summit in Los Angeles marred by a boycott by Mexico鈥檚 leader over the president鈥檚 refusal to invite autocratic leaders.
Andrea Prasow, executive director of The Freedom Initiative which supports political prisoners in the Arab world, said detainees鈥� families feel Biden 鈥渉as completely abandoned them in favor of lower oil prices.鈥�
She said Biden should have sought commitments from MBS, such as freeing prisoners, in exchange for visiting him.
The message 鈥渋s pretty clear 鈥� MBS can and has literally gotten away with murder,鈥� she said.
Even if Biden privately speaks on human rights, the 鈥減ublic messaging to MBS himself, to everyone in Saudi Arabia and everyone in the US and the world, is that this type of egregious human rights conduct has zero consequence.鈥�
An apology of sorts?
MBS had a far chummier relationship with former president Donald Trump, whose son-in-law Jared Kushner was said to chat with the prince over WhatsApp.
The former president defended his light response to Khashoggi鈥檚 killing by saying Saudi Arabia boosted the US economy through weapons purchases.
Trump鈥檚 secretary of state Mike Pompeo wrote on Twitter that MBS 鈥渋s working to build peace and prosperity for his country鈥� and criticized Biden for sidelining him.
Experts said the crown prince was looking for the relationship to be back to business as usual.
Yasmine Farouk of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said that MBS had been personally offended by Biden, a critic of Saudi Arabia even before Khashoggi鈥檚 murder.
鈥淭he main thing MBS is looking for from a visit by Biden isn鈥檛 necessarily a breakthrough in military or defense cooperation, but political recognition and a kind of apology for ignoring him,鈥� she said.
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