President Joe Biden, 79, did the right thing yesterday for U.S. national security meeting with 36-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman [MBS], after the FBI, CIA and NSA said the MBS ordered the Oct. 2, 2018 gruesome murder of Washington Post part-time columnist Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was one of Bin Salman’s biggest critics, writing only about his repressive practices. But once Bin Salman took the reigns in 2017 from his 86-year-old ailing father King Salman-Al Saud, the younger Bin Salman was firmly in control. Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia years earlier for the U.S., claiming he could not accept Bin Salman’s repressive regime, writing critical pieces in the Washington Post about the young Saudi leader. When Khashoggi went to the Saudi embossing in Istanbul Oct. 2, 2018, the press was shocked that he never came out, prompting and extensive investigation.
Once Biden fist-bumbed Bin Salman yesterday, the media through a fit, angry that the U.S. government won’t hold the same grudge as Washington Post CEO and Editor-in-Chief Fred Ryan, who said it was “shameful” that Biden fist-bumped Bin Salman. What’s shameful is Biden’s approach toward 69-uyear-old Russian President Vladimir Putin, wasting U.S. tax dollars to fund Ukraine and a proxy war against the Kremlin. Biden did exactly what he’s supposed to do as a head-of-state, bite his tongue on controversial issues. What has the U.S. media done to Biden other than push him into a war with the Russian Federation. Biden’s liberal base would rather set the world ablaze in a nuclear war than to strike any diplomacy with Putin. When it comes to Bin Salman, the press condemned Biden for making an overture to reinstate U.S.-Saudi relations, something necessary for U.S. national security.
Whatever happened to Khashoggi Oct. 2, 2018, the business of U.S. policy goes on, regardless of mishaps or controversies. U.S. presidents pick-pick-and-choose who they decide are enemies of the U.S. state, targeted for assassination. What happened Jan. 3, 2020 when former President Donald Trump OK’d the hit of Iraq’s Al-Quds Gen. Qasem Soleimani? So why haven’t world leaders, from Beijing to Parts, not boycotted U.S. diplomacy? What happened to Khashoggi was in the making for a long time while the ex-Saudi patriot spend his time condemning the Saudi government, especially Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Khashoggi knew when he entered the Saudi embassy in Istanbul he was a person non-grata with the Riyadh government. Nothing justifies what Bin Salman did to Khashoggi, but at the same time you can’t blame Biden for restoring U.S.-Saudi relations.
Biden correctly realized that he must ignore his party’s radical left and do what’s right for U.S. national security. Cooperation with Saudi Arabi provides stability in the Middle East at a time when Iran seeks to destabilize the region with a nuclear weapon. Bin Salman wants no part of Iran’s malign activities, including paying Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack the Kingdom Since 2015, Iran has supplied Houthis with predator drones and other offensive weapons to attack Riyadh. Biden understood the importance to reinstating U.S.-Saudi relations to keep Iran at bay, cooperate with Israel to fight al-Qaeda and ISIS whenever possible. If Biden listened to Washington Post editor Fred Ryan, he’d hold a grudge against the Kingdom. Khashoggi was one person, not an entire foreign policy designed to protect energy security and counterterrorism activities in the Mideast and elsewhere.
Biden must now listen to Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) that argues against the conventional Democrat and Republican wisdom that the Ukraine War must end. Spartz , the only Ukrainian elected official in Congress, raisied concerns about corruption 45-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Kiev government. Spartz wants Biden to know that there’s bigger fish to fry in Eastern Europe, including restoring U.S.-Russian relations. Just like Biden conceded the importance of U.S.-Saudi relations, Spartz wants Biden to concede that U.S.-Russian relations are even more important. Biden and certain Republican elected officials have gone over the deep end defending Ukraine against the Russian Federation. At the end of the day, U.S.-Russian relations are far more important to U.S. national security, than relations with Kiev. Biden must rethink his proxy war against Russia.
Whatever human rights violations happen in Saudi Arabia, Russia, China or anywhere else, Biden must find common ground with American’s adversaries, not damage U.S. national security by breaking off diplomatic relations. Biden’s relations with the Russian Federation are the worst on record of any U.S. president. If Biden can restore U.S.-Saudi relations, he can do the same thin with Moscow. No one liked Putin’s invasion of Ukraine but U.S. national security requires the U.S. to have a good working relationship with the Kremlin. As it stands now, the Kremlin battles the U.S. proxy war with ferocity in Ukraine. Rep. Sparks saying that Biden ignores widespread corruption in Zelensky’s regime, something other elected officials ignore. Getting U.S.-Saudi relations back on track suggests that Biden can do the same with Moscow, serving notice in Kiev that the war can’t go on indefinitely.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
